At the Deerfield Fair, They Take Their Animals Seriously

You Are Here From WERS · Deerfield Fair

By Reporter Sam Shipman

Every year, the final weekend of September sees over 100,000 people flood into the small town of Deerfield NH, for a 147-year-old tradition known as The Deerfield Fair.

The Fair offers amusement park rides, pop-up concerts, and an endless menu of food. But what sets Deerfield apart from other fairs is its history with animals.

During the fair’s four-day run, Deerfield becomes home to cows, oxen, pigs, sheep, and horses. But these creatures don’t just stand around eating feed, and collecting blue ribbons, they’re the cornerstone and the stars of this fair. 

Among the extensive list of activities and carnivalesque festivities, stands a white fenced hexagon, where a large crowd has amassed. These people are here for one of Deerfield’s most anticipated events; “The Pig Scramble”

The piglets march out into the pen, met with a barrage of cheers from the crowd. Then, five kids, ages 8-10, are selected from the crowd.  The children are handed burlap sacks, the goal: to capture the piglets before they run out of time.

In the frenzy, people cheer and gasp as the kids dive bomb the piglets sprinting around the pen. 

This year, four out of five of the kids selected were able to catch the piglets- their prize: they get to take them home.

One of these winners was NH resident Camden Blades, who captured his piglet after a bit of a struggle. 

“I was, very, very impressed [I captured the piglet],” said Camden Blades, with his family laughing in excitement behind him.

Camden’s father, Matt Blades has been coming to the fair for a long time, the Pig Scramble is always a highlight.

“We [have] come to the Deerfield fair every year since I was a little kid, and we continue the tradition with our kids,” said Matt Blades.

If there’s one event that tops the 40-year old Pig Scramble, it’s Horse Pulling. 

This popular contest consists of trainers taking two horses and guiding them to a crate of large stone bricks, weighing 500 pounds each. The horses are then set off to see if they can pull the crate 15 feet. This continues as more bricks are added until the horses can no longer pull the crate.

John Bolduc has been announcing the Horse-Pulling competition for 35 years, and his father was the announcer before him.

 “It’s a family fair, there a lot of friends right here, it’s a wonderful fair,” said Bolduc, “It’s one of the best ones you’ve ever been to- the best there is- there is no better right at the Deerfield Fair” 

Bolduc said horses come from all parts of the country, just like their owners.

“I just meet a lot of good people,” Bolduc said, “I enjoy the horsemen… they look forward to me being here.” 

Saturday featured the Horse Pull in the 3,600-pound weight class- where Jeff Capizzano was the winner.

“I came here before, I got in second, came here before that, and got in third,” said Capizzano, “today means a lot.” 

After Capizzano’s roughly 13 hour day as a truck driver, he goes home to raise these horses to compete in the event.

“I come home and get them harnessed up and they work on a sled thats around 800 or 900 pounds and go 4 or 5 miles a night just like a bodybuilder or a weightlifter,” Said Capizzano, 

“They’ve got to build muscle and everything.”

Capizzano said its surprising how many of his friends and family come to see how he trains the horses for competition. 

“They just think all you do is load these things up in a trailer and come to the contest,” Said Capizzano, “they have no idea about the vitamins, the grain, the hay, the time in the barn with them.”

 Capizzano spend’s most of his time with the horses during the summer.

“When the pulling season is over in October, they become pets,” said Capizzano, “we’ve been doing it 21 years now.” 

A lot goes into the animals that pull, right down to where they rest before they pull. Matt St. George was relaxing in a chair, next to a slew of oxen.

“We’ve been pulling since 2012, and we eventually got invited to come here and pull animals at the Deerfield fair,” said St. George, “If you have cattle bigger than the kid’s class, you have to have your animals here for the entire fair.” 

St. George says conditioning oxen to compete takes years.

“Just like any other animal they pick up on commands when they’re young, we get them used to getting in the trailer,” said St George, “they jump right up or step right up into the trailer, then they get hooked to the trailer, they can move, they have plenty of room, they’re not packed tight or anything. they handle it well and we’re obviously careful when driving.” 

Deerfield’s animals are special and so is Deerfield’s family-oriented mission, as Deerfield historian Edith Kimball explains.

“There’s always been horse pulling, and it’s a big draw people love horse pulling,” Said Kimbell, “But I think Deerfield is known as a family fair, it’s an agricultural fair, we don’t allow alcohol, we don’t have any games of chance, there’s no gambling. it’s just a nice family fair for everybody to enjoy.”