Cows get into costume at Sarasota County Fair

When Ashton Stiegler, a seventh grader and a member of 4-H in Sarasota County, was walking through the grounds of the Sarasota County Fair, he happened to notice a robber mask for sale. 

He decided it would be the perfect basis for a costume. He would wear a robber outfit, and his cow Molly would dress as a police car. 

"It gives the kids a chance to be creative," said Bill McClain, of the Sarasota County 4-H Foundation, regarding the cattle costume contest on March 17. "Every little bit of that was thought of by the kids."

There was far more work on display than just the costumes themselves. 

Along with the fair's other livestock events, the contest was a chance for kids to showcase the work involved in caring for and bonding with the animals over a period of months, performing tasks like ensuring they meet weight requirements.

A relationship with their animal was helpful when taking them into the arena, kids said, as getting a cow to walk, while wearing a costume in the heat, is no simple feat. 

“She was a little feisty,” said Roko, a third grader, of his cow Milkshake. 

When she gets that way, however, he’ll just tap her on the nose.

At the event, 4-H members could be seen wearing T-shirts in honor of former member Alexis Brotherton of Sarasota, who died in 2023 at age 20. 

Eighth grader Addy Porter said it meant a lot to her to showcase a St. Patrick's Day costume created by Brotherton, with Porter's cow Libby Dynamite Pinson.

“I had been with her for a while, and she had always been there to help,” she said.

The public can see more livestock shows, as well as auctions, throughout the duration of the fair, held until Sunday, March 24.

“I absolutely love it. I can't believe I have the opportunity to do this every year,” said Rilyn Stiegler, a tenth-grader. “It is so amazing and crazy that I can bond with an animal for close to a year and be able show her in the arena, so that everybody else sees what they could be doing too."