Rains began just after 9:30 a.m. Aug. 8 at the 4-H Horse Show on the Seward County Fairgrounds, causing a delay after the first event, senior showmanship. Fair administrators decided to move the remainder of the horse show to the State Fairgrounds in Lincoln to avoid more delays.

Jamie Koerner

    The rain brought in and closed the Seward County Fair this year.
     Aug. 8 was the first day of the fair and at the Seward County Commissioners' meeting Aug. 7 Commissioner Ron Minchow informed the commissioners that some areas near Osceola received up to 10 inches of rain the night before.
     Precautions were in place to avoid flooding, especially on the county fairgrounds that are located on the north side of the Blue River, making the area more susceptible for flooding, he said.
     "All the appropriate authorities are in place and checking back," said Minchow in regard to Seward County Emergency Management and the Seward County Sheriff's Department that were monitoring water levels in the county the morning of Aug. 7.
     Minchow said that more rain was expected that night which could increase the chance of flooding in the county fairgrounds.
     "If we know it's going to get bad, we won't even let [entrants] bring in animals," Minchow said.
     He said that the main priority is people's safety.
     The morning of Aug. 8, the first major day of 4-H, FFA and open class exhibits and shows, it started raining on the Seward County Fairgrounds just after 9:30 a.m.
     The only fair event that was scheduled that morning and located outside was the 4-H Horse Show, which had already been moved from the main arena because of mud and water to a grassy arena on the fairgrounds.
     Just after the senior showmanship class had been judged, the rain began to fall. The crowds all moved out of the area to shelter. The judges, announcer and some F-Hers and viewers crowded under the two tents that were sheltering the loudspeaker equipment, while a decision was made.
     The day before the University of Nebraska Extension Office in Seward, along with authorities, had made contingency plans in the case of rain.
     Horse show event coordinator Maggie Miller, extension assistant for the University of Nebraska Extension Office in Seward, was prepared to give an answer to the eager, wet attendants at the grass arena.
     Miller informed the horse show announcer, Tausha Dybdal, who informed the attendants over the loudspeaker that the horse show was being moved to the Open Air Pavilion at the State Fairgrounds in Lincoln.
     The horse show restarted at the State Fairgrounds at noon, and a few hours later Dybdal announced that the horse show Aug. 9 would continue at the State Fairgrounds to avoid being rained out of Seward again, but would be held at the Ice Box arena.
     Doug Brand, secretary of the Seward County Agriculture Society, said that all was in place and ready to host the horse show at the county fairgrounds, but when the heavy rain set in a decision had to be made in order to continue the show.
     "They decided to move and that was a good decision," Brand said.
     Miller also said that the No. 1 priority when the decision to move the horse show was made was to keep people safe. She said the 4-Hers and their families were understanding about the situation and willing to work together to get the horse show going again as soon as possible.
     "Without the cooperation of the 4-H families and volunteers nothing would happen if they weren't so supportive," Miller said. "The parents involved picked up and moved and did it willingly. That's a testament to the quality of parents and volunteers we have in Seward County."
     Gary Peterson, Seward County emergency manager, said the Seward County fairgrounds received about two inches of rain from Aug. 8 through Aug. 12 and the water level in the river near the fairgrounds rose, but never high enough to pose a threat to fair visitors.
     Brand said that the outdoor auto show Aug. 12 was the only other fair event was moved besides the horse show.
     He said that water from the Blue River was over the bridge in some areas near Centennial Park in the county fairgrounds, where the auto show was scheduled to take place. The show was moved to another park near the dining hall in the fairgrounds to avoid having to cross the bridge.
     "The auto show went great," Brand said. "We had 128 cars from Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa."
     Brand said that the demolition derby the night of Aug. 12, even with the heavy rains at 4 p.m. that day, went smoothly and had a great turnout.
     Brand said that a couple low-lying areas in the county fairgrounds that are traditionally used for parking were unavailable because of the heavy rains.
     Even though the rain was a concern during the county fair, Brand said the heat was a bigger concern.
     "Every fair that has outside events, there will be weather concerns," Brand said. " It has been 20 years since we've had large amounts of rain during the fair."
     Brand said that there can't be too many complaints about the rain because it has done a lot of good things for the county this summer.
     "The corn and soybeans are just great this year," Brand said. "The moisture this summer has made our fairgrounds look wonderful. It's too bad we had to relocate the horse show, but that happens. That's Nebraska."