07/31/2026
This one hits the nail right on the head!!
We just listened to Jason Santomaso on Hard Land Honest Minds talk about what county fairs and 4-H are really supposed to be about… and it’s not the ribbons.
It’s about raising kids who know how to work, how to lose, how to keep showing up, and how to treat people right when nobody’s watching.
Too many times we (parents, grandparents, even bystanders) put so much weight on that purple banner that a kid walks out of the show ring feeling like they failed if they didn’t win.
The animals teach responsibility, commitment, and grit. The ring just measures one person’s opinion on one day.
What if we started rooting for every kid in the barn?
What if we made a point to tell the ones who didn’t place that we’re still proud of them?
What if the memory they carried home was ice cream with Grandma and a hug that said “you’re enough,” instead of silence or a lecture?
This all starts with us as parents. Twenty years from now, it won't matter who took home which ribbon or trophy. What does matter are the memories we make, the lessons learned, friendships made, respect taught and enjoying the fair as a community family.
That’s the fair we want. That’s the community we want.
Watch this. Then go hug a kid — yours or somebody else’s — and remind them that the real championship is the person they’re becoming.
👇👇👇 https://youtu.be/kTcPOaH58rA?is=_FgOVkpA6QyFPjAh
This podcast is about raising champions in life, not ribbons.
