Staff report

The 126^th annual Santa Barbara County Fair will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily from July 12-16 at the Santa Maria Fairpark at 937 South Thornburg St.

Admission each day is $10 for adults, $8 for children and seniors. Children 5 and younger are admitted free. Admission to the evening concerts, except for Sunday night, is free with paid admission to the fair.

Here is a schedule of the main events. For complete information, visit www.santamariafairpark.com.

Theme Days

Wednesday, July 12 – Carnival Dollar Day

Carnival ride tickets are $1 per ride. The night’s concert at 7:30 p.m. will feature .38 Special.

Thursday, July 13 – Senior Day 

Admission for those 62 and older is $1.

Friday, July 14 – Agriculture and Cattleman’s Day

Saturday, July 15 – Military and Law Enforcement Day 

Active-duty service members and their immediate family members are admitted free with identification. Destruction Derby starts at 6 p.m.

The Santa Barbara County Fair hosts five days of fun, including the popular Destruction Derby on Saturday, July 15.

Sunday, July 16 – Fiesta Day 

Fair-goers can enjoy the “Fiesta” themed entertainment, including a concert that features music by top Hispanic music “idols.” Tickets for the concert can be purchased from La Miramar in Santa Maria at 805-349-0186.

Livestock Show 

Saturday July 8

8:30 a.m. – Rabbit and Cavy Show, Rabbit Meat Pens Judged

9 a.m. – Showmanship

Monday, July 10 

8 – 11 a.m. – Market Steers at Beef Barn Scale

8 – 11 a.m. – Sheep and Goats at Frank Marciel Pavilion

Santa Ynez 4-H Club member Cole Correll and his pig Chop placed third in their market class at last year’s Santa Barbara County Fair.

8 a.m. – 3 p.m. – Market swine (south barn, north barn) at South Hog Barn Scale

9 a.m. – Turkey Meat Pen Judging

9 a.m. – Chicken Show

5 p.m. – Farm Supply Quiz Jam at Minetti Arena

Tuesday, July 11

8 a.m. – Breeding Boar and market goats (4-H/FFA) at Frank Marciel Pavilion

8 a.m. – Swine Showmanship at Auction Barn

9 a.m. – Turkey Showmanship

9 a.m. – Chicken Showmanship

11 a.m. – Breeding sheep (4-H/FFA) and market sheep (4-H/FFA) at Frank Marciel Pavilion

Charlie Hollister of Buellton and the Los Alamos Grange Beef Group showed his heifer at last year’s Santa Barbara County Fair.

Wednesday, July 12

8 a.m. – Goat Showmanship (4-H/FFA) at Fields Bradley Pavilion

8 a.m. – Breeding Swine, Market Swine at Auction Barn

9 a.m. – Breeding Beef at Fields Bradley Pavilion

10 a.m. – Market Beef at Fields Bradley Pavilion

10 a.m. – Rabbit, Poultry and Cavy Costume Contest Followed by Mini Member Costume Contest

5 p.m. – Pee Wee Showmanship followed by Ladies Lead and Sheep/Goat costume at Frank Marciel Pavilion

5:30 p.m. – Championship Drive at Auction Barn

Thursday, July 13

8 a.m. – Beef Showmanship at Fields Bradley Pavilion

9 a.m. – Dairy Goat Showmanship followed by show at Frank Marciel Pavilion

10 a.m. – noon – Mini Member Showmanship, (Rabbits and Cavy followed by poultry)

1 p.m. – Pygmy Goat Pee Wee Showmanship, 4H/FFA Showmanship, followed by show (4-H, FFA) at Frank Marciel Pavilion

5:30 p.m. – Championship Drive at Auction Barn

Friday, July 14

8 a.m. – Replacement Heifers at Fields Bradley Pavilion

Noon –  Small Stock Auction

2 p.m. – Dog Trials at Budweiser Minetti Arena

5 p.m. – Auction Replacement Heifers at Auction Barn

Saturday, July 15

8 a.m. – Junior Livestock Auction

Sunday, July 16

10 a.m. – Knowledge Bowl – Round Robin – Small Stock Show Ring

10 a.m. – Swine costume at Auction Barn

Noon – Adult showmanship of beef, swine and sheep at Auction Barn

3 p.m. – Large Stock Round Robin at Auction Barn

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By Victoria Martinez

Tank and 14-year-old Peyton Pratt have a special relationship.

“The first hour, I had him laying on my lap,” Peyton said.

The animal she was snuggling with wasn’t a typical domestic pet, but rather a 2-month-old, 58-pound Hampshire Cross pig. Now weighing in at 230 pounds, Tank and Peyton will compete in the swine market and showmanship categories at the Santa Barbara County Fair later this month.

Peyton, an incoming freshman at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School and member of the Lucky Clover 4-H Club in Los Olivos, has spent the majority of her free time the past four months working with Tank and preparing to compete.

“I enjoy working with my pigs and spending time with them,” she said.

Tank enjoys his personal mud hole across the street from the Pratts’ house in Dan and Jo Agin’s front yard.

Peyton competed in swine for the first time at last year’s fair, so she understood what it would take to do well this time around. She takes Tank out for a walk every day around her family’s property and their surrounding neighborhood. The pig has even created his own mud hole across the street in Dan and Jo Agin’s front yard.

“He’s such a goof,” Dan laughed.

Peyton said Tank wasn’t born with his endearing personality, but that she conditioned him to have it.

“You’ve got to work hard and you have to have a lot of patience. If you want to do well, you have to work every single day,” she said.

Peyton and Tank’s hard work is expected to pay off.  At the fair’s preliminary Exhibit Day, they took third in overall showmanship and Grand Championship in market.

“Not everyone can have control enough to have their pig like this. You don’t see this very often,” Agin added.

Both of Peyton’s parents participated and competed in 4-H in their youth. Her mother, June, also competed in swine. And Peyton’s grandfather, Ron Long, was June’s 4-H leader back when it was Solvang 4-H.

June has enjoyed watching her daughter learn and grow through this experience.

“You don’t see it every day, someone walking up and down the street with their pig,” June said.

Peyton said she is excited to see how she and Tank perform at the fair. After they compete and he is sold, Peyton will put any winnings into paying back the costs of Tank’s upkeep and the purchase of next year’s pig. The remaining funds will go into her college fund.

Once the fair is over and Tank is gone, Peyton says, she will be feel OK because she will know he had a great life while in her care.

“I’m going to be sad to not have him, but next year, who knows? It could be better,” she said with a smile.

Peyton believes more youth need to understand what agriculture is, where their food comes from, and the processes involved.

The Santa Barbara County Fair will take place at the Santa Maria Fairpark at 937 South Thornburg St. in Santa Maria from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily from July 12-16.

For more information, visit www.santamariafairpark.com.

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