Ohio State Fair

2023 Ohio State Fair Junior Fair Board

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Apply to represent 4-H Youth Development on the Ohio State Fair Junior Fair Board by March 1, 2023

The Ohio State Fair Junior Fair Board is made up of our great state’s best and brightest young leaders, hand-picked to contribute to the success of the Ohio State Fair each year. If the passion for 4-H Youth Development and the state fair is in your blood, consider applying to represent our organization by March 1!

What is the Junior Fair Board?

The Ohio State Fair Junior Fair Board is made up of Ohio’s best and brightest young leaders, hand-picked to contribute to the success of the Ohio State Fair each year. Selected to represent their respective youth organizations, these students serve on behalf of thousands of students across Ohio. Goals of the Junior Fair Board include:

  • To serve the people of the Ohio State Fair
  • To interact with fairgoers and provide the best experience possible
  • To help other agencies and organizations with their tasks, booths, etc. at the fair
  • To gain networking experiences and special opportunities

Which skills should a Junior Fair Board member have?

Ohio State Fair Junior Fair Board members are dedicated leaders with outstanding characteristics such as:

  • Leadership
  • Public Speaking
  • Communication
  • Professionalism
  • Flexibility
  • Responsibility
  • Adaptability

What are the requirements?

In addition to being an outstanding leader, prospective members should meet the following general criteria:

  • 16-20 years old
  • Currently a member of 4-H, FFA, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, or Farm Bureau
  • Highly involved members in their organization
  • Significant accomplishments within the organization (i.e. competition at the state and/or national level, leadership experiences, community service/volunteer experiences, etc.)
  • Leadership experience with the potential and desire to continue to grow as a leader
  • Very responsible, respectful, and professional
  • Members are only eligible to serve one two-year term on the JFB representing one organization

What is the time commitment?

Junior Fair Board members commit approximately 2 weeks of time to the Ohio State Fair, arriving the Monday prior to the Fair’s Wednesday opening (this year, they would arrive on Monday, July 24, prior to the Fair’s Wednesday, July 26 opening, and will return home on Sunday, Aug. 6).

First year Junior Fair Board members are paid a flat-rate stipend for their service; returning members will receive a higher stipend for their second year of service.

Where will I stay?

Housing, as well as complimentary meals, are provided by the Ohio State Fair. All Junior Fair Board members will stay in dormitories located at the Ohio State Fair in the Rhodes Center building.

How do I apply?

Visit ohiostatefair.com/jfb and submit applications through the portal.

Learn More at our Informational Webinar on Wednesday, February 1

This year, the Ohio State Fair will host an informational webinar with current Junior Fair Board leaders, past presidents, and advisors to share information on what we look for in members, what you can expect, and more. Can’t join on Feb. 1? No worries – a recorded version of the video will be available after the webinar at ohiostatefair.com/jfb.

 

More Information

Little Farmers Educational Program at the Ohio State Fair

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The Ohio State Fair is conducting some ag education at the fair this year and are looking for volunteers.

All volunteers get FREE Ohio State Fair admission for themselves and one guest if working at least one four-hour shift. This may be a great opportunity for families/4-H clubs that are going to be there already or 4-H clubs/groups that want to spend a day helping! The shifts are 4 hours so plenty of time to explore the fair afterwards/before shifts.

Little Farmers Flier

2022 Ohio 4-H Horse Updates

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I wanted to share with you the updates that were presented at the Ohio 4-H Horse Advisor & Volunteer Training this past Saturday.  All of this information is or will soon be posted at www.horse.osu.edu.

2022 Calendar of State 4-H Horse Events:

  • February 26: Hippology/Horse Bowl/Horse Judging Clinic
  • February 26: Communications Contest (Oral and Visual)
  • February 26: 2021 Achievement Awards Presentation
  • April 9: Horse Bowl Contest
  • June 13: Hippology Contest
  • June 13: Horse Judging Contest
  • July 1: Ohio State Fair Junior Horse Show entries are due!
  • July 18-22: Ohio State Fair Junior Horse Show
  • August 27: Groom & Clean Contest
  • September 9-10: Competitive Trail Ride

Registration for all of this year’s events will continue to be online.  Once the registration deadline closes, Dani and/or I will use 4-H online to verify that the contestants are 4-H members in good standing.

PAS Qualifying Horse Shows

Reminders: 

  • At the beginning of the year, the youth determines which classes they want to qualify in to show at State Fair. A youth must qualify in any two (2) classes in order to compete in the State Fair Junior Horse Show. Counties may allow youth to qualify in more than two classes; however, youth may enter in a maximum of four (4) classes at the State Fair Junior Horse Show, this includes ground roping. At the State Fair Junior Horse Show, youth will only be allowed to show in classes for which they qualified.
  • A county (or group of counties) may offer up to two (2) single-judged qualifying shows or one (1) double-judged qualifying show. In a show with two judges, the scores should not be averaged.
  • Counties must hire judges that are designated as PAS judges on the current year’s Ohio 4-H Horse Show Judges List. This list can be found online at http://horse.osu.edu.
  • A youth cannot compete in more than two (2) single-judged PAS shows or one (1) double-judged PAS show.
  • Gymkhana classes: Riders get one run (attempt) per class in a show to qualify unless county or counties are using one show with two judges to qualify youth. Then the youth may have two attempts (runs) as long as they are not disqualified in the first run. If the youth receives a no time in their first run, they are still eligible for their second run. If the youth is disqualified in their first run, they are not eligible for a second run.
  • A youth may only use one horse to try out in PAS shows and cannot replace a horse for any reason after they have shown in their first PAS class. The project horse shown at the state fair must be the one the 4-H member qualified with in his or her county.

Updates/Changes:

There are a few important changes to the paperwork associated with PAS shows.

  • Out-of-County PAS Form:  The out-of-county PAS form has been updated to provide room for additional classes as there is no statewide restriction on the number of classes in which a youth may try and qualify.  As in the past, the 4-H educator must approve and sign the out-of-county PAS form that the 4-H member will take with them to the out-of-county PAS show.  Starting this year, the 4-H member is responsible for uploading their completed out-of-county PAS form(s) to their 4-H Online account, regardless of whether they qualified for the Junior Horse Show or not.  A copy of the updated form is attached to this email.
  • PAS Verification Form: In the past, county 4-H educators were responsible for submitting the PAS Verification Form (XL spreadsheet) to Barb Prince with State Fair.  Starting this year, each PAS Qualifying Show must submit the updated PAS verification form to cole.436@osu.edu within a week of the show or no later than July 1st, whichever comes first.  The updated PAS verification form must include all youth that participated in the PAS Qualifying Show, regardless of their 4-H/home county, and their scores and/or times.  A copy of the updated PAS Verification Form is attached to this email.  As in the past, this form will be used to verify the 4-H members’ online entries for the Ohio State Fair Junior Horse Show.  If this form is not received, the youth will not be permitted to show as there will be no way to verify whether or not the qualified for the Junior Horse Show.

Ohio State Fair Junior Horse Show

Updates:

  • 4-H members who intend to show at the Ohio State Fair Junior Horse Show must upload a copy of their equine’s current negative Coggins test (dated on or after January 1, 2022) to their 4-H Online account by July 1st.  Previously, the 4-H member was required to submit the copy of the Coggins test result to the county 4-H educator to send in with the PAS Verification Form.
  • The dates for this year’s Ohio State Fair Junior Horse Show is Monday, July 18th through Friday, July 22nd.  We will be able to move into the fairgrounds on Sunday afternoon this year but a time has not been decided yet.  A copy of the show schedule is posted online at horse.osu.edu.
  • The online registration deadline for the Ohio State Fair Junior Horse Show is July 1, 2022.  It is the responsibility of each exhibitor to submit their entry and pay their $50 stall fee online at www.ohiostatefair.com by 1:00 pm on July 1, 2022.  Late registrations, with a $100 late fee in addition to the $50 stall fee, will be accepted until 1:00pm on July 8th.

Kimberly Cole, Ph.D.

Associate Professor & Extension Equine Specialist

Department of Animal Sciences

222-D Animal Sciences Building

2029 Fyffe Court

Columbus, OH 43210

614-292-2625

 

2021 Ohio State Fair Skillathons

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Ohio Youth Skillathon information for VIRTUAL and IN-PERSON sessions is now online at: https://ohio4h.org/animalsciences/ohio-youth-skillathons

  • Rules for both are attached as well as a flyer for virtual skillathons

VIRTUAL Skillathon Registration is due by JUNE 14th, 2021……………………………..EXTENDED TO JUNE 18.

A few important notes:

  • Those exhibiting at OSF and want to be eligible for Outstanding Market Exhibitor (OME) awards MUST participate at the IN-PERSON skillathons at the state fair
  • Those exhibiting at OSF and want to be eligible for Outstanding Breeding Exhibitor (OBE) awards MUST participate in the VIRTUAL skillathons online

2021 Skillathon Rules: 2021 Skillathon Rules

2021 Virtual Skillathon Rules & Dates: OSF Skillathon Rules and Dates

4-H Educational Assistants for the Ohio State Fair

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The Ohio State Fair is quickly approaching. In the past, each year, hundreds of thousands of our closest friends gathered to make memories and enjoy their fair favorites – food, the butter cow, a visit with Smokey Bear, a performance by the All-Ohio State Fair Band, or a run in the show ring.  The 2021 Ohio State Fair will only feature livestock competitions and educational competition such as 4-H project judging.

We are accepting applications for Educational Assistants for the 2021 Ohio State Fair. This is a paid position.  The first day of work would be around July 25 and ending on August 9. Unfortunately, housing will not be available in the Rhodes Center Dormitory this year.  All applications MUST also be completed on-line in Workday. Applicants can enter the Student Job Board in Workday by completing the following steps:

  1. Log into Workday: https://www.myworkday.com/osu
  2. Enter the Careers Application on the home page.
  3. Select *Search Student Jobs*
  4. Search for the R17134 4-H Educational Assistant job.

Market Beef Animals for the 2021 Ohio State Fair

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Are you planning on exhibiting a Market Beef project at the Ohio State Fair in 2021?  If so, you will need to schedule an appointment with Andrea (740-397-0401 or rees.139@osu.edu) at the OSU Extension Office to pick up an EID/DNA Kit.  The Ohio State Fair has agreed to extend the deadline for receiving DNA kits for market beef to January 30th, 2020. They will  continue to monitor COVID and update as necessary.

PLEASE REMEMBER: These tags are for youth intending to show market beef at the Ohio State Fair ONLY. They are not for county-only or BEST-only exhibition. State Fair provides these tags at no cost. If number of EID tags given out continues to be much greater than youth that show at the State Fair, they may not provide tags in the future or only based on counties’ participation numbers in previous years.

2019 Ohio 4-H’s Got Talent

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Are you a singer, dancer, actor or…?  Showcase your talent at the Ohio State Fair!

Individuals or groups can apply for one of 12 acts to appear on stage. Open to Ohio 4-H members. Find all the details at go.osu.edu/OH4HTalent or email Justin Bower at bower.183@osu.edu.  You must register by July 15.

Day of Event Details
July 27 | 6 p.m.
Lausche Youth Center at the Ohio State Fair

Flyer: 2019 4-H’s Got Talent flyer

2019 Ohio State Fair Opportunities

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There are lots of events for youth to participate in at the Ohio State Fair.  Please see the list below with links to learn more about these opportunities.

Livestock Judging Contest: Friday, July 26 (registration due July 12): https://ohio4h.org/events/ohio-state-fair-4-h-livestock-judging-contest

Avian Bowl Contest: Saturday, August 3 (registration due July 5): https://ohio4h.org/events/ohio-state-fair-4-h-avian-bowl-contest

Poultry Judging Contest: Saturday, August 3 (registration due July 5): https://ohio4h.org/events/ohio-state-fair-4-h-poultry-judging-contest

Ohio State Fair Skillathons: https://ohio4h.org/animalsciences/ohio-state-fair-skillathon-information

Flyer: 2019 OSF Skillathons Calendar-2hy323z

New Division at the Ohio State Fair – Junior Crossbred Heifer

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We just received the below email from the Ohio State Fair about a new division in the Beef Department:

The Beef Department has added an Crossbred Breeding Heifer Division, and will show in the 2nd session.

Arrival – Friday, July 26

Show – Sunday, July 28

Released – Sunday, July 28

These animals will be eligible for the Overall Top 5 Heifers during the Final Drive on Saturday, August 3 at the state fair.  Crossbred breeding heifers must be owned by May 1 and will be verified by their 15 digit 840 RFID tag number and DNA submission to the Ohio State Fair by May 1, 2019.   Must be born after January 1, 2018, and make entries into the state fair by June 1.  DNA kits may be requested by email only from Stacey French, s.french@expo.ohio.gov  and must be submitted to Stacey French, Agriculture Department –  Crossbred Heifer DNA, 717 East 17th Avenue, Columbus OH  43211, by May 1.  If anyone wants to pick up and/or drop off DNA kit, contact Stacey French by email first, stating request, and when they want to come and pick up and/or drop off.