19-year-old Nathaniel Baker and 18-year-old Nichole Kibel, both from Cortez, stood outside the scales at the Montezuma County Fair on Tuesday morning after weighing their lambs. This was their last year at the fair before going to college, but they had both grown up raising animals and doing projects at the fair. Kibel said the fair was a family tradition for her.
“My mom did it when she was little, and so did all my other family, and it’s a good way to teach leadership skills, so they decided my sisters and I needed to do it,” Kibel said.
Baker said his mom also encouraged him to do the fair. He recalled a time when both he and Kibel were finalists in a lamb show when they were younger.
“Lambs get really hot, there’s people watching you, like that lamb’s breathing on you, so you get really sweaty,” he said. “It’s kind of gross, but it’s rewarding at the same time.”
Both Kibel and Baker have gone to state fairs in the past. Baker qualified for rocketry and carpentry, and Kibel won a grand prize in sewing. They both said that winning was one of the best things about the fairs.
“It’s really nice to win, just to know that your hard work paid off, you know?” Baker said.
The Montezuma County Fair is happening until Saturday, with exhibitions open from 9 to 5:30 each day.
