A first-time turkey caller and a veteran rooster crower took home top honors today at the Lorain County Fair.

Emily Pohorence, 13, of Huron, also won first place for rooster calling in 2007 but didn’t place last year. She said she spent fair week so far “practicing in the chicken barn.” Asked how the chickens reacted, “they did it back,” she said.

Emily, who goes to school at Firelands and is a member of Bits and Spurs 4-H club, rose to the top of the field of 16 to take home the big trophy and blue ribbon.

Adam Cordy, 13, of LaGrange, said he’d never even seen the turkey call competition but read about it and decided to give it a try.

“I was just playing around, making noise, and I figured it out,” he said.

It must have worked. He drew laughs from the audience during the contest’s first round when a turkey responded to his call.

He said he hunts turkey and deer with his uncle, but hasn’t had a chance to try out his turkey call while hunting.

“But it works great on the turkeys around the farm,” his dad said.

Annalee Sekulic, 12, of Wakeman, and her goose, Ricky, scurried to first-place honors in the fowl races that followed the turkey calling and rooster crowing contests.

Participants encouraged their ducks, geese and turkeys through an obstacle course: in and out of a slalom, through a tunnel, up and down a ramp and under a board.

It was all in fun, so there were plenty of liberties taken. One boy had to chase his duck halfway down the barn. And there was plenty of pushing and prodding.

Annalee said she got Ricky two months ago when he was a day old — “that’s when they follow you everywhere,” she said — and has been practicing with him everytime she went out to feed the horses.

Contact Rona Proudfoot at rproudfoot@chroniclet.com, (440) 371-0792 or stop by to see her at the fair. She’s based at the WEOL booth and will be wandering the fairgrounds in a bright gold Chroniclet.com T-shirt.