EMBARRASS — The Embarrass Fair horse events continue to grow each year. Several years ago, team penning got moved to the week before the fair, and a day of ranch sorting competition was also added. Recently, barrel racing has become a fair weekend event, along with the annual horse show. This is the 17th year team penning has been held, and it is now named in memory of Danny Theel.
This year, 66 three-person teams competed in team penning on Friday, and 119 teams on Saturday. Team membership is varied, with riders competing on multiple teams and teams signing up for multiple runs. Ranch sorting, which consists of two-person teams, had 97 teams competing on Sunday. Team penning riders pay $15 each per run, while ranch sorting riders pay $25 for two runs. Entry fees cover the cost of renting the calves (62 total between the three days rented from Emmett Baronne, who has supplied cattle for the event for many years), the prize money, and then some is donated back to the fair.
The event attracts riders from across Minnesota as well as Wisconsin.
Many families camp out at the fairgrounds over the weekend. Stands were full of spectators on Saturday and Sunday. Food trucks were on site for the event, and on Saturday morning, there was a benefit pancake breakfast as part of the Ride, Raffle, ‘N Roll fundraiser for ALS.
The calves were a bit excitable when the event got underway on Friday, with many of the early teams getting no score as the calves stampeded to the opposite end of the arena. Rules call for the riders to hold the calves on one end of the arena, as they sort and then herd only the three calves with the specific numbers on their sides to the opposite end, herding the correctly numbered calves into a holding pen with a 90-second time limit. As the event went on, the calves did start to settle in. New teams entered the arena every couple of minutes once the competition was underway. The calves are regularly rotated in and out of the arena, to give them rest time.
See the Facebook page at Embarrass MN Sorting and Team Penning for photos that will be posted by local photographer Barney Chamberlin.

Results
The top team each day won buckles, and the top three teams won cash prizes, determined by the number of teams entering each day.

Friday Team Penning
First: Jay Jendro, Lynda Shively, Donna Schwartz
Second: Josie Duerr, June Burrows, Lynda Shively
Third: Rhayna Mikkelson, Leah Berg, Brent Mikkelson

Saturday Team Penning
First: Brent Mikkelson, Terri Berg, Martin Schwartz
Second: Alana Aswegen, Clayton Aswegen, Deb Mazo
Third: Leah Berg, Terri Berg, Kylie Cronemiller

Friday/Saturday Fastest Team
Overall: Brent Mikkelson, Terri Berg, Martin Schwartz. Received the North Shore bonus prize.

Sunday Ranch Sorting
First: Jay Jendro, Kylie Cronemiller
Second: Brent Christiansen, Jay Jendro
Third: Kylie Cronemiller, Kendall Cronemiller.