Otero County Fair and Rodeo is a buck wild success

ALAMOGORDO — The 78th Otero County Fair and Rodeo has come to an end and was a wild ride from start to finish according to the Otero County Fair Board.

The fair and rodeo, which ended Sunday, was jam packed with food, games, rides, vendor exhibits and of course rodeos.

Fair Board Secretary Treasurer Sheila Coca said they are still in the process of tallying attendance but Coca said estimates are in the thousands.

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The county fair is the largest event in the county that showcases ranch rodeos, produce, art and much more.

“I think attendance was up from what I can see. We accepted credit and debit cards at the gate this year and at the rodeo for tickets and that went really well,” said Coca. “I know that the indoor exhibit building, as far as civic organizations and non-profit organizations were up with rentals. We were squeezing them in any possible way we could.”

Coca said with the addition of the pavilion, the fairgrounds has improved tremendously for its vendors and carnival goers.

“There’s a place to go underneath for cover and get out if it does rain. It did rain a little bit this year but it wasn’t that bad,” said Coca. “When we were closing down on Sunday it was raining but as for the pavilion, it’s a way for the people to get out of the sun and rain and it’s just a nice addition to the fairgrounds. Also the stage, we had local music the entire time of the fair and that was nice as well.”

Coca said she could not pinpoint a specific highlight of the event but said the whole fair was a highlight because volunteers worked diligently to make it come to life.

More:Otero County kicks off 78th annual Fair and Rodeo

“For us, the whole event was a highlight. As far as our volunteers, the Otero County Fair Association members worked 40 plus hours a week all summer long to put on the fair,” she said. “For me, there’s not just one highlight, everything is important equally. It was very successful, we had two ranch rodeos, two traditional rodeos and it looked like attendance was up at both of those events.”

Coca said although the fair and rodeo has ended this year the Otero County Fair Association is already going to begin working on the next one.

She also said the Fair Board is always looking for ways to improve and have implemented a survey asking the public if they should move the fair and rodeo during the third week of September.

More:Cowboys and cowgirls rustle up steers at Otero County Fair Ranch Rodeo

The survey can be found at the following website, https://surveymonkey.com/r/oterofair

“We’d like to thank them for coming out and supporting the Otero County Fair,” said Coca. “We are striving to make the fair better every year.”