Families and friends from around the region converged on the Montezuma County Fairgrounds this weekend for the Four States Agricultural Expo.
On Saturday, the final day of the three-day event, educational seminars, live music and shopping among scores of booths from local vendors was on tap.
Parents looked on while children got their faces painted, petted animals and tried their hand at catching a chicken. Vendors offered a variety of regional products, including local cheese, honey, beef, woodworks and metalworks.
Through the three-day event, horse-training seminars, displays of farm and ranch equipment, live music, and a wide variety of vendors and events were available for attendees.
On Saturday horse training took center stage.
Sean Kelly, wild horse coordinator for the Jicarilla and Jarita Mesa territories of the Carson National Forest, showed a small audience how to calmly pack gear onto a 3-year-old, adopted wild horse named Arvak.
“It could be impossible if you don’t read their body language and know what to expect.” Kelly said. “It takes longer, and you have to be more careful and more calm.”
On Friday morning, crowds started small but grew as the day warmed.
Attendees visited vendors in the main pavilion as guitarist Donny Johnson performed country tunes.
Organizer Cindy Clare said attendance was up compared with last year, which had low turnout because of pandemic restrictions.
The number of vendors also rebounded to 55, she said, not too far off from the usual 60 to 65 during prepandemic times..
Edit Aquarian, the owner of Breen Mesa Farm Creamery, was selling handcrafted, artisan goat cheese Saturday afternoon. Aquarian emphasized the importance of shopping at local farmers markets and events in the effort to provide healthier staples to families.
“We need to change the paradigm,” Aquarian said. “Go to the farmers market. Get to know your farmers and where your food comes from.”
On Friday, at the Equestrian Barn, a dozen people watched trainer West Taylor demonstrate how to train nervous horses and those who have suffered trauma.
At the Children’s Barn, kids drew from a hat for a chance to catch a chicken.
To follow the pandemic’s social-distancing protocols, only one kid at a time was put in the cage to catch a chicken. During more normal times, a group of kids chased the chickens all at once.
It didn’t take long for Tregen White to chase one down, gathering it in his arms as his family cheered. For his efforts, he got to take the bird home.
And that is the point, said Brian Lopez, vice president of the expo.
“Raising chickens is great starter project for kids. It gets them interested in agriculture,” he said.
anicotera@the-journal.com
