In this swing state election year, even the Guys and Gals Sheep Lead Competition at the Fairfield County Fair was not free of politics, courtesy of my wife. For the competition, my wife dressed our children like politicians and sent them around the show ring. My three-year-old son, in particular, performed like a seasoned politician with a golf cap, red sweater and blue blazer.

With the roar of the truck pull and the beautiful fall foliage of the Fairfield County Fairgrounds beneath a darkening autumn sky, I once again found myself holding onto a well-groomed sheep with one hand and any number of hair bows or sparkly ribbons in the other while my children waited outside the show ring. It is the annual event that makes me cringe and grin all at the same time in the paternal struggle that is the Guys and Gals Sheep Lead competition.

My daughter has done this several times and, really, the event is ridiculous by any measure. People of all ages dress in wool outfits and model them on a stage in between circling laps leading sheep adorned with painstakingly coordinated accessories. My wife maintains that this is a great promotion of wool, and she is probably right. The event always draws a large crowd, but the woolen fashion show is just not my cup of tea.

Nonetheless, our daughter always has fun and I can’t help but be proud of her ability to look cute while proficiently leading a sheep around the ring. I was concerned that my poor boy, though, did not know what he was in for, but I was wrong. He mustered all of his political charm while waving and blowing kisses to the ladies as the commentator read the following while they circled the ring with the sheep:

“Campbell and Parker Reese from Baltimore are out on the campaign trail this evening. Although this pair is young — Campbell is five and Parker is three — they are getting an early start to their political careers. Tonight they are out campaigning for the write-in candidate, their Ewe, Ruby. She is running for president of their flock. There is tough competition from other parties including Barred Rock Obama, the Rooster, and Mitt Ram-ney the Ram. Their vote is for Ruby because Ram-ney is trying to pull the wool over their eyes and Barred Rock is just too cocky.”

Do not forget to get out and vote.