Donated lamb steals show

The animal that brought the highest bid Saturday night during the Junior Livestock Sale - the traditional highlight of the Quay County Fair - wasn't even listed on the auction bill.

After all 47 listed animals had been sold, auctioneer Tony Johnson announced a lamb donated by Dowell Show Lambs of Tucumcari and shown by Hallie Garnett of Logan would be sold and proceeds given to Norton teen Gracie Whitson, who was seriously injured last month in a horse-riding accident and still is recovering in an Albuquerque hospital. Whitson showed cattle and goats at previous editions of the fair.

After gasps from hundreds of people as they comprehended the announcement, the bids came fast and furious. Citizens Bank submitted the high bid of $8,500 - more than $3,000 higher that the previous high bid that night. More bids came in - $1,500 from Marshall Ranch, $1,000 from the San Jon Buyers Club and state Sen. Pat Woods, $500 from the Cattlemen's Club, Crestone Ranch and Singleton Ranch and another $1,500 from an anonymous donor.

Minutes after the auction, the total for Whitson had reached $15,570.

"It just shows how the ag community and the community in Quay County will come together and help their own," said Justin Knight, president of the Quay County Fair Board. "It was an amazing thing to see."

Dallas Dowell, co-owner of Dowell Show Lambs, said he was approached about 10 days ago by Reisha Baker, who knows the Whitson family, with the idea of donating a lamb for the recent San Jon High School graduate.

"I was proud to get to do it," Dowell said, who noted the girl's parents, Wade and Becky Whitson, had been longtime supporters of the fair.

Gracie Whitson's horse landed on her after she fell from the animal on her family's ranch last month, knocking her unconscious. Her brain injury was so severe, she required a ventilator at one point. After several medical procedures and other treatment, in recent days she began to talk in short sentences and is walking short distances with a walker, according to an online journal written by her mother at caringbridge.org.

Citizens Bank will take ownership of the lamb after it and Hallie, a champion in the Shepherd's Lead event at the fair, compete at the New Mexico State Fair.

The rest of the auction

The rest of the animals sold during the Junior Livestock Sale on Saturday brought a preliminary total of $109,700, down from $131,000 last year.

Knight noted the sum fell partly because the number of animals at the sale was down about two or three.

Joanie Vance's steer brought the second-highest bid of the night of $5,100 from the Mesquite Buyers Club.

Morgan Bacerra had the top bid for goats at $4,000. The top hog was Kyle Hamilton's, at $2,900. Jonathan Clark earned a sale-best $2,700 for his lamb. Rilee Nials' grand-champion chicken landed a top bid of $2,000. Tanlea Fair's grand-champion rabbit earned $1,500.

No animal in the sale earned less than $1,200.

One-Stop Feed of Clovis added $50 to the bid of each animal sold at the auction.

The rest of the fair

The grand and reserve champions at the Quay County Fair livestock competitions:

• Swine: Micah Lightfoot, grand champion; Mackenzie Lightfoot, reserve champion.

• Goats: Amber Rivera, grand champion; Kendal Smith, reserve champion.

• Lambs: Garrett Bollinger, grand champion; Micah Lightfoot, reserve champion.

• Steers: Addie Lafferty, grand champion; Kendal Smith, reserve champion.

• Heifers: Joanie Vance, grand champion; Kyle Knight, reserve champion.

• Broiler chickens: Nick Black, grand champion; Tanlea Fair, reserve champion.

• Egglayers: Rilee Nials, grand champion; Brittney Benton, reserve champion.

• Meat pen rabbits: Elizabeth Kanapilly, grand champion; Brittney Benton, reserve champion.

• Baker rabbit: Tanlea Fair, grand champion; Elizabeth Kanapilly, reserve champion.

The fair saw a drop-off in the number of animals shown compared to 2018. The number of hogs fell from 65 to 38; lambs, from 33 to 25; steers from 18 to eight; and goats from 75 to 57. Heifers saw an increase, from 11 to 13.

Jason Lamb, agriculture agent at the Quay County Extension Service, attributed the drop to eight families who moved out of the area in the past year. Knight agreed.

"We did have some that moved that do have ranches in Quay County and neighboring counties, and they've chosen to show at other counties," Knight said.

Lamb said the quality of livestock at the fair was good, especially the sheep show.

"We have the highest quality livestock in the whole state," Lamb said, noting Quay County exhibitors often perform well at the state fair.

The number of rabbits at the fair rose from 46 to 69, a bounceback from an enteritis outbreak that depressed numbers in 2018.

The number of poultry fell from 269 to 191.

Relissa Nials, one of the fair board members whose efforts have boosted participation in rabbits and poultry, said hot weather in the weeks leading up to and during the fair dropped the number of foul at the fairgrounds.

"It's rough on chickens with those 100-degree days," she said. "It hurts the animals' quality and survivability."

Elsewhere

In the exhibit hall, Linda Mageske of Tucumcari won the Home Arts Sweepstakes award for earning the most points from entering and/or winning in various categories. She entered in 61 contests, mostly in sewing and crafts.

When asked how she found the time to enter so many contests at the fair, she responded: "You start in September. I've already started on next year."

Despite near-record heat, weather proved more favorable for the fair. In 2018, daily rain forced the cancellation of the horse show and prompted organizers of the livestock sale to keep many animals in the barn for fear the thunder, lightning and hail would cause a safety problem.

"It was warm, but it's August," Knight said of this year's fair. "We didn't have the rains we did last year. We would have taken some showers, for sure."

Sun Valley Rides, the fair's carnival contractor, took a bath financially last year when a hefty thunderstorm washed out Saturday night.

This year, Sun Valley Rides ticket box manager Brittani Mattfeldt said sales were up 20 to 30% compared to the previous year, with a healthy increase of presales, as well.

She said she was happy not to have last year's severe weather again, but added: "I wish it would have rained a little."