Photo courtesy of Greene Co Gamble

A new event in Greene County received rave reviews and organizers are claiming it a success.

Greene County Fair Board Vice President Katlynn Mechaelsen served as a co-organizer of the first-ever Greene County Gamble last weekend that saw close to 300 people attend the three-day program that featured 455 animals in the show ring on the Greene County Fairgrounds. She says four species were shown that included 131 sheep, 123 swine, 63 beef and 45 goats from 180 exhibitors that came from 101 cities and five states, of which 30 youth exhibitors were from Greene County. 

Mechaelsen tells Raccoon Valley Radio these were sanctioned shows that were provided by each of the species associations and the main mission of the Fair Board is to provide positive experiences for youth.

“We really just wanted to provide this opportunity for showmanship, to get out there exhibit their species and just get in front of a judge another time. We have great grounds, we have the space, so we wanted to have an opportunity to bring other people to Greene County, as well as offer Greene County residents a place to show their animals that they work so hard for.”   

Mechaelsen reveals that there were numerous compliments from attendees and exhibitors alike about the fairgrounds and the quality of the livestock buildings. She notes that multiple people from Central Iowa and the surrounding counties thanked them all weekend long for hosting this type of an event. She was proud of the hard work in the last decade that has been dedicated to improving the fairgrounds and she was impressed by the amount of people and the number of animals that were included. She adds that 52 banners were awarded and over $6,600 were given to the top finishers in all categories. Mechaelsen is looking forward to next year’s Greene County Gamble.