RICHMOND--I met four
From the bleating of llamas to the shots of Civil War muskets, they were all doing their part at the fair that draws tens of thousands to the annual agricultural and entertainment hot spot.
Lots of llamasScanning the outside of the show ring for the next trio of competitors, Marian Bruffy checked the competition program in her hand and sighed.
It's not easy running one of the animal competitions here at the fair. Bruffy, who operates Freestate Llamas in Amissville, should know. She has headed up the llama competition for years here at the fair.
When the trio of fur-covered, long-necked, gentle animals finally make their way to the ring, she's got a minute or two to chat.
She uses it to list the many good points about llamas, animals she characterized as gentle, perfect companions for animals like goats and sheep and suppliers of fiber prized by artists and artisans.
"There really isn't all that much upkeep," she said, noting that they just require some regular worming, and a clip of their nails every now and then with rose pruners.
She noted that most of the animals she raises go either as pets or as sources of fur and fiber.
"One thing they're not is hot-weather lovers," she said, noting that she shaves the dense fur from hers every summer.
"Even then, they spend all summer plopped down in front
It's hot and dusty as a tractor drags the ring where a group of miniature horses and their owners are waiting for their competition to begin.
Shirley Hovermale may have just turned 70, but that doesn't keep her from taking part, from showing both her full-sized quarter horses or her miniature horse named Magic.
The little paint--she dubs him a "medicine hat," referring to the splotch of brown on the animals head--is just five months old, though he will never get much higher than the knee-high stature he has now.
Hovermale, who's owned and shown large horses from the little farmette she and her husband have in Maryland, said she spotted a miniature at a show not so long back and got hooked, buying one.
"In most ways, they're exactly like full-sized horses," she said. "But they're fairly docile. And on the plus side, they don't eat as much or take up as much room."
Magic, a beautiful animal, drew attention from all the competitors who filed their miniature horses through the competition ring.
The five-month-old filly was one of three miniatures that Hovermale had at the competition.
"They all have gentle dispositions, that's another nice thing about them," she said. "I'll keep showing them as long as I can."
Nursing the troopsAnnette Wetzel seemed oblivious to the heat as she stood amid the Civil War encampment and told a group of visiting students how things worked when troops moved through an area during the war.
"They might ask to buy some eggs or a chicken, but if you refused, those eggs and that chicken was going down the road anyway," she noted. "It was a process called foraging, because as any soldier will tell you, it's impossible to live for too long on pork and hardtack alone."
Pointing out the uniforms on three re-enactors standing nearby, she noted that they came in three sizes: "too big, too little and it just don't fit."
In a break in her presentation
The North Carolina native said she began researching Civil War history to understand why her ancestors took part in the conflict, and became enthralled by the personal sacrifice of so many.
Tattoo youFairs are more than just animal competitions and history, which you can see by wandering along the stretch where stands sell fried dough and rides take people skyward.
In that row stands the temporary tattoo shop operated by Yoli Fasulo, where young students were lining up to get their ink.
The favorites?
For the girls, wide squiggles that adorn the lower back, just above the pants line.
For the guys, round barbed-wire patterns that go around the biceps.
And for the older folks?
"Butterflies are big, on the shoulder or ankle," said Fasulo. "They all wear off in three or four weeks."
For more information on the Fair, go online to statefairva.org.
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