Some years you win it all at the county fair. And other times, nothing goes right.
The Springer family is experiencing the unfortunate end of that equation at this year’s fair, after losing several of their animals in an overnight flood in April.
Their run of bad luck goes even further. Along with the scramble to find new animals for their livestock projects, Rohan, age 16, sprained his finger, which limited his ability to compete in some contests. And as fair week began, Moira, 11, came down sick, preventing her from showing her horse and pigs. She was hoping to improve in time for Friday’s goat show.
“I told them, some summers it just isn’t meant to be. This year, it’s not happening quite the way we want. Unfortunately, that’s just the way it goes,” mom Katrina Springer said Thursday.
ABOUT 6 inches of rain fell in wee hours between April 28 and 29. The Neosho River, Deer Creek and Elm Creek rose rapidly, inundating the Springer’s farm on the southeastern outskirts of Iola.
A family friend called early Sunday morning alerting them of the fast-rising water. By the time they arrived, it was too late. Eight of the family’s nine goats — including four kids — and 25 chicks drowned. Some of the chickens flew into the rafters to avoid the high water. A rescue crew found one goat and a miniature donkey lodged against a fence by rushing water — but alive.
Their horses were tall enough to avoid drowning.
Their pigs were forced to swim for hours until they were pulled into a boat. But just last Sunday, one of them died.
Springer believes it likley suffered some sort of infection or pneumonia from the ordeal and couldn’t recover.
Days before the flood, the family had taken their goats to be weighed for the fair. It’s an annual part of the fair and all went as expected.
Typically, the Springers keep the females to breed and sell the males. Female goats often have twins. This year, they welcomed a set of twins and two single-birth baby goats. 
Moira named the twins Beyonce and Jay-Z after the iconic music couple. Beyonce needed a little help, so Moira brought her inside and used a blow dryer to keep the baby warm. She bottlefed her multiple times each day, developing a particularly close bond with the baby goat. Because Beyonce was a female, Moira expected she’d have years ahead with the animal.
Moira, especially, was devastated by the loss of the farm animals.
“It affected each of the children differently,” Springer said.
As the oldest, Rohan has experienced his share of loss. On his 8th birthday, his favorite chicken, a golden pullet, was attacked and killed by an animal.
