The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

We enjoyed a busy successful fund raising weekend at the fairgrounds. With two events going on at the same time we attracted horse riders to our rummage sale and rummage sale shoppers to our horse event!

The Horsemanship Challenge Series is a new fund raising event that is being planned and organized by Shawn and Tina Merz. The first of the series was held last Saturday. Twenty-five riders took their horses through a course that was filled with obstacles on the ground and in the air. They rode through them, over them or under them. They ran a four barrel pattern speed event, then had to encourage their horse to calm down so they could carry water by big spoonfuls to a bucket 20 feet away. The next challenge was to rope a metal calf and then sort real calves into two pens, one calf at a time. The challenge was having a horse that could do all the events in a timely manner. It was a fun event whether you were a contestant or a spectator.

The high point winners for the June 16 event were: Junior, Jansi Merz, Intermediate, Levi Delamarter, Senior, Kody Vik and Adult, Tina Merz. High point prizes were awarded to Kody Vik, he chose a beautiful headstall, Jansi, Levi and Tina each chose a finely tooled breast collar for their horses. These high-point prizes were sponsored by L & J Feed of Longview. We thank them for supplying top quality horse tack for our event!

The second Horsemanship Challenge Series event begins at 9 a.m. on July 14 at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds Arena. The breakdown for the age groups is Junior 3rd – 5th grade, Intermediate 6th – 8th grade, Senior 9th - 12th grade and Adult 19 years and up. The cost is $25 to run through the six events. We have camp sites available Friday - Sunday in the Fairgrounds Park for $16.04 per night and stalls to rent for $10 a day per horse for the July 14 event. For Horsemanship Challenge information or a pre-registered time to run the course, contact Show Manager Tina Merz at 957- 5368. For camping or stall rental, contact Fair Manager Becky Ledtke at 795-3480.

New fair books have been distributed at businesses in Cathlamet, Skamokawa and Rosburg. Many thanks to the Wahkiakum County Eagle Publisher Rick Nelson for printing the books and Geri and Sarah for the hours they spent deleting old information and adding the new pages of information I gave them.

The Fairgrounds book and rummage sale will be open this Saturday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. We have added new boxes of treasures to our already full building of good stuff. We have hundreds of items for your dog. We have hundreds of books, movies, all kinds of house hold items and antique collectibles too. Stop in, visit and shop. All proceeds support and maintain your Wahkiakum County Fair. You can also purchase raffle tickets for a cord of firewood at the sale for $1 a ticket. The drawing will be held August 18 during the Wahkiakum County Fair.

Wahkiakum County Fair now has a Facebook page! You can view our 2012 Fair entertainment schedule and check for new events happening at the Fairgrounds each weekend. Be sure to Like our Facebook page and share it with your friends.

If you need to gain access to the Fairgrounds contact Fair Manager Becky Ledtke at 360-795-3480 and leave a message.