Count Down to County Fair: From birds to beef and everything in between, the county’s kids have worked hard all year to show their animals at fair

Viva Las Fair! Converse County Fair is just a couple of days away, folks, so get ready for an incredible amount of action and entertainment packed into a just over a week.

Converse County Fair Manager Kelsey Stephens said County Fair is gearing up for a week absolutely packed with activities for all ages. And, with events slated to begin Friday and not end until July 18, the county fair will be a bit longer than in previous years and will include fun in the Glenrock area, too.

JULY 11
There’s an FFA and 4-H Horse Show this year, which is new to the lineup. It will be held in Glenrock at the South Rec arena at 8 a.m. on Friday, July 11, and the inclusion of Glenrock as a venue is an excellent  choice.
“(The horse show) begins with halter showmanship and riding classes, and then that continues until Saturday with working cow horse sorting barrels and pole. It’s pretty awesome that we’re getting to go all over Converse County and have an event in Glenrock as well as Douglas,” Stephens said.

JULY 12
Later on Saturday is the Youth Horse Show at the Ford Grandstands Arena, beginning at 5 p.m.
“The youth rodeo is where the young cowboys and cowgirls get to show us all of their skills. That’s always a fun event to go watch, to see the kids put their all into it. There’s tiny peewee-sized kids to the older kids, and there’s a lot of rodeo action,” she said.

JULY 13
On Sunday, July 13 the Ft. Steel building on the fairgrounds opens up for people to drop off their static exhibit entries.
“Something new this year that we’re doing is what we’re calling the Member Showcase Sale Silent Auction. Those exhibitors that have a really neat project that they want to sell, this is for them. Throughout the week of county fair we are going to have a silent auction open, and people can bid on things like halters, big prints of pictures, paintings, welding projects – there’s gonna be all sorts of things to bid on. So, that silent auction starts on Tuesday and then it closes with the Junior Market Sale on Friday,” she noted.

JULY 14

FFA and 4-H competitors will be setting up pens in the barn early Monday morning, July 14, before the action begins at 8 a.m. with the fair’s Youth Dog Show at the Grassy Trail arena, then the Youth Cat Show at 11 a.m. in the same location. Youth static interviews will take place from 1-3 p.m. at Ft. Steele, followed by the fashion revue, also in Ft. Steele at 5 p.m. The evening brings a big bang for your $10 admission: PRCA Xtreme Broncs will buck for your pleasure at 7 p.m. in the Ford Grandstands arena. There will be a beer garden available along with food trucks providing some really great eats.“We are really excited about the Xtreme Broncs! That is such a cool performance,” Stephens said. “It really is a good show to come catch with your entire family –  it’s so entertaining! Everything is family affordable, too.”

JULY 15

The barn is open for arriving livestock from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., followed by weigh-ins and ultrasounds at 10 a.m. The Static Hall is open in the Ft. Steele building from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Guess what starts at 5 p.m.? Why, it is Converse County Fair’s Family Fun Night, full of kids games, mutton bustin’, chute doggin’, pig wrestling and more! This is one of the most popular evenings, thanks to the wild riding skills of little ones on sheep-back, and the squeals of the piggies and laughter heard throughout the grounds as youth teams attempt to get that wriggling pig into the barrel in the shortest amount of time possible.

“The mutton busting entries are closed, but we are still taking teams for the pig wrestling competition right there at the gate as you come in.“And, Memorial Hospital of Converse County is providing a free barbecue dinner and hosting a ‘Touch a Truck’ event, so it’s a night filled with free fun for the entire family! We also have a food truck there and a beer garden. You can come and enjoy the whole thing and not have to pay a dime, which is awesome,” Stephens said. “We’re pretty excited – those kids mutton bustin’, it’s extremely entertaining.”

JULY 16

Wednesday kicks off with Converse County Bank’s free Pancake Breakfast (7 a.m. to 9 a.m.), followed by the Youth Goat Show at 9 a.m. and then the Youth Sheep Show at 11 a.m. Next up is the Open Sheep Show at 1 p.m. All of these shows are in the Ford Pavilion.

“What the Open Sheep Show is, is a pen of three and for anybody in Converse County, so if you have breeding sheep and you want to come show them off, we are giving away a buckle and money to the winner, and bragging rights . . .  We’re trying to get everybody of all ages involved in fair.”

At 2 p.m. the Youth Rabbit Show begins, also in the Ford Pavilion. The Static Hall opens to view projects from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., again in the Ft. Steele building.

One of the absolutely delightful events of the week is the Pee-Wee Pet Show at 5 p.m., back in the Ford Pavilion. Seeing the proud little pet owners showing off their critters is memorable, to say the least.

“We’ve seen them all, everything from cows to hamsters,” Stephens said.

JULY 17

The Converse County Cow Belles start Thursday off with the Belles Show at 9 a.m. in the grassy show ring. The Youth Beef Breeding Show follows at 10 a.m., and the Cow/Calf Pair Open Show takes place in the outdoor beef pens at 11 .m.

Stephens said Thursday is all about beef and poultry.

“New this year to the Converse County Fair is the Commercial Heifer and Wyoming Rancher Pasture to Pen Individual Yearling Heifer Show (11:30 a.m. in the outdoor beef pens). That’s open to everyone of all ages for our ranchers that want to get involved. That’s an open show so that’s cool! I’m excited to see what that has to bring.”

Continuing the day’s lineup, at 1 p.m. in the Ford Pavilion, be sure to check out the Youth Poultry Show – you may just be surprised by some of the birds you see! The Static Hall opens once again from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The Youth Market Beef Show is at 4 p.m. in the Grassy Show Ring.

“The youth market beef show finishes out the day. This  is one of our bigger shows and it’s a pretty fun one to come see the kids and all the beef. The bar is open until 9 p.m. at night, so even if you don’t catch a show, come down and see all the animals that the kids bring – cause there’s a lot of awesome kids and animals to see,” she said.

JULY 18

Friday is bid day all around. At 8 a.m. the Large Animal Round Robin takes place in the Ford Pavilion, with the Small Animal Round Robin starting at 10 a.m. in the same location.

The Pre-Sale Awards and Junior Market Livestock Sale, and the last chance to bid on the silent auction items previously mentioned, is at 4 p.m. also at the Ford Pavilion. Immediately following the Market Sale is the Buyers’ Dinner, as well as live music.

“Friday, we have the fair’s biggest event and that’s the junior market livestock sale. We have a buyers appreciation dinner after the sale with live music for the public to enjoy. There’s a big dance so that’s a lot of fun! During the junior market livestock sale we’re also going to have that silent auction so you can get your final bids in on any of those projects,” Stephens said.

JULY 19

Saturday all the animals go home and the barn gets cleaned – which makes it sound like all the fun is over for county fair, but that’s far from the truth.

Stephens explained that the evening’s excitement starts at 4 p.m.

“It’s mutton bustin’ for the ranch rodeo at 4 p.m. We have a Calcutta (5 p.m.), you can come bid on all your ranch rodeo teams. The rodeo starts at 6 p.m. There will also be mini bull riding and Ranch Bronc Riding going on – that mini bull riding is pretty impressive! Those kiddos who get on the mini bulls are tough, you know, the minis buck just as hard as those big bulls. There’s some good riders that come out that are impressive.”

From mutton bustin’ to the Calcutta to Ranch Bronc Riding and Ranch Rodeo, you won’t want to miss a second of the non-stop, over in the blink of an eye action. All of these event take place Saturday night at the Ford Grandstand arena.

Ranch Rodeo is $10 to get in for adults, and free for kids ages 12 and under.