Local students find success at county free fair

The 2021 Stephens County Free Fair is now in the books with several Comanche area students doing well in the livestock portion of the fair.

Emaleigh Parks, a sophomore at Comanche High School, had a highly successful fair with her cattle, bringing home a grand champion, reserve grand champion and a senior showmanship award to top it off.

“I was kind of (surprised) because there were some other cattle there that had more hair than my cattle,” Parks said. “And because of that, I figured they just looked prettier, but cattle lose their hair in the summer and I guess the judges knew that. So, I was pretty happy with the outcome.”

Parks, the daughter of Justin and Dede Parks, won a grand champion award last March at the county show, but this was her first time winning at the free fair, something she has been competing in for the past eight years.

Her Angus bull won grand champion and her Red Angus Heifer won Breed Champion and Reserve Grand Champion.

She worked with her cattle for about three months before showing them at the free fair.

“(The judges) said they were very clean-fronted and just had that show ring pop they were looking for,” Parks said.

Perhaps the most nervous time for her was during the showmanship competition when she was competing against a junior and a senior.

“I felt like I had done well until the part where they started asking us questions,” Parks said. “I felt like I was talking really fast and messed up, but the judge said he could tell I knew what I was talking about and could tell that I thought I was doing bad. He said that I knew my heifers well and knew the answer to every question.”

Cattle was the only thing she showed this year.

“Last year, I did two goats along with the cattle and I didn’t like it, so I just did cattle this year,” Parks said.

She enjoys the values she learns by showing cattle.

“It teaches me if I have to do something to the best of my ability if I want to win and succeed at it,” Parks said.

Results for local students:

Pigs

Gilts

Hamp 

Class 1 Kinsley Morgan 1st place

York 

Class 2 Kinsley Morgan 1st and Reserve Breed

Barrows

Hamp

Class 1 Paxton Jones 3rd place 

Cross

Class 1 Paxton Jones 2nd and Reserve Breed

 
Bulls

Angus Emaleigh Parks 1st place, Breed Champion and Grand Champion 

 
Heifers

Red Angus

Class 2 Emaleigh Parks 1st place, Breed Champion and Reserve Grand 

Simmi Percent

Class 1 Emaleigh Parks 2nd place and Reserve Breed 

Champion Bred and owned- Emaleigh Parks

Reserve Champion Cow/calf pair- Emaleigh Parks

Intermediate showman Emaleigh Parks

 
Goats

Does

Class 2 Rylee Ellis 1st place

Class 4 Raelee 1st place

 
Sheep

Dorper ewes

Class 1 Raelee Ellis 1st place and Breed Champion 

Class 2 Harli Young 2nd place 

Class 3 Rylee Ellis 1st place and Reserve Breed

Natural

Class 1 Paige Pollard 1st and Reserve Breed 

Cross

Class 2 Aubree Whitlock 2nd place

Wethers

Shrop 

Class 2  Karsynn Bowles 1st place and Reserve Breed

Dorset

Class 1 Paige Pollard 1st place and Breed Champion

Natural

Class 1 Paige Pollard 1st place and Breed Champion

Hamp

Class 2 Karsynn Bowles 1st place

Junior showman- Paige Pollard