DARLINGTON - Reggie Gill, an officer with the Lafayette County Sheriff's Department, has barely been on a pony before, let alone a camel, but Thursday he was one of 16 lucky locals to test out camel racing at the county fair.
Lafayette County is the first in the state to bring the ancient Middle Eastern sport to its fair, by the account of the Franksville company that trucked in four camels to the grandstand for the event.
The camels shared the grandstand with a noisy tractor pull but were nonplussed by the clouds of exhaust and gunning engines.
"We specifically train them to be prepared for anything," said Cody Zibung, zookeeper at Jo Don Farms.
Her four charges regarded the scene with imperious detachment, occasionally letting out a stream of urine or pawing at the ground in impatience to get started. But walk up to them and they'll nuzzle a visitor with curiosity and suck amiably at an outstretched hand with their floppy sandpaper lips.
Gill rode the biggest of the camels, Omar, a 2,000-pound two-humped camel with stringy legs so long his haunches sit at about eye level for the average person. Omar's ancestral home is the Gobi Desert.
Gill competed with Omar in the first heat, alongside Darlington resident Mike Harms, as well as other law enforcement officers, Darlington Police Sergeant Tony Ruesga and Argyle Police Chief Hayley Saalsaa.
The second the short race began, it was clear why camels are valued for their ability to carry heavy loads long distances, not for athletic prowess. Camels are neither competitive or particularly graceful. Their long legs splay inefficiently in four directions, like a puppet's.
The winning camel, Harms' Kalisha, bolted awkwardly toward the grandstand before veering back on track toward the finish line. Omar trotted in the middle. Ruesga's and Saalsaa's camels loped along behind at a relaxed pace, not enticed to speed up by the buckets of food their trainers shook at the finish line.
The crowd cheered and laughed at the spectacle.
Kalisha may have won this time, but he's no safe bet. Bob Meyer, president of Jo Don Farms, recalls a time Kalisha stopped mid-race and looked out at the spectators before finally noticing the other camels were passing him up.
But if Kalisha sets his mind to racing, he can. "He goes from zero to gone very quickly," Meyer said. "Once they realize there's grain at the other end, they book."
Jo Don Farms has about 300 farm and exotic animals, including 11 camels. Despite coming from an arid desert environment, camels do well in Wisconsin's temperature extremes, Zibung said. She debunked the common misconception that camel humps are filled with water. In fact, they're like bellies on humans and retain fat for lean times.
What doesn't suit camels are tropically hot, humid areas. Omar recently did a stint doing safari rides in Florida, and dropped almost 500 pounds in his two years there.
Since returning to Wisconsin, "he's already put on a couple hundred in a month," Zibung said.
A large crowd filled the grandstands for the combined tractor pull and camel races, the main grandstand entertainment at the fair Thursday.
"I think they came out to see something different," said Jack Sauer, member of the fair committee.
One of the camel riders, Darlington doctor Matt Solverson, came dressed in an outfit inspired in part by the sport's traditional Middle Eastern background. He wore a turban, a long white lab coat and farm galoshes.
The outfit's effect was more cheesemaker than Abu Dhabi sportsman, but it bridged the cultures and showed that camel racing can fit in anywhere, even across the world in the Dairyland.
The Lafayette County Fair continues through Sunday. A full schedule of events and judging is available for download at lafayettecountyfair.org.
Lafayette County is the first in the state to bring the ancient Middle Eastern sport to its fair, by the account of the Franksville company that trucked in four camels to the grandstand for the event.
The camels shared the grandstand with a noisy tractor pull but were nonplussed by the clouds of exhaust and gunning engines.
"We specifically train them to be prepared for anything," said Cody Zibung, zookeeper at Jo Don Farms.
Her four charges regarded the scene with imperious detachment, occasionally letting out a stream of urine or pawing at the ground in impatience to get started. But walk up to them and they'll nuzzle a visitor with curiosity and suck amiably at an outstretched hand with their floppy sandpaper lips.
Gill rode the biggest of the camels, Omar, a 2,000-pound two-humped camel with stringy legs so long his haunches sit at about eye level for the average person. Omar's ancestral home is the Gobi Desert.
Gill competed with Omar in the first heat, alongside Darlington resident Mike Harms, as well as other law enforcement officers, Darlington Police Sergeant Tony Ruesga and Argyle Police Chief Hayley Saalsaa.
The second the short race began, it was clear why camels are valued for their ability to carry heavy loads long distances, not for athletic prowess. Camels are neither competitive or particularly graceful. Their long legs splay inefficiently in four directions, like a puppet's.
The winning camel, Harms' Kalisha, bolted awkwardly toward the grandstand before veering back on track toward the finish line. Omar trotted in the middle. Ruesga's and Saalsaa's camels loped along behind at a relaxed pace, not enticed to speed up by the buckets of food their trainers shook at the finish line.
The crowd cheered and laughed at the spectacle.
Kalisha may have won this time, but he's no safe bet. Bob Meyer, president of Jo Don Farms, recalls a time Kalisha stopped mid-race and looked out at the spectators before finally noticing the other camels were passing him up.
But if Kalisha sets his mind to racing, he can. "He goes from zero to gone very quickly," Meyer said. "Once they realize there's grain at the other end, they book."
Jo Don Farms has about 300 farm and exotic animals, including 11 camels. Despite coming from an arid desert environment, camels do well in Wisconsin's temperature extremes, Zibung said. She debunked the common misconception that camel humps are filled with water. In fact, they're like bellies on humans and retain fat for lean times.
What doesn't suit camels are tropically hot, humid areas. Omar recently did a stint doing safari rides in Florida, and dropped almost 500 pounds in his two years there.
Since returning to Wisconsin, "he's already put on a couple hundred in a month," Zibung said.
A large crowd filled the grandstands for the combined tractor pull and camel races, the main grandstand entertainment at the fair Thursday.
"I think they came out to see something different," said Jack Sauer, member of the fair committee.
One of the camel riders, Darlington doctor Matt Solverson, came dressed in an outfit inspired in part by the sport's traditional Middle Eastern background. He wore a turban, a long white lab coat and farm galoshes.
The outfit's effect was more cheesemaker than Abu Dhabi sportsman, but it bridged the cultures and showed that camel racing can fit in anywhere, even across the world in the Dairyland.
The Lafayette County Fair continues through Sunday. A full schedule of events and judging is available for download at lafayettecountyfair.org.