Organizers gearing up for county fair

The Washington County Fair is less than a week away, which means hundreds of anxious 4-H and FFA exhibitors are putting the final touches and, hopefully, pounds on their market animal livestock projects.
 They all are hoping that their animals gained well and that they behave themselves and perform well in both the showmanship and quality rings, potentially garnering them the coveted grand champion or reserve grand champion honors.  
 As in every competitive venue, not everyone can win, so a blue ribbon, proving that the project was completed in the manner that it was intended, will help these hard-working kids fetch a good price at the livestock sale on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021.
 Washington County is truly blessed with some extraordinary livestock exhibitors, but moreover, and probably more importantly, Washington County is filled with hundreds of extraordinary youth.  
 One such youngster is 13-year-old, Wesley Barton, son of Ryan and Heather Barton, and brother to 12-year-old Blake Barton of Midvale.  
 Wes, an eighth-grader at Midvale School, has participated in 4-H for seven years of his relatively short life.
 If you were to stand in the center of the Washington County Fairgrounds during the fair, you could toss a stick and surely hit numerous young people that are polite, kind, respectful, and possess a laundry list of qualities making them fine examples for what we want for our future. Wes is one of those kids.  
 He possesses all the aforementioned qualities, but other qualities that come to mind when describing Wes are determination, dedication, hard-working and positive.  
 Wes is your typical 13-year-old young man in that he enjoys hunting, fishing, riding his 4-wheeler, hanging out with his friends, and fixing vehicles.  
 He even states that he likes everything about school.  
 However, Wes was given a unique set of challenges in doing these things, as he has Muscular Dystrophy (MD), and his mobility is assisted by an electric power chair.  
 If you just had a brief moment of pity at the last sentence…DON’T.  
 Wes doesn’t have any pity for himself, and he manages to accomplish all the things that he loves to do. He just sometimes is required to devote more time and effort in figuring out how to get the job done.
 Wes has had MD his whole life but was officially diagnosed when he was six-years-old. “I am missing components in my DNA make-up,” said Wes, explaining MD. “My muscles do not repair after being torn. It is much harder to do things because I don’t have the strength to pick up things or pull things.”
 Wes shows a market lamb at the Washington County Fair and part of exhibiting the lamb to the judge is bracing the lamb, which means the lamb pushes its chest into the exhibitor’s thigh and stretches out its back and back legs to accentuate the muscle tone of the lamb.  
 This technique takes practice to train the animal to set-up and stand correctly and trust their human counterpart. Lamb projects last for a minimum of 74 days, so in that short time-period, sheep exhibitors must work hard and consistently if they plan to make a good showing in showmanship.  
 Wes obviously is required do a bit of extra work to teach his lamb how to brace because his method has to include his power chair, and therefore teaching the lamb that the power chair isn’t scary.  
 Wes starts out slow and works to just make the lamb feel safe.  
 “Animals seem to like me and my chair,” he said.
 Wes begins by petting the lamb to let it know he is friendly. Wes gives a lot of credit to his mom, Heather, because in the beginning she helps him because his limited strength prevents him from being able to hold on to the lamb if it gets scared and tries to run away.  
 Once the lamb feels comfortable with Wes and the chair, to accomplish the brace, he teaches his lamb to step up on the foot pedals of the chair with its front feet.  
 Once they begin to learn that this position is safe, he begins to brace the lamb’s chest into his thigh. Thus, flexing the lamb’s muscles for the judge.  When the lamb has the hang of the brace, Wes leads it with one hand and drives his power chair backwards with the other hand, showing him off to the judge on the move.  
 Wes takes full care of his market project and tries to work with him a minimum of three days a week.  
 The 2021 Washington County Fair will be his third year participating in the market lamb project in Cambridge, and he states that his main goal for this year is “to do well in showmanship.” Wes has also shown market goats and a Bantam rooster before his family moved to Idaho.
 When asked to name three things that he would love to do if money wasn’t an issue, Wes in his humorous manner, yet also practical response was: “Have a fully loaded 4x4 van (handicap accessible), have his own private tropical island with a resort, and have an underground garage with lots of exotic fancy cars.”  
 However, on a more serious note, Wes was asked how he remains so friendly and cheerful all the time. He replied first with an appreciative “thank you,” but added, “I try not to think negative about things. That way I am happy!”  
 We could all learn from such a simple, yet profound declaration.
 Wes is looking forward to the fair this year to show his lamb, Timmy, but also to meet new friends, which is one of the things he enjoys most about 4-H.  
 If you want to meet new friends, too, or just witness the culmination of months of hard work by hundreds of Washington County 4-H and FFA members, make plans to attend the Washington County Fair in Cambridge from August 2-7.  
 It is a week packed full of fun, smiles, and ribbons, and the more the merrier!  
Check out Wes’s market lamb and his brother, Blake’s steer and take a stroll through the livestock barn, the swine and small animal barns, the exhibit hall, and be sure to grab a burger from the 4-H or Midvale FFA food booths or a snow cone while you’re there.  
 If the exhibits and the burgers aren’t enough, the Cambridge Rodeo is Friday and Saturday evenings and the Market Livestock Sale is on Saturday, Aug. 7, starting at 1 pm.  
 Let Washington County kids show you their “Country Pride…County Wide!”