By RORY MOORE
Tiger Media Network
The 2025 Ellis County Fair took place last week at the Ellis County Fairgrounds and treated attendees to various attractions like live music, animal rides, a carnival and competitive entertainment.
The Festivities began with the IMCA races at RPM Speedway, where drivers dueled for victory in various divisions. Amenities followed on Tuesday, where families were greeted with food from local vendors, games and a petting zoo featuring exotic animals.
Inside the Schenk Building, exhibitors displayed their works in multiple competitions focused on photography, drawings, Lego building, horticulture and other topics while bringing their pets for shows. 4-H collaborated with the fair to host other shows that emphasized the community’s agriculture reliance, and farmers brought cattle, goats and other livestock for judging.
In the Rodeo Arena, fans were treated to coinciding events like rodeos, but were introduced to a wrestling match between the Midget Wrestling Warriors of New York that ended in a battle for the champion’s belt. The Moto Rodeo concluded the fair on Saturday, where drivers were challenged to speed through routed obstacles on dirt bikes, ATVs and UTVs.
4-H & Open Class Dog Show
The 4-H & Open Class Dog Show takes places in the Unrein Building. 
Kash Parker runs with Jack the Lab Retriever. 
Audrey Yarmer has Chibro the Bischon-Toy Poodle looked at. 
Aleigha Reuter shows off Shasha. 
Lining up with bigger dogs. 
Performing a loop. 
Lainey the Corgi has her teeth observed. 
Running around the perimeter. 
Judging the dogs. 
Handing out awards.
Ellis County Fair Activities
Submissions for the Notebooks, Posters and Displays competition. 
Display for the 4-H photography competition inside the Schenk building. 
Looking at the photos. 
Chellie Wray makes balloon art for kids on the midway. 
Looking at a monkey in the petting zoo. 
Riding a VR roller coaster. 
Trying to shoot baskets at the inflatable Hoop Zone. 
Hammering the high striker. 
Fairgoers are tasked with finding prizes inside the Straw Crawl. 
Aiming for floating balls at the Alien Invasion course. 
Local vendors serve fairgoers at the midway. 
A tricycle obstacle course. 
Kids engaging in a battle of Force 1. 
Father and son operating a hydraulic backhoe. 
Anthony and the Animals performing covers of classic hits. 
A hot dog eating contest in front of the stage. 
“Gator” wolfs down hot dogs. 
Watching the adults devour some hot dogs. 
The Hot Dog Eating champion.
Prizes for a baking competition sponsored by King Arthur Baking. 
Families bring their cats to judging for a cat show. 
Serena Ross and her cat Buffy took home first place. 
Poultry on display. 
Walking onto the Livestock Arena for the Goat Show. 
Carissa Palquest judges a goat. 
Jewelry on sale from Paparazzi Accessories. 
Attempting pull-ups with the Marines. 
Turtle races on the midway. 
Turtle Lightning McQueen crawls back to the drawn circle. 
Beginning the Rodeo Mutton Bustin. 
Rodeo queens ride out to greet the crowd. 
The Marines carry the American and Kansas flags for opening invocations. 
Holding on to a wild horse. 
Cowboys ride out for Patriotic Night at the Rodeo Arena. 
Working together to take down a calf. 
Lassoing a running calf. 
Roping up a calf. 
Riding out side-by-side. 
A competitor in barrel racing. 
Concluding the Rodeo with bull riding.
A Lego building competition inside the Schenk building. 
Putting together a farm. 
Building a battle scene. 
An award-winning poster about Butterfly biology. 
Vegetation submitted by exhibitors. 
A sunflower displayed with a floral exhibit. 
Drawings made with various mediums. 
Washing a cow in preparation for showing. 
Walking out for the Beef Show. 
Sean Rucker insight on a cow appearance. 
Little Kids and Big Rigs allows families to visit with essential services across Ellis County. 
Goofing around with Midwest Energy. 
Explaining to kids how police work inside a SWAT vehicle. 
The Ellis County Sheriff’s office allows kids to sport a police vest. 
Submissions for the fair’s “fairadise” themes. 
Petting a camel inside the petting zoo.
IMCA Hobby Stock and Stock Car Races
Practicing for the races. 
Waving the green flag. 
The stock cars drift their way around RPM Speedway. 
Three wide off turn 4. 
Aggressive driving side-by-side. 
The Hobby Stocks drift through turns 1 and 2. 
Spinning out from the backstretch. 
The Modifieds take the green flag in the final event of the evening. 
Drivers fought each other for every position. 
Fans cheering on their drivers. 
A drag race towards the checkered flag. 
Each winner drove to victory lane to celebrate their wins.
IMCA Sport Compacts, Sport Mods, and Modifieds
The second night of dirt track racing begins with a Sport Compact heat race. 
The Hobby Stocks take the backstretch. 
The Sport Mods drift through turn 3. 
Russell native Jakob Schwien surges ahead. 
Schwien poses for pictures with family and friends after winning. 
Sliding off turn 3. 
The Hobby Stock field roars through RPM Speedway as Austin Rich loses control. 
Rich waits to be attended after crashing out. 
Battling for every position on the dirt. 
Colliding into each other on turn 4. 
Track personnel tow an uninjured Cole Schulte’s car away after flying off the track. 
Zach Olmstead summarizes the race while celebrating his win in victory lane. 
A wreck ensues with a car flipping over. 
Shannon Maughlin walked away from a scary crash after being upsides down. 
The Modifieds finishing their main feature. 
Dakota Sproul in victory lane.
Midget Wrestling
The Midget Wrestling Warriors takeover the Rodeo Arena. 
Diosa Quetzal fights Reyna Marina in the opening match. 
The crowd was amazed by the action. 
Quetzal throws Marina down to the floor. 
Counting down the clock on Marina. 
Rob the Giant and Short Sleeve Sampson exchange insults. 
Potro Romano enters the ring. 
Romano puts Demus in a headlock. 
Demus leaps onto Romano. 
Azrael Row vs. Short Sleeve Sampson. 
Sampson knocking Row down. 
Danika Della Rogue vs. Zoey Skye. 
Rogue knocks Skye down midair. 
Rogue celebrates her victory in front of the crowd. 
Rob hitting Sampson in the final match. 
Sampson claimed the world championship after a tough fight.
Moto Rodeo
A bumpy ride around a barrel. 
The Moto Rodeo concluded the 2025 fair at the Rodeo Arena. 
The rodeo began with motorists performing a figure 8 in the dirt. 
The Open 2 Wheel Drive Quad. 
Kicking up dirt in a tough route. 
The Moto Rodeo entertained fans with competitions on ATVs, dirt bikes, and UTVs. 
Scott Roberts took first place in the Sport Side By Side Polaris Rzr/General Style. 
Dylan Pfeifer makes a sharp turn. 
Capturing the flag while driving. 
Cole McDonough speeds in the Half Lap challenge. 
Brooklyn Pfeifer won the Open Wheel Drive and Scott Roberts won the Sport Side By Side Polaris Rzr/General Style.