Competitors and their critters descend on Youth Fair

The Southeastern Youth Fair opened on Sunday with the dog agility competition. This year, it was held for the first time in the main arena.

The good news: The arena's roof kept Sunday's sometimes torrential rain off the competitors. The bad new: The smells left behind from two days of rodeo distracted some of the dogs.

Chase Calder's dog, Blue, could not focus and at one point jumped over the course's fence, eliciting a chorus of 'oohs' from the crowd.

Elizabeth Bazemore's dog, Misty, wandered away from the ramp she had to scale and instead relieved herself.

'There was a lot of cows out here, but it was my fault because I didn't walk her before,' said Elizabeth, who has worked with Misty for five years, ever since the dog was a puppy.

The 13-year-old homeschooler also competes in other dog agility events throughout the year.

'When she wants to she does a really great job,' she said of Misty, who rested by Elizabeth's feet oblivious of her faux pas.

Chase, 15, was also surprised by his dog's performance.

'That's really unusual for him. I think all the dogs were a little off,' said Chase, who attends Souls Harbor Christian Academy in Belleview.

Chase practices at least once a week with Blue. The pair have been at it for seven years. In fact most competitors start working with their dogs as puppies.

'We got her when she was eight-weeks-old and we started a week after that,' said Amanda Velez of her Australian cattle dog Tagalong.

Amanda, 14, and Tagalong, 6, also compete in other events, but the youth fair is one of her favorites.

'It would be nice to place first, but we're coming here to have fun and do our best. I've been doing it since I was six. I love it,' said Amanda, who attends Howard Middle School.

Brianna Fryer, 14, who also competes with her dog Jazzy at other dog agility events, agrees the youth fair is special.

'I love it. It's a really nice environment where you can relax more and it not all about competition. It's more about having fun,' said Brianna, who is also home schooled.

Besides the dog agility competition, the fair featured the beef heifer show.

The heifers are prospective brood cows and are not for sale. The students get them in September and raise them until they are shown at the fair. The heifers were pretty wild at first. Part of the project is to break the animal so it can be led on a halter.

'We had to get her used to having the halter on and then we pull on it until she figured out she has to follow,' Lindsey Hames, 18, a senior at The Villages Charter School.

On Sunday, Lindsey's heifer was getting a blowout just before she was set to enter the ring.

'It dries the hair and it makes it more fluffy,' she said. 'It's pretty common.'

Most competitors also carried combs to knock down or puff up stray patches of cow hair.

This is the second and final year Lindsey will compete in the fair.

'My grandfather was a farmer and my family is all interested in agriculture. It's been exhausting, but it's fun to see how they grow up,' she said.

Today, the fair features a tractor driving competition, barbecue contest and the steer show.