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The Clark County Fairgrounds, located at 4980 Ironworks Road, hosts the Clark County Fair & Horse Show each year. 

Welcoming many from within and outside the community, 2025 would be no exception. 

From June 21 through June 28, the Clark County Fair & Horse Show came to Winchester. 

Thousands attended while taking on the rides, partaking in pageantry, competing in animal shows, submitting 4-H and home economics entries, and much more. 

During the course of the fair pageants, various winners were named: including Little Miss & Mister Clark County, Miss Teen Clark County & Clark County Fair, Miss Pre-Teen Clark County & Clark County Fair, Miss Clark County, Miss Clark County Fair, Mrs. Clark County, and more. 

A full list of results will be published separately. 

The event featured a number of 4-H and home economic contests, with winners to be posted separately. 

The event also showcased a number of livestock shows, such as a beef show, goat show, horse show, and more. 

Eli Cowan, a Maysville resident, competed in the sheep show with a dorset breed. 

He was asked what he enjoyed most. 

“Probably the ability to go in there and show off that you had something that you worked for,” he said. “Some lambs….grow a lot of wool on top of their head…these don’t.”

The event also showcased motorsport events, like the demolition derby, powerwheels derby, KOI drag race, and – of course – the mud run. 

Appropriately taking place on Friday evening after a short rain, one of the mud run’s competitors was Lane Montgomery of Frankfort – accompanied by his father. 

“If it’s your first time, I’d probably say try not to go too fast…just try to teach yourself more and more until you get used to it,” he said. 

That same night, Sam L. Smith played in concert for all to hear. 

“I’m from Mt. Sterling, so this is kind of – in a way – a hometown show…it’s probably our third year here playing at the fair,” he said. “The crowd’s always great, and we always see a hometown crowd get to come out.” 

Among many food and drink vendors was Tortilla Junction of Lewis County, making their first appearance while selling top items such as the carne asada tacos and burritos, loaded nachos, and more – plus boba lemonade combinations. 

“This will be our first time at [the] Clark County Fair, and we should be back next year as well,” said Jeremiah Carver, who co-owns Tortilla Junction with his wife, Lisa. 

Yet, not to be forgotten, arguably the biggest reason many attended the event was to take on the rides and play different games provided by Casey’s Rides Inc. 

Rides for kids and adults included Baby A’s Jungle Maze, Funny Farm, Rock-o-Plane, Berry Go Round, Ali Baba, The Wiz, Carriage Go Round, Windjammer, Scrambler, and more. 

Games included balloon toss, a water gun race, a break a plate game, and others. 

“It’s just a fun thing that Clark County does,” said Angie Kidd, a long-time Winchester resident who attended the event with both her kids and grandchildren. “My grandson…[it’s] the first time that he’s rode any of the rides.” 

For people both near and far, the fair ended up being eventful in more ways than one. 

“[I’ve] been coming here since I was little, so [I] just wanted to come [and] relive some of the nostalgic moments,” said Liam Parido, a GRC graduate currently attending school in Morehead who attended with his younger brother and friends. “Just getting to come and relax is always a good thing.”