By Evie Olding
For the Sidney Daily News

SIDNEY — The Shelby County Fair hosted its annual Pig, Calf and Sheep scramble on Friday.

“This is the 14th year,” auctioneer Justin Vondenhuevel said. “It used to be that whatever animal you caught, you would show the following year.”

Though the event is called the Pig, Calf and Sheep scramble, the chicken scramble kicked off the event featuring three heats. The participants of this scramble consisted of children aged 3 to 5 years old. Each child who successfully caught a chicken and returned it to the designated circle would earn a $2 bill.

Following the chicken scramble was the pig scramble also featuring three heats. The participants of this event ranged from 8 to 11 years old. For safety precautions, contestants participating in this scramble were wearing football helmets. The winner for the first heat was Emma Schultze who won $100 and Emma Bensman who won $50.

“The pigs were really fast,” Ohio Trail Riders member Remi Jones said. “It was really hard to catch one and hold up that big old helmet.”

The next scramble, the sheep scramble, provided an opportunity not only to win money but also to gain valuable practice. The participants for this scramble were the Shelby County Junior Fair members, FFA and 4-H club members. The main point of this scramble is for the Shelby County Junior Fair kids to properly place the holder on the animal and be able to maintain it.

Ohio Trail Riders member, Raelynn Jones, commented on her experience during the sheep scramble.

“My experience was scary at first,” Jones said. “But it was such an amazing and exciting experience to do. You have so many people cheering you on and just getting to run around like an idiot and chase an animal was fun.”

Concluding the event was the calf scramble which featured three heats. Each heat included three steer calves and approximately seven or eight 4-H club members or FFA members. This event brought the day’s activities to a close.

Saturday marked the end of the 164th Shelby County Fair. Shelby County residents can look forward to next year’s event, which will celebrate the 165th Shelby County Fair. Among the new additions will be an alumni division added to the Pig, Calf and Sheep scramble.