Erie County Fair Blog

Longacres Riding Camp Wins 112 Ribbons at the Erie County Fair 

HAMBURG, NY – Longacres Riding Camp came to the Erie County Fair with 18 horses to compete in the Hunter/Jumper Division of the Horse Show. This year the camp brought home 112 ribbons, more than in any of their 43 continuous years they have been at the Fair.

The students at Camp Longacres have always enjoyed the Erie County Fair and have performed decently. They did better than ever this year for several reasons. The camp had very talented students from all over the country (and one from half way around the world in Bahrain) on the team. There were also some new horses this year with more experience than in the past.

Another key reason the camp won so many ribbons is that horse show manager Jason Gates has been very good about listening to suggestions from area riders, and has changed the format of the show a bit in the past two years. These changes have made the competition friendlier to young riders and local horse people. There are more classes suitable for beginner and intermediate riders than a few years ago. That helps programs like the one at Longacres, where nearly all of the Fair entries are riding lesson horses and not expensive privately owned show horses.

Longacres Riding Camp would like to applaud the Fair for offering an excellent selection of “jumper” classes for all levels of riders. Many of the camp’s ribbons were won in the jumper ring.

A few Longacres riders are from Western New York (Rochester), but most come from out of state, including Texas, New Jersey, Florida, Canada, Connecticut, Bahrain, and California.

Longacres Riding Camp is located in East Aurora and has been in business for 72 years, coming to the Erie County Fair for 43 years without missing a show. The youngest rider, ten year old Anderson Wagner of Naples, Florida, was one of the camp’s biggest winners, with Reserve Champion Pony Hunter and many other awards.  Most camp riders were 13 to 15 years old.

Congratulations to Longacres Riding Camp on this incredible 112-ribbon triumph!

At the Erie County Fair, there is fun and excitement around every turn. Something else found around every corner? Food. BW’s Barbecue Restaurant has found a way to combine both of these Fair elements into one with their 3^rd Annual BBQ Pulled Pork Eating Contest. The competition took place Saturday August 21^st at BW’s Fair location, on the hill.

Eight contestants ages 18 and up were invited to participate in the eating contest. The challenge was to eat 3 pounds of BBQ pulled pork in 5 minutes – no silverware allowed. Before the contest began, it was agreed upon that any visual sign of sickness would lead to disqualification. The winner would be the first person to clear their plate.

As soon as the competition began, the contestants dug right in. Using their hands as scoops, the pulled pork disappeared rapidly. After only 3 ½ minutes a winner was declared. Timothy Piorkowski, 22, of North Tonawanda ate at a rate of almost 1 pound of meat per minute! Second place went to John Holzwart of Sheboygan, WI, with a time of 4 minutes 30 seconds. Holzwart also won the Fair’s Pie Eating Contest. Third place winner Andrew Gretch hails from Tonawanda.

If you’d like to sample BW’s BBQ without a time limit, stop by their Fair location on the hill tomorrow, the last day of the 171^st Erie County Fair.

Best in Show: Maureen Morabito of Silver Creek

Best Label:     Julius Kordasiewicz of Angola

 Double Gold Winners

Kiwi Melon Pinot Grigio ’09:             Brian Crosby of Buffalo

Merlot:                                              Cynthia Jarosz of Lackawanna

Blackberry:                                        Cynthia Jarosz of Lackawanna

Pinot Grigio ’09:                                Maureen Morabito of Silver Creek

Concord:                                           Maureen Morabito of Silver Creek

Peach:                                               Maureen Morabito of Silver Creek

Blush ’09:                                          Kevin Morabito of Dunkirk

Diamond:                                           Robert Senger of Angola

 Gold Winners

Pineapple Voignier:                             Steve Berge of Orchard Park

Merlot:                                               Paul Dinunzio of Hamburg

Cherry:                                               Stanley Hapman of Angola

Pinot Noir:                                          Henry Kasprzak of Hamburg

Merlot:                                                Michael Manka of West Falls

Hybrid White:                                     Kevin Morabito of Dunkirk

Valpolicella ’08:                                  Jeffrey Napieralski of Attica

Raspberry Blush:                                 Duane and Mary Reisdorf of Strykersville

Raisin:                                                 Susan Stender of Delevan

Amerone:                                            Gerald Williams of Silver Creek

White Cranberry Pinot Gries:               Phil Zynda of Depew

Seville Orange Sangria:                        Phil Zynda of Depew

 Silver Winners

Niagara ’09:                                        Mike Brogcinski of Angola

Diamond, NY:                                    Gary Coons of North Tonawanda

Apple NY ’09:                                    Gary Coons of North Tonawanda

Peach/Niagara Blend:                          Gary Coons of North Tonawanda

Rose ’10:                                             George Haley of Eden

Blackberry:                                          George Haley of Eden

Blackberry Isabella:                              Cynthia Jarosz of Lackawanna

Chardonnay:                                         Henry Kasprzak of Hamburg

Savignon Blanc:                                    Henry Kasprzak of Hamburg

Marechel Foch:                                     Mark Lukowski of West Seneca

Diamond:                                              Maureen Morabito of Silver Creek

Rhubarb:                                               Maureen Morabito of Silver Creek

Raspberry:                                            Maureen Morabito of Silver Creek

French Concord:                                  Kevin Pfeister of Holland

Black Current:                                      Duane and Mary Reisdorf of Strykersville

Concord:                                              Kelsey Senger of Angola

Black Raspberry Merlot:                      Susan Stender of Delevan

Pinot Noir:                                           Anthony Wass of Lake View

Diamond ’10:                                       Gerald Williams of Silver Creek

Pear:                                                    Phil Zynda of Depew

Pomegranate Zinfandel:                        Phil Zynda of Depew

 Bronze Winners

Pear/Niagara:                                       Mike Brogcinski of Angola

Syrah:                                                  James Cellars of Hamburg

Raspberry Blush:                                 Gary Coons of North Tonawanda

Strawberry/Diamond Blend:                 Gary Coons of North Tonawanda

Mixed Berry:                                       Howard Grace of West Valley

Blackberry:                                          Howard Grace of West Valley

French Columbard:                               Henry Kasprzak of Hamburg

Merlot:                                                 Henry Kasprzak of Hamburg

De Chaunac ’09:                                 Julius Kordasiewicz of Angola

Moore’s Diamond:                              Mark Lukowski of West Seneca

Stueben:                                              Mark Lukowski of West Seneca

Blueberry:                                           Mark Lukowski of West Seneca

Muscat ’09:                                         Michael Miranda of Williamsville

Concord:                                             Kevin Morabito of Dunkirk

Fredonia ’09:                                       Kevin Morabito of Dunkirk

Niagara Blush:                                    Kevin Pfeister of Holland

Ives ’08:                                              Duane and Mary Reisdorf of Strykersville

Stuebchen-Sacca Concord Red:         Susan Sacca of West Valley

Reisling ’09:                                        Bob Sibiga of Buffalo

Royal Zinfandel:                                 Bob Sibiga of Buffalo

Rhubarb:                                             Jim Skowron of Cowlesville

Leon Millot ’09:                                  Laurie Vail of Depew

Jarhead Red:                                       Gerald Williams of Silver Creek

The Digital Camera Shootout contest allows people attending the Fair to become professional photographers, competing for the best picture in several fair categories, including Food, Animals, Human Interest, Plants/Flowers, and Rides. 40 pre-registered exhibitors were given two hours to go out onto the Fairgrounds and take their best digital pictures of a subject they drew from a hat.

The overall Best in Show photo went to Debbie Forsyth of West Seneca. She took an adorable photo of two brown rabbits after choosing the “Animal” category. Debbie has previously entered her work at the Creative Arts building, but this is her first win for her work. Debbie was very excited to be a part of the contest, and she registered as soon as she heard about it. Debbie has attended the Fair for years, and she thoroughly enjoys the entire Fair atmosphere. She is already excited to be a part of the Digital Shootout next summer.

The winners in each category were awarded as follows:

 Animals

2^nd Place: Joe Hastreiter of Lancaster, with a photo of a sheep

3^rd Place: Amanda Kusowski of Cheektowaga, for her picture of a girl feeding a calf

 Human Interest

1^st Place: Lisa Neff of East Aurora, with her picture of a boy holding a chicken

2^nd Place: Tina Zemrak of Cheektowaga, for her photo of the Pepsi Cola Marching Band

3^rd Place: Angeline Pellien of Lackawanna, for her image of a man making a wooden figurine

 Plants and Flowers

1^st Place: Christopher Grinsell of Orchard Park, for his photo of corn on the cob

2^nd Place: Dorothy Hellwig of Orchard Park, with her image of budding green flowers

3^rd Place: Sharon Downs, for her picture of a gorgeous pink bloom

 Rides

1^st Place: Eve Fadeley of West Seneca, for her image of the brightly colored Euro Bubbles

2^nd Place: Richard Majewski of Orchard Park, for his photo of the Midway rides, including the swings ride and the Ferris wheel

3^rd Place: Diane Brown of Buffalo, with her picture of a boy on the dragon roller coaster in Kiddieland

 Food

1^st Place: Patricia Hastreiter of Lancaster, for her photo of Italian sausage with peppers and onions cooking on the grill

2^nd Place: James Brinkworh III of Cheektowaga, with his picture of a cracker on the pavement

3^rd Place: Barb Brader of Buffalo, for her image of a man carrying his breakfast: a Belgian waffle and a bagel sandwich

Congratulations to all of this year’s winners and participants! We hope to see you back for the contest next year!  Check out the winning photos here.

The First Annual Erie County Fair 5K Race was held this morning at the Fairgrounds in Hamburg. With a turnout of nearly 300 runners, the event was highly successful and brought runners from all over the state together for a great cause. A portion of the proceeds from the race will benefit the Special Olympics of New York. The race was USTAF certified. Participants ran a 3.1 mile route from the Fairgrounds through the Town and Village of Hamburg, and returned back to finish on the track at the Fairgrounds. Medals were awarded to the top male and female runners in twelve different age groups.  

The overall male winner was Dan Ver of Hamburg, with a time of 17:20. Ver, 25, has been running since 2001 when he was in high school. He is looking forward to his next local race, the Fleet Feet 15K, in September. Dan has been coming to the Erie County Fair for years, and says his favorite stop is the Conservation Building. He also spent hours looking at the antique tractors this year. After the race, he couldn’t wait to order an Erie County Fair specialty: the Pot Roast Sundae.

Rachel McNamara was the top female runner in this year’s race. She finished the course with a time of 19:08. McNamara, 24, lives in South Buffalo. She has been running for 11 years, since she started in high school. She is excited to run the Turkey Trot coming up this fall. Rachel is excited to play “I Got It” at the Fair this year, and snack on some fried dough, her favorite fair treat.

Congratulations to all of the race’s participants. A list of all of the results can be found at http://bit.ly/9E1yOq.  Keep running, and we hope to see you again next year!

BEST APPEARING FIRE COMPANY

Best Appearing Fire Company 5-10

1^st:       EDEN

2^nd:      WINDOM

3^rd:      ARMOR

4^th:       EGGERTSVILLE

Best Appearing Fire Company 11-16

1^st:       HIGHLAND HOSE

2^nd:      SHERIDAN PARK

3^rd:      EAST CONCORD

4^th:       RESERVE

Best Appearing Fire Company 17-24

1^st:       NEWTON ABBOTT

2^nd:      CHAFFEE SARDINA

3^rd:      BIG TREE

4^th:       ELLWOOD

Best Appearing Fire Company 25 and Over

1^st:       ORCHARD PARK

2^nd:      MARILLA

3^rd:      LAKE ERIE BEACH

4^th:       HAMBURG

Most Fire Fighters in Line

1^st: HAMBURG

Best Appearing Fire Fighters Color Guards

1^st:       WINDOM

2^nd:      BIG TREE

3^rd:      CHAFFEE SARDINA

4^th:       MACHIAS

BEST APPEARING FIRE COMPANY AUXILIARY

Best Appearing Fire Company Auxiliary 5-10

1^st:       ELLWOOD

2^nd:      HIGHLAND HOSE

3^rd:      LAKE ERIE BEACH

4^th:       FARNHAM

5^th:       MILLGROVE

Outstanding Musical Unit

1^st:       CALEDONIA PIPE BAND

Senior Drum Corps

1^st:       PINK HILL DRUM CORP

Senior Bands

1^st:       MARILLA

Continental Units

1^st:       CALEDONIA PIPE BAND

2^nd:      ERIE COUNTY SHERIFFS

Cadence Units, Fire Department Class A with Bells and Drums

Minimum 4 pieces

1^st:       LANCASTER

2^nd:      BOWMANSVILLE

3^rd:      DEPEW

4^th:       LAKE SHORE

Cadence Units, Fire Department Class B Drums Only

Minimum 4 pieces

1^st:       GOWANDA

Cadence Units, Non-Firematic Class A with Bells and Drums

Minimum 4 pieces

1^st:       RENEGADES

Best Appearing Fire Company Jr’s or Explorer Units

1^st:       SNYDER

2^nd:      EAST CONCORD

3^rd:      HIGHLAND HOSE

4^th:       LAKE ERIE BEACH

5^th:       SOUTH LINE

Best Appearing Color Guards All Others

1^st:       RENEGADES

BEST APPEARING MEN AND WOMEN MARCHING UNITS (OUTSIDE COUNTY OR USA)

Longest Distance

1^st:       MACHIAS

FIREFIGHTING APPARATUS (25 YEARS OR OLDER)

Motorized

1^st:       ALDEN

2^nd:      FALCONER

3^rd:      FARNHAM

4^th:       HARRIS HILL

Hand Drawn

1^st:       ALDEN