Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, July 19, 2012

Megan DOUBLEDAY was named queen and Kianna PAXSON was named princess of the 2012 Ringgold County Fair at the fair's queen contest held Wednesday, July 11, at the fairgrounds. In addition, winners were named in the Bill Riley Talent Search as part of the same program.

DOUBLEDAY, daughter of Christine DOUBLEDAY and Mike DOUBLEDAY of Mount Ayr, was crowned by 2011 fair queen Ashley PHELPS.

PAXSON is the daughter of John PAXSON and Renda SMITH of Mount Ayr and was crowned by last year's princess Jalyn KLEJCH.

DOUBLEDAY and PAXSON helped present awards in many activities at the fair.

DOUBLEDAY will also be going on to represent the county fair in the Iowa State Fair queen contest in August.

Duties of the fair queen include assisting with a number of county fair events as well as competing in the Iowa state fair queen contest in August as the Ringgold county representative. The queen is also responsible for organizing the queen and princess contest for the year following her reign.

Escorting DOUBLEDAY at the contest was Matt KERNS, son of Steve and Becky KERNS of Clearfield.

PAXSON'S escort was Collin McALEXANDER, son of Pat and Melissa McALEXANDER.

Named first runner-up to DOUBLEDAY was Erin DOLECHECK, daughter of Allan and Naomi DOLECHECK of Kellerton. Her escort was Taylor RICHIE, son of Daren and Kelly RICHIE of Benton.

Named Miss Congeniality, an award chosen by the other contestants, was Bailey CAMERON, the daughter of Shawn and Marty CAMERON of Diagonal. Her escort was Dillon DRAKE, son of Deric DRAKE and Barb PICKERING.

Other queen candidates included:

Alyssa Beth ADAMS, daughter of Darrel and Brenda ADAMS of Kellerton. Her escort was Noah LARSEN, son of Deb and John LARSEN of Kellerton.

Amanda DAVIS, the daughter of Kris DAVIS of Diagonal and Charles DAVIS of Mount Ayr. Her escort was Heath EVANS, son of Chris and Rhonda EVANS of Diagonal.

Erin DOLECHECK, daughter of Allan and Naomi DOLECHECK of Kellerton. She is sponsored by DOLECHECK Farms. Her escort was Taylor RICHIE, son of Daren and Kelly RICHIE of Benton.

Kylee KLOMMHAUS, daughter of Debbie KLOMMHAUS of Mount Ayr. Her escort was Brett TAYLOR, son of Joe and Jamie LOVE of Redding.

Other princess candidates included:

Payton GREGG, the daughter of Mark and Radonda GREGG and Jessica GREGG. Her escort was Quentin GREGG, son of mark and Radonda GREGG and Jessica GREGG.

Riley Ann JONES, daughter of Spence and Rebecca JONES. Her escort was Trey FOOKEN, son of Brian and Amber FOOKEN.

Jillian KNEIP, daughter of Clint and Shaun KNIEP. Her escort was Braydon PIERSON, son of Mark and Radonda GREGG.

Tessa KNEIP, daughter of Clint and Shaun KNIEP. Her escort was Jaydon KNIGHT, son of Jacob and Megan KNIGHT.

Hayden RUGGLES, daughter of Bret and Brandie RUGGLES. She was escorted by Brayden HALE, son of Brennon and Bailey SHIELDS.

Lauren TRIGGS, daughter of Jessica and Lucan TRIGGS. Her escort was Wyatt McLEAD, son of Carrie SMITH McLEAD of Mount Ayr and Robert McLEAD of Ellston.

Winners were named in sprout and senior divisions in the Bill Riley Talent Search contest as well.

Top three acts in the junior division included:

1. Juney HARVEY, 2. Riley FLEHARTY, and 3. the duo of Ryann MARTIN and Sophia GRANTHAM.

HARVEY and FLEHARTY had already qualified for the state contest, so the MARTIN-GRANTHAM duo qualified for state from the contest here.

Top three acts in the senior division included:

1. Hayley ENGLAND, 2. Kami BALLENTINE and partner, and 3. Aunica HARVEY.

ENGLAND qualified to advance to advance to the contest at the state fair.

A total of 32 projects from 28 Ringgold county 4-Hers were chosen to represent the county at the Iowa State Fair when judging was completed at the 4-H exhibit building Wednesday during the fair.

In addition, 44 projects from 27 4-H club members earned recognition for being considered for state fair honors and 41 projects by 22 junior 4-Hers were honored for being outstanding.

Projects that will go on to the state fair included:

Exhibits considered for selection for the state fair but not making the final cut included, by 4-H club:

Junior 4-Hers recognized for outstanding exhibits included:

Ann WALTERS won the best of show prize in the open class division of the Ringgold County Fair this year. Her winning entry was a quilt that also won the quilt division this year.

A total of 471 entries were made in the open class divisions this year, with a winner named in 18 of the 19 classes. The entry number swelled from 443 last year.

Class winners included:

Creative arts -- Lisa CONKLIN

Kit and Kaboodle -- Ellen POWELL

Needle work -- Mary BAKER

Housing -- Ellen POWELL

Baking -- Ethel CAMPBELL

Canning -- Karrie WASTENEY

Fruits and Vegetables -- Betsy KENNAN

Flowers and plants -- Margaret WILKINS

Craftsmanship and new construction -- Jerry MURPHY

Restoration -- Gina STILL

Genealogy and history -- Ruth ANGUS

Quilts -- Ann WALTERS

Photography -- Courtney ADAMS

Creative sewing -- Ronda SMITH

Scrapbooking -- Jenny BYRD

Trash to Treasure -- Jane SAVILLE

Jewelry -- JoKaye SHIELDS

Juniors and intermediates -- Ashtyn WERNER and Abbey SCHAFER

Winners were named in a number of contests for 4-H members held as part of the Ringgold County Fair this year.

Soft pretzels were the 4-H challenge recipe contest item this year and Samantha CRAWFORD took first place and Hallie STILL second in this contest.

In the Ringgold county youth pie baking contest, Erin DOLECHECK had the grand champion pie and Megan REASONER the reserve champion pie.

A total of $3,735 was raised for the 4-H fund through the pie auction.

In the exhibit building booth contest, the Maloy Shamrocks placed first, the Ringgold Rockets second and the Twin River Tornadoes third.

In the livestock herdsmanship competition, Crooked Creek took first place, Twin River Tornadoes were second and there was a tie for third between Junior Farmers and the Maloy Shamrocks.

Judges kept busy during the Ringgold County Fair naming the winners in the animal contests over several days of judging. Top winners from the rabbit, poultry, swine, sheep, goat, beef, horse and dog shows were chosen and reasons shared by the judges for their picks. In addition, youth competed in showmanship contests in most of the contests, learning how best to show their animals for judging.

Megan DAVENPORT of the Twin River Tornadoes had the best of show rabbit in the rabbit show at the Ringgold County Fair this year. Other results of the rabbit show are:

Commercial Rabbit Class: Hayley WHITTINGTON, Crooked Creek, champion; Megan REASONER, Tingley Toppers, reserve champion.

California Class: Hayley WHITTINGTON, Crooked Creek, junior buck champion and junior doe champion.

New Zealand Class: Megan REASONER, Tingley Toppers, champion senior buck.

Japanese Harlequin Class: Carter STILL, champion.

Harlequin Class: Reas KNAPP, champion.

Fancy Class: Megan REASONER, Tingley Toppers, champion; Allison NORRIS, Twin River Tornadoes, reserve champion.

Himalayan Class: Megan DAVENPORT, Twin River Tornadoes, champion senior buck and champion senior doe.

Mini-Rex Class: Allison NORRIS, Twin River Tornadoes, champion senior buck and champion senior doe.

Havana Class: Reas KNAPP, champion senior buck and champion senior doe.

Dutch/Mini-Rex Class: Erin SOBOTKA, champion junior buck.

Meat Class: Megan REASONER, Tingley Toppers, champion single fryer and roaster; Hayley WHITTINGTON, Crooked Creek, champion meat pen of three.

Showmanship: Megan REASONER, Tingley Toppers, senior showmanship award; Hayley WHITTINGTON, Crooked Creek, junior shomanship award.

Hagan WILLIS of the Crooked Creek 4-H Club had the champion market hog, Johnathan TRIGGS of the Junior Farmers had the champion commercial gilt and market pen of three in the county fair swine show this year.

Other results from the swine show are:

Tyler TRIGGS, Junior Farmers, reserve champion market hog and reserve champion pen of three.

Erin DOLECHECK, Mount Ayr FFA, reserve champion commercial gilt.

Johnathan TRIGGS, Junior Farmers, champion carcass pig, Erin DOLECHECK, Mount Ayr FFA, reserve champion after processing.

Hagan WILLIS, top carcass swine in the preliminary judging at the fair before the carcasses were assessed and placed third after slaughter.

Other competitors who had market class champions in the market judging included:

Caroline McALEXANDER of the Tingley Toppers, Erin DOLECHECK of the Mount Ayr FFA with two top finishes, and Johnathan TRIGGS of the Junior Farmers. Other competitors who had commercial gilt class champions included Logan WIMER of the Junior Farmers, Samantha SCHAEFER of the Maloy Shamrocks and Johnathan TRIGGS, Junior Farmers, who had two class titles.

Johnathan TRIGGS won two of the titles in the swine show at the Ringgold County Fair this year, with his champion commercial gilt entry and his market swine pen of three winners.

In the market pen of three competition Clay WIMER of the Junior Farmers had the top group in class one. The TRIGGS brothers placed first and second in the second class and in the championship.

In the showmanship classes, Tyler TRIGGS of the Junior Farmers won the senior division, Clay WIMER of the Junior Farmers won the intermediate class and Drew WILLIS of Crooked Creek won the junior showmanship class.

Craven MARTIN of the Junior Farmers had the top market lamb and Addie EBERSOLE of the Tingley Toppers had the top commercial ewe in the Ringgold County Fair sheep show.

Other results from the sheep show are:

Hayley WHITTINGTON, Crooked Creek, top feeder lamb, feeder lamb pair, and champion market lamb pair, reserve champion commercial ewe. The rate of gain title also went to WHITTINGTON.

Addie EBERSOLE, Tingley Toppers, reserve champion market lamb; Craven MARTIN, Junior Farmers, reserve champion market lamb pair; Kody WEEDA, Tingley Toppers, also won honors.

Eric MILLER, Tingley Toppers, senior showmanship; Addie EBERSOLE, Tingley Toppers, junior showmanship.

When the goat show was held at the county fair this year, Sarah REASONER of the Tingley Toppers took top market goat and top dairy goat honors while Hope FLETCHALL of the Junior Farmers took the breeding goat title.

Other results from the goat show are:

Connor GILES, Junior Farmers, market goat pair title; Connor GILES, reserve market champion; Gracie MOBLEY, Maloy Shamrocks, breeding goat reserve title; Megan REASONER, Tingley Toppers, reserve champion dairy goat; Caitlin GILES, Junior Farmers, reserve champion market goat pair.

Megan REASONER, Tingley Toppers, top senior doe between 1 year & 24 months; Sarah REASONER, Tingley Toppers, top senior doe 2 years and older; Sarah REASONER, Tingley Toppers, dairy goat champion.

Sarah REASONER'S goat had a half pound a day weight gain average to earn the rate of gain title.

Sarah REASONER, Tingley Toppers, senior showmanship; Megan REASONER, Tingley Toppers, intermediate showmanship.

  There were entries in the heifer and bull calf classes in the feeder calf show in the 4-H and FFA division this year with Cassidy BECKER of the Twin River Tornadoes placing first in the heifer class and Katelyn HOLMES of the Twin River Tornadoes placing first in the bull calf competition. Other winners were:

Cauy BICKER, Crooked Creek, reserve feeder heifer; Paige DAUGHTON, Junior Farmers, reserve feeder bull; Chole YODER, Junior Farmers, supreme champion breeding beef heifer; Cauy BICKEL, Crooked Creek, breeding beef cow-calf champions and champion commercial heifer; Shelby COMER, Tingley Toppers, bucket calf champion; Trent STEWART, Twin River Tornadoes, reserve champion bucket calf; Cassidy BECKER, Twin Rivers Tornadoes, reserve champion supreme heifer which was also the Angus top pick; Cauy BICKEL, Crooked Creek, champion cow-calf; Cal DAUGHTON, Junior Farmers, reserve champion cow-calf; Haylea ENGLAND, Junior Farmers, reserve champion commercial heifer. Other commercial heifer class winners included Logan WIMER, Junior Farmers, and Abigail BARNES, Ringgold Rockets.

Breed winners were:

Angus: Cassidy BECKER, Twin River Tornadoes, top heifer; Cole MOBLEY, Maloy Shamrocks, reserve heifer; Cauy BICKEL, Crooked Creek, Angus class winner.

Simmental: Megan WARIN, Junior Farmers, champion; Chole YODER, Junior Farmers, reserve champion; Katelyn WARIN, Junior Farmers and Lindsay HAYS, Twin River Tornadoes, other class winners.

Charolis: Wyatt JACKSON, Maloy Shamrocks, champion.

Chiania: Hagan WILLIS, Crooked Creek, champion.

Gelbveih: Jessica McCREARY, Junior Farmers, champion.

High percentage, Maine-Anjou: Taylen ABARR, Ringgold Rockets.

Maintainer: Abbie EBERSOLE, Tingley Toppers.

Red Angus: Hannah JACKSON, Maloy Shamrocks, champion.

Shorthorn Plus: Taylen ABARR, Ringgold Rockets, champion.

Market beef: Cassidy BECKER, Twin Rivers Tornadoes, grand champion market beef which was also the champion rate of gain steer for the cattle show, rate of gain 3.005 pounds per day; Abigail BARNES, Ringgold Rockets, reserve champion.

Market heifer class: Page LYNCH.

Other market steer class winners were Levi MARTIN of the Junior Farmers and Kirsten DOLECHECK of the Maloy Shamrocks.

Taylen ABBAR won the senior showmanship honor with Haylea ENGLAND winning the intermediate showmanship honor and Drew WILLIS taking the junior showmanship honor.

An open class feeder calf show was held as part of the Ringgold County Fair Saturday.

The champion feeder heifer was shown by Cauy BICKEL and Tyler BECKER showed the reserve champion.

The champion feeder steer division was swept by Hoakison Show Cattle with both champion and reserve champion titles.

In the feeder bull division, Russell HOLMES placed first and Katelyn HOLMES was second.

Results were told from the Pee Wee Wrangler contest at the fair where youngsters get their first chance to show a calf in the showring. They dress themselves and their calf up for the contest, which is always a crowd pleaser.

Top pee wee wrangler this year was Collin DREDGE. Brice SHAHA won the prize for the best costume.

Logan WIMER took home the championship honors from the horse halter show. Reserve champion went to Caitlyn McLEAD of the Tingley Toppers.

Other winners were:

Abby ADAMS, Mount Ayr FFA, top light horse in the three to 14-year-old class; Logan WIMER, top light horse in the 15 year and older; Logan WIMER, second place in the younger horse class; Caitlyn McLEAD, second place in the older horse halter class.

Logan WIMER, senior showmanship title; Caitleyn McLEAD, junior showmanship title.

Caitlyn McLEAD of the Tingley Toppers took wins in four performance classes and Logan WIMER of the Junior Farmers had three wins in the horse performance classes at the fair.

Also picking up wins were:

Addie EBERSOLE, Tingley Toppers and Emma MOBLEY, Maloy Shamrocks.

Western Horsemanship Class: 1. Caitlyn McLEAD and her horse Dasher; Emma MOBLEY of Maloy Shamrocks with her horse Scooter.

Western Pleasure, light horse: 1. Addie EBERSOLE and her horse Ozzy; 2. Abbey ADAMS, Mount Ayr FFA.

Reining Class: 1. Caitlyn McLEAD and her horse Dasher; Chania VOS with her horse Star.

Senior Barrel Racing: 1. Logan WIMER and her horse Chick; Abbey ADAMS of Mount Ayr FFA and her horse Page.

Junior Barrel Racing: 1. Caitlyn McLEAD and her horse Sugar; Bailey ANDERSON of Ringgold Rockets with her horse Tuffy.

Senior Pole Bending: 1. Logan WIMER and her horse Chick; Abbey ADAMS of Mount Ayr FFA and her horse Page.

Junior Pole Bending: 1. Caitlyn McLEAD and her horse Sugar; Lucas WURSTER of Maloy Shamrocks with his horse TC.

Senior Trail Class: 1. Logan WIMER and her horse Hank

Junior Trail Class: 1. Emma MOBLEY and her horse Ajax; Addie EBERSOLE with her horse Ozzy.

Caitlyn McLEAD, Lew KNAPP, Erin DOLECHECK, Megan REASONER and Kaitlyn McLEAD had the top entries in the poultry show at the fair this year.

McLEAD, a member of the Maloy Shamrocks, had the fryer champion and also had the fancy and rare birds champion with a Silky.

KNAPP, also of the Maloy Shamrocks, had the broiler champion.

DOLECHECK topped the pen of five class while REASONER had the top other poultry market and other poultry production champions.

Reserve champions included Lew KNAPP in the pen of five, Sarah REASONER in the other poultry market class and Megan REASONER in the fancy and rare bird class with a Pomerian Goose.

When showmanship honors were handed out, Erin DOLECHECK was senior showman, Lew KNAPP was intermediate showman and Caitlyn McLEAD was junior showman.

Dylan McALEXANDER of the Tingley Toppers had the dog grooming champion and the parlor tricks categories as well as getting first in a pre-novice class with his dog Macat the 4-H dog show this year.

Jordan McALEXANDER of the Tingley Toppers picked up a pre-novice class win with his dog Patch, which also won reserve honors in the grooming, showmanship and parlor tricks classes.

Jordan McALEXANDER was named the top junior showman.

A new Ringgold County Cowgirl Queen and Junior Cowgirl Queen were named at the fair this year.

Junior Queen was Addie EBERSOLE of Ringgold county and Alexandra EISCHEID of Taylor county was the new Cowgirl Queen.

The contest was open to residents of Ringgold, Decatur and Taylor counties or Ringgold County Saddle Club members. There is also Iowa State Fair competition to which the girls can advance.

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, July 26, 2012

Complete results from the Bill Riley Talent Show included: Sprout division -- 1. Jurnee HARVEY, Corning, acrobatic dance,"Walking On Sunshine"; 2. Riley FLEHARTY, Corning, tap dance solo, “Put Your Graffiti On Me"; 3. Ryann MARTIN of Mount Ayr and Sophie GRANTHAM of Creston, clogging duet, "Single Ladies."

HARVEY and FLEHARTY had already qualified for the state fair so the MARTIN-GRANTHAM duo qualified from Ringgold county.

Senior division -- 1. Haylea ENGLAND, Mount Ayr, clogging solo, "Watch Me Shake It Up"; 2. Kaelliegh BELLENTINE and Sarah HENRICHS, Afton, clogging duet, "Let's Get Loud"; 3. Alicia HARVEY, Corning, dance solo, “Turn to Stone."

Winners were named in several divisions of the Ringgold County Fair baby contest Saturday morning. A good crowd was on hand to see the babies be judged.

Results from the 0-5 months and 6-12 month classes are available this week.

The 13-18 month winners will be shared next week.

In the up to five month old category, top placers included: Boys personality -- 1. Tyler JAY.

Girls personality -- 1. Darsey Jo DREDGE, 2. Sophia FIFER.

Most hair -- Ellison ADAMS. Least hair -- Tyler JAY.

Pride in our past, faith in our future -- 1. Darsey DREDGE, 2. Sophia FIFER.

Winners in the 6 to 12 month class included: Boys personality-- 1. Braxton McALEXANDEr, 2. Easton CREVELING Girls personality -- 1. Kaydn BOLINGER; 2. Kerigann HENSON. Most teeth -- 1. Dallas NEWTON. Least teeth -- 1. Lilly ELKEN. Pride in our past, faith in our future -- 1. Emma Leigh CREVELING, 2. Bryant MARTIN.

Winners in the 13-18 month classes were not available.

Baby contest winners in the 0-5 month contest include Tyler JAY, Darsey Jo DREDGE, Sophia FIFER and the Ellison ADAMS.

Winners of the 6- to 12 month classes included Braxton McALEXANDER, Kaydyn BOLINGER, Kerigann HENSON, Dallas NEWTON, Emma Leigh CREVELING and Bryant MARTIN.

Photographs courtesy of Mount Ayr Record News

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, July of 2012