Missouri County and District Fair Association. 325 



so we make six regular rings out of this one sweepstake ring, 

 with the first premium colt in sweepstakes barred. We do the 

 same in the draft and mule colt rings. By this plan we have a 

 very large ring of colts — had twenty-six entries in this ring 

 last year. 



We have for the last two years had what we call a grange 

 exhibit. Our county has fourteen granges, and the first year we 

 had six entries. Last year we had eight and this year we hope 

 to have ten or twelve. You understand the grangers are mostly 

 all farmers, and getting these men interested bids fair to be and 

 is one of our greatest features. We give a $300 premium for 

 this exhibit, divided into eight moneys. 



We are adding to our premium list this year a premium for 

 a calf fed by a boy or girl under 18 years, and we hope to make 

 this one of our best rings. We are giving $100 for this, divided 

 into five premiums. Our contention is and has always been 

 that no county fair can live and have good races and good show 

 rings, too. One of the other will die out, or perhaps both will. 



We have a fifth of a mile track, and when one sees our har- 

 ness and roadster rings shown you will not hear on every hand 

 that a certain horse would have won "but the driver held'him." 

 The horses on our track go for "blood," no pulling. Most every 

 one would rather see a slow race on the square than a fast, 

 "fixed" one. I don't want to be understood as meaning that all 

 good races are fixed and none "on the square," but there is 

 always more or less talk. Our idea is, either have races and no 

 show rings or have a genuine county fair and no races. 



As I said in the beginning, we are off the railroad, yet we 

 have quite a lot of cattle, hogs and sheep from a distance. We 

 haul all hogs and sheep to and from our fair and all cattle sup- 

 plies free. 



To give you an idea of our "pumpkin show," as it is termed, 

 I will tell you a little about a few of our rings. We have, had as 

 many as 26 harness colts, 16 buggy mares or geldings, 14 mule 

 colts, 12 draft colts and 8 herds of cattle in their respective rings. 

 We have also had 167 hogs and 70 sheep on our grounds at one 

 fair. 



We think that to have a county fair, as I said before, you 

 must have stock. Therefore get the stockmen interested, see 

 that they are comfortably located and try to make them feel at 

 home. Make your premiums large enough that if the exhibitor 

 wins a few premiums he can pay his expenses and take a little 



