Judgment Day for Washington County 4Hers

With projects housed in eight of the Washington County Fair’s 11 buildings, the 4-H program plays a big role in the fair each year.

Kids and teens in the program showed off their projects for judges Tuesday—the day before the fair opened to the public—in areas that ranged from horses to clothing to rocketry to robotics.

The youth organization, based at the University of Minnesota, has plenty of project options for both rural and city dwellers, said parent Tim Warmka, of Oakdale.

“Everyone’s thinking cookies and cows or cupcakes and cows. If you look, there are a lot of city kids,” he said. “We do the dog projects—agility and obedience—aerospace, electrical … It’s whatever you want to make of it and you can do as much or as little as you want to.”

Students’ are judged on their project and how well they present the project to judges, said Ann Church, Washington County 4-H program coordinator.

Kids that participate pick up speaking, presentation and leadership skills in addition to the knowledge and skills they gain by putting their project together, she said.

“It’s all about learning,” Church said. “Would they be doing this stuff if they didn’t have (4-H)? … This just expands their knowledge—a lot of life skills—and they have fun doing it.”

Stillwater Family Continues Tradition

Lydia Buller, of Stillwater, is showing her horse Buddy at the Washington County Fair for the first time this year, although her family has been involved in 4-H for about eight years, she said.

“I love it here,” she said. “It feels good to be in the horse barn.”

Lydia was young when her older sisters got horses, she said, and now she rides the horse she brought to the competition almost every day.

She said she’s learned a lot just through taking part in the competitions.

Judges will point out even “minute” details such as how a contestant holds the reins, said Lydia’s mom, Lori Buller.

“They don’t care if you make a mistake,” Buller said. “Sometimes they like to see a mistake because then they want to see if you’re able to correct it. That’s such a good lesson for the kids to learn.”

Lydia said she’s been impressed at how the trainers at the fair are willing to give their time to the students who participate.

“There’s so many people that just give up their time so freely,” Buller said. “They don’t ask for anything in return except effort and a willingness to learn and give back.”