GILPIN COUNTY - Held between July 11 and 13 this year, the eagerly-anticipated Gilpin County Fair was a chance to get outdoors, socialize, have fun, and be entertained in our own backyard.

Familiarity is part of its charm: We know that Suz-Q-Z the clown will be there painting kids’ faces. Mechanical bull riders will be tossed to the mat after being granted at least eight seconds at slow speed. The Dog Agility contest in The Barn and the Rodeo are time-honored traditions.

Yet every year there is something new. The Trampoline Bungee was an attraction we hadn’t seen for a while. Gilpin County Parks and Recreation Director Gabrielle Chisholm related that “Its rental price cost almost half as much as the entire fair.”

The money seemed well spent as kids delighted in repeatedly being launched high in the air.

A conspicuous and welcome addition to the midway was the Gilpin County Mining Competition. Not since 2016 at the last Miners’ Days in Nederland had people been privy to such a spectacle.

It showcased skills employed by hard rock miners, which most of the children and many of the adults had never seen.

Event coordinator Derek Blake noted that “Mining techniques aren’t something that are normally observed since they usually take place in a hole in the ground.”

Single Jackleg drilling and Hand Mucking were featured. Heavy 60 and 80 penny nails were utilized in the Spike Drive—the same type of nails that are used to attach timbers that shore up a mine to prevent cave-ins.

Blake says that they plan to add Double Jackleg and competitive Gold Panning events next year.

The Westernaires opened the arena events with precision whip and rope tricks followed by their Indian Interpretative Dance Team.

Fancy dancers performed with their shields and tomahawks in hand. The metal cones sewn onto the girls’ colorful jingle dance dresses tinkled as the girls danced in rhythm to the drums.

Trick riders from the Mountain Warriors demonstrated incredible acts of daring on horseback while kneeling upon, standing atop of, or hanging upside down off the sides of their steeds while traveling at high speeds.

Kids gripped tightly to their wooly mounts in the Mutton Bustin’ event.  Some achieved long rides while others barely made it out of the gate. So popular is the event that it was held before and at the intermission of the rodeo.

In the Saddle Bronc competition, Taj Burchell was the only rider to finish. His score of 63.5 points was good enough for first place and $950 in prize money.

Jackson Lunn and Tyler Ferguson battled it out in the Bareback division. Lunn edged out Ferguson by four points—good for 84 points and an $850 purse.

Bulls with intimidating monikers such as Big Man, Flipper, and Wild Thing awaited cowboys with enough courage to climb aboard. One particularly ornery bull was named “Parlangua”—a half-man, half-alligator swamp monster.

Dalton Willis’ first round score of 81 points held up to win the competition. He took home $1,680. Colton Coffman came in second with 79 points and $1,120 in winnings.

See you at the Gilpin County Fair next summer!