Families flock to state fair and rodeo

With the big rivalry football game between New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico happening last Saturday evening, many families from Albuquerque came into town early to enjoy the 58th annual Southern New Mexico State Fair and Rodeo last weekend.

New Mexico State University’s mascot, Pistol Pete, engaged with fairgoers. Louis Mauriot, 26, is a civil engineering graduate this year and his first year being the mascot. “It’s a really unique experience and is kind of like being the ultimate Aggies fan,” said Mauriot. The fair has not had the mascot attend in several years, but Mauriot said he reached out to the fair to come out and be with the people. 

One of the major parts of the fair is for children who raise livestock to be shown at the fair. From rabbits to cattle, fairgoers can walk through and see the hard work these children put into taking care of their animals.

Those that raise livestock to be sold at the auction got their chance to show off their hard work at the livestock show Friday evening. To start it off, Shaylee Vega-Ritter, 14, from Socorro, was the first on the stage with her grand champion junior beef cow. She could be seen nuzzling her cow with her friend, Julian Kerr, 16, also from Socorro, before walking on the stage and selling it for $10,000.

Kerr said this is his third time at this fair but has been going and showing his animals at fairs for eight years. This year Kerr got second place on his market steer. He said he enjoys coming to the fair, that it is a lot of work and early mornings reporting to the fairgrounds.

Down at the rodeo, the stands were packed each night for the events. Delila Morales, 26, and David Loera, 25, travel from El Paso, Texas each year to come to the fair. Their son, Armani, who is almost 2, could be seen with his cowboy hat on and a look of awe on his face as he watched the rodeo. Morales says they haven’t missed the fair in at least five years because of their love for the rodeo. 

The Belmares and De Luna families came out to support Pablo Belmares, 28, from El Paso, who was among the bull riders. His wife, Denae Belmares, 25, was there with her parents, Dina De Luna and Abner De Luna and her 13-month-old daughter, Camila. They could be spotted at the fence when it was Pablo’s turn in the bull riding event. She said the rodeo is a way for the family to come together and enjoy a beautiful night.

It’s not a fair without the carnival, where lines were packed with eager faces ready to get on rides or try their hand at games. Leslie Alvidrez, 23, took her son Emmanuel, 2, and infant niece to the carnival where Emmanuel could be seen excitedly trying his hand at a fishing game.

Across the carnival, Greg Odom, 51, tried for the third year in a row to beat the Hang Time 2:00 challenge. His wife said their son beat it and now Greg has been trying to compete with him. This year he came just 14 seconds away from beating the 2-minute time limit.

Despite the warm temperature this weekend, it didn’t deter from people coming from all around the southwest to enjoy this year’s fair.