Young 4-H’er puts her faith in the best
Courtney Spencer works with one of her lambs at her home in Prewitt on Monday afternoon. This will be Spencer's fourth year showing at the Bi-County Fair. — © 2008 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

PREWITT — Courtney Spencer has a virtual plethora of animals. The 13-year-old, from Prewitt, plans to enter several in the Cibola-McKinley Bi-County Fair Labor Day weekend. Her two steers, Douglas and Franklin, head up her herd of animals.

“I am taking my best to the Bi-County Fair to win,” she said.

Some of the other 12 animals, including lambs and pigs, will be taken to the Bi-County Fair as well and then others to the state fair a week later.

She has been involved in 4-H since the age of 7, she said. As a member of the Trailblazers 4-H Club, she said she likes the activities that 4-H offers.

The fair opens Aug. 29 and runs through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 1, this year; admission is free.

“I like it when I win because I get money at the sale,” she said.

Club members whose animals win are sold at an auction.
“It (4-H) is a fun thing to do, you meet a lot of new people and doing it is really fun,” she said. “It gives me something to do, to not just sit and watch TV.”

She said working with the animals is enjoyable, especially teaching the lambs how to push against her when she shows them in the show ring for the fair livestock judge.

Spencer works an hour in the morning, feeding and watering the animals and more than that in the afternoon after school.

“Sometimes my dad works with me with the pigs, but basically, I just let them be in the pasture and run around,” Spencer said. “You really can’t train pigs to be shown in a ring.”

“I really like Courtney being involved in 4-H,” said her mother, Lynda Spencer.

“It is hands on learning, not just from a book. It is projects learning, Courtney has to go every day and feed and water the animals, it is a good family activity,” she said.

Courtney is also learning about money and math, her mother said.

“She has to take the money she earns from selling the animals and do a budget. She has to figure out what it costs to feed the animals for the next year, how much it will cost to buy new animals for the fairs and how much she can save for college,” she said.

“I am definitely learning how to be responsible and dependable by taking care of these animals,” Courtney said.

Fair information: (505) 863-3432.
On the Net: http://bi-countyfair.com/