Guccion siblings work together to prepare for Big Horn County fair

For the individuals and families that participate in the Big Horn County Fair from the north end of the county, a lot of work goes into packing, preparing and hauling campers, trailers and supplies for a full week to Basin. The dedicated ones that do it will tell you it is worth the stress.

Attending the fair is a highlight every year for Nellie, Gus and Boone Guccion. It is an annual event the Byron family looks forward to and allows them to take a break and slow down from the normal, everyday hustle and bustle to enjoy being together.

Nellie (12) has participated since she was 8 and has competed in a variety of different events. She has shown pigs, horses, sheep, cows and a bottled calf. This year, she will focus on her pig and horse showings, photography and craft entries, pig wrestling and barrel racing in the rodeo.

Gus (10) will have an open class entry in crafted art and will show his swine. Because of their weight, he believes pigs are the way to go when it comes to making the most money per pound. Last year, he was able to sell his show pig for $2,900, and he is shooting to top that at this summer’s fair.

While Boone (7) is not quite old enough to enter any of the 4-H competitions, he has grown fond of the open class crops category. Since their dad raises three crops, the three kids rotate each year on which crop they will enter at the fair among corn, barley or sugar beets.

The fair itself is when all their hard work pays off, but at home prior to the event is where the majority of the work is done. The trio is responsible for helping take care of each of their animals.

This year, each of them have a pig that they wash, walk, feed and clean up after. The piglets were born in January, and the kids got them in April and have been raising them ever since.

“Every day we walk them down our road to our hydrant, spray them down, then walk a few laps around the shop area,” Nellie said. “We feed them twice a day. Right now, we feed them 18 percent protein and 7 percent fat to bulk them up before the sale.”

As far as their least favorite chore, none of them particularly enjoy cleaning out their pigs’ pens, but even Gus said he doesn’t mind that part, either.

“I love everything about fair,” he said, “even the smells, sounds, work and all of it.”

When asked if they had any special secrets to being successful in showing their animals at the sale, Nellie said the key was to dress nicely and smile. Gus, on the other hand, said he liked to play with his pig during the auction by tapping its nose and believed being playful and having fun was the better route.

“Even if we have a plan on showing the animals, we’ve all been frustrated with them at times,” Nellie said. “Sometimes they have a different idea of what they want to do than what we have practiced, and it doesn’t work out the way we wanted it to.”

Once the sale is complete, saying their final goodbyes to their animals when they load them on the trailers with their buyers is always the hardest part. 

“We see these pigs every day, and knowing it will be the last time we see them, it is sad,” Nellie said. “Even though you know going into it that it is going to happen, it still isn’t easy when it does.”

Their mom, Lynn, said that each kid gets a small portion of their profits to spend themselves, and the rest goes into a savings account for them as they get older and to fund the next year’s animals. Gus is already looking for opportunities to raise animals from their own livestock to be able to save more of his money and not have to purchase them from somewhere else.

Although they must keep up with their responsibilities to their animals and projects, they said their favorite part of the whole experience at fair is being able to hang out with their friends and family and make new friends along the way.

“It is fun to watch the older kids help and mentor the younger ones,” Lynn said. “They all work together and support one another, and the fair community is great like that, and that’s a big reason why we love it so much.”