Thursday, January 16, 2025
The Coryell County Youth Fair is an annual event that showcases the talents of local youth who participate in the livestock show, exhibits, photography, cooking, and more.
This year’s Youth Fair began on Thursday, Jan. 2, and ended on Saturday, Jan. 11, with over 440 participants from various organizations across the county.
One of the key components of the Youth Fair is the livestock show, where youth participate in exhibiting animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, etc. Each year, the Coryell County Youth Fair partners with the City of Gatesville to host a fundraiser to assist with barn improvements leading up to the show.
President of the Coryell County Fair Board, Keith Smart, explained that this year it was decided to lay concrete to help with certain aspects of the show. Local contractors, Jose and Juego Uribe, were involved in the process of laying the concrete.
“They did a great job,” Smart said.
“With the concrete we are able to put up a portable show arena and portable pens which can be removed, so easy clean up can happen after the fair,” he said. “Animal safety is always a concern, so it will cut down on dust and fungus issues.”
He also mentioned that they wanted to lay the concrete to keep the dust to a minimum for the health of patrons and the animals.
“This also opens up more opportunities for events throughout the year to be hosted by the Gatesville Civic Center,” he said.
For the actual show arena, the animals were shown on shavings. The exhibitors placed a specific type of shaving for bedding in the animals’ pens to help keep them warm.
