Elizabeth Bailey
Greensburg Daily News
Greensburg —
As third-year 4-Her Emma Spreckleson headed to this year's Decatur County Fair, she had her whole family at her side.
Spreckleson is the secretary for the Smyrna Guys and Gals 4-H Club, and she participated in a variety of projects at the fair. In Poultry, her Birchen Modern Game Bantam Pullet (named Twiggy) was named the Grand Champion - Best in Show. It was her first year in poultry, and she took six birds along. Her Sumatra (a clean-legged pullet) was also given Champion status in its division.
She also joined in the horse and pony project for the first time, earning the Champion title in Western Halter, Mares 6-19. She earned sixth place in showmanship and third in Novice Walk/Trot. The project has quickly stolen her heart, as she started riding in August 2009 under the tutelage of Janet Ryle.
"She loves anything horsey!" her parents Mike and Katie Spreckleson noted.
She was joined by her sisters, Cloverbuds Clare and Jane, in the dairy goat project, where she had the best junior dairy doe in show, champion Get of Sire, Champion Jr. Alpine and Champion Jr. LaMancha. While her animals showed well, Emma showed her own skills by winning beginner showmanship and taking second place in intermediate showmanship.
While she spent a great deal of time with her animals, Emma also received Reserved Grand Champion status in the Sew-For-Fun project along with all blue ribbons on her foods, vet science, woodworking and food preservation projects.
With success in all eight of her projects, Emma's mother Katie Spreckleson reported that she had a "fantastic fair week." In the fall, she will be entering the sixth grade at North Decatur Elementary School, looking forward to another summer of fair fun.
