Entering an animal in the Allen County Fair requires an extended commitment after first acquiring, and then feeding and working with everything from steers to roosters for months in advance of Fair Week.
For siblings Raveyn and Kyron Kegler, that work includes an extended daily commitment.
The Allen County natives moved with their family to Fort Scott prior to the 2021-22 school year.
That means traveling roughly 30 minutes each time they want to work with their animals, which are kept on the farm of their grandparents, Bob and Vicki Rhodes, north of Moran.
“It’s a bit more of a commitment because it’s a little bit farther, but that’s OK,” said Raveyn, 16. “We usually stay the night here so we can work with them when it’s cooler, in the morning or in the evening.”
Raveyn, who will be a junior this fall at Fort Scott High School, will enter a market steer, breeding gilt and dairy goats. Eleven-year-old Kyron, entering sixth grade at Fort Scott, will show a steer, a bucket calf, dairy goats and a pig.
For both, it’s their first time working with steers, a welcome experience.
“My steer’s a lot bigger than the other animals, but kind of gentle,” she said. “I like him.”
Her steer, Chase, weighed in at 950 lbs. earlier this year. She’s not sure how much Chase has grown since then.
Likewise, Kyron enjoys working with his steer, Bucky, more than the other animals.
“I just like beef better,” he said.
The animals have stayed healthy through the summer’s brutal heat wave.
“But they don’t like it, especially the pigs,” Raveyn said. “We try to not work with them when it’s hot out. And we’ll wet down our pigs throughout the day.”
FOR EACH, entering animals in the fair also involves battling a case of the nerves.
“I’ve always gotten nervous, even though I’ve been doing it for a while,” Raveyn said. “It’s the same thing with sports. I get nervous for anything I’m about to do.”
