The half-dozen dairy cows in the Elizabethtown Fair show ring Wednesday evening seemed a little fractious.

But that didn't stop an eager collection of local celebrities from grabbing those udders with both hands and squeezing out milk like there was no tomorrow.

Before it was over, Lancaster County Dairy Princess Terri Kauffman and E-town Fair Queen Kelsey Binkley were both knocked to the ground, and even borough police Chief Jack Mentzer seemed a little cowed by the nervous cattle.

"This is my rookie attempt," Mentzer said.

Celebrity milking is an annual event at the Elizabethtown Fair. Celebrities are paired up and each has 90 seconds to coax as much milk as possible from their animals.

Mentzer and Binkley shared a particularly aggressive cow, but both bent to their task with a will once it was persuaded to stand placidly for the last minute of the contest.

Meanwhile, Kauffman and Union National Community Bank President Mark Gainer surged into an easy lead, filling their pail with 3.23 pounds of milk in three minutes.

Kauffman, who milks cows pretty much every day, said their cow was nervous at first because she was spooked by a colorful "happy birthday" banner that was draped around her shoulders. Gainer, whose bank is a fair sponsor, celebrated his birthday Wednesday.

"But he certainly pulled his share of the weight," Kauffman said.

Two teams — state Rep. Tom Creighton and District Judge Jayne Duncan on one, U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts and County Commissioner Scott Martin on the other — tied for second place with 1.83 pounds of milk. Elizabethtown Mayor Bob Brain and County Commissioner Dennis Stuckey came in third with 1.67 pounds.

County Commissioner Craig Lehman and Mount Joy Mayor Mary Ginder rounded out the competition, with Binkley and Mentzer bringing up the rear.

Binkley, who left the ring limping after the cow she was milking stepped down hard on her ankle, might have thought it was going to be a bad day.

Not so. Binkley, who has been exhibiting animals at Elizabethtown for 10 years, went out on a high note Wednesday when her champion market lamb, Fitch, was named supreme market animal in a head-to-head competition against this week's top market goat, steer, dairy cow, hog and rabbit meat pen.

"She's long, she's tall, she's thick," Binkley said of her 8-month-old crossbred ewe lamb. "She's good."

This is 19-year-old Binkley's final year competing at Elizabethtown, and she said it's been a bittersweet week for that reason.

She showed three lambs this year, she noted, and — while she knew Fitch was the best of the three — she was less certain of the ewe's chances against the field.

"I knew she was good, but I didn't know she was that good," Binkley said.

Binkley is the daughter of Van and Beth Binkley of Conestoga. A 2008 graduate of a home-school program, she is a sophomore at Harrisburg Area Community College, where she studies nursing.

Fitch was not, however, the featured animal at the sale of champions that followed the supreme judging. "I couldn't sell her," Binkley said. She plans to show her at additional agriculture fairs in Lancaster County this season.

The auction began with Manheim resident Janelle Geib's champion market goat, which set the bidding bar high with a sale price of $800.

The E. coli bacteria scare that has cut the public water supply to the fair this week added a new twist to Wednesday's sale, fair board member Frank Stoltzfus announced shortly before bidding began.

Although tankers have provided uncontaminated water for animals on the fairgrounds, Stoltzfus said local business Groff's Meats, which butchers sale animals for buyers, has been closed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture "through no fault of its own" until local water has tested pure.

Fair officials have made arrangements with Smucker's Meats of Mount Joy to handle the jobs this week, Stoltzfus said.

The judging of breeding stock begins today with goats at 2 p.m. and sheep at 6 p.m. The dairy show begins at 9 a.m. Friday, and the supreme breeding animal will be judged Friday at 3 p.m.

Here are additional highlights from the week's remaining schedule:

Today — 7 p.m., rock band competition and mini hay bale toss; 7:30 p.m., variety show by the Moore Brothers.

Friday — 6:30 p.m., pedal power tractor pull; 7 p.m., arts and crafts auction; 7:30 p.m., oldies by the Fabulous Hubcaps.

Saturday — 10 a.m., horseshoe pitch; 11:30 a.m., pet show; 2 p.m., hay bale throw and garden tractor pull; 4:30 p.m., frog jumping contest; 7:30 p.m., oldies by Chuck Cahoe & the Fun Junkies; 10:45 p.m., fireworks.

The petting zoo is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Rides open weekdays at 2 p.m., noon on Saturday.

E-mail: tknapp@lnpnews.com