Wolfing ’em down on dog day afternoon

If You Go

• What: Clark County Fair.

• Hours Monday: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

• Where: 17402 N.E. Delfel Road, Ridgefield.

• Admission: Family Day, $6 for kids 7-12 with coupon from local Chevron station. Adults, $11; seniors 62 and older, $9; kids 7-12, $8; kids 6 and younger, free. Parking, $6. C-Tran shuttle, free from area Park & Ride lots.

• Carnival: Opens at noon.

• Highlights: The Guess Who performs in the grandstands, free with fair admission, at 7 p.m.

• Other: Mz. Pearl’s Variety Show at noon; Clark County Regional K-9 demonstration at 6 p.m.

• Pets: Not permitted, except for personal service animals or those on exhibition or in competition.

• Information: www.clarkcofair.com or 360-397-6180.

RIDGEFIELD — Fourteen contestants sat facing a crowd on Sunday, each with a plate of 10 hot dogs and one bottle of water in front of them.

Their motivations for entering the hot dog eating contest at the Clark County Fair were mixed. Some cited peer pressure, the love of a free meal, or that it was on their bucket list. Their objective was the same: be the first to eat all 10 hot dogs and hot dog buns.

The crowd of about 100 people, who were gathered around The Columbian Community Stage, counted down from five, and the speed-eating began. The theme song from the “Rocky” movies blared through loudspeakers.

Garrett Horn of Vancouver, who said he’d won a hot dog eating contest before, uncapped his bottle and doused his plate of hot dogs with water, softening the white-bread buns.

Other contestants started by just eating the dogs, leaving the buns for later. One boy tried eating three dogs at a time.

“Get ’em, Roger!” a man yelled from the crowd.

Minutes passed, and a few leaders emerged from the pack. But the contest remained tight.

“I can’t really tell who’s first or second. It’s too close to call,” the event’s emcee, who goes by Adam the Great, remarked.

With just a few hot dogs left, Horn stopped to steady himself. He rested his elbows on the table, clasped his hands over his mouth and shook his head as if in disappointment. He couldn’t continue.

Soon after, Chris Munoz of Vancouver pulled ahead with just one hot dog left. Bite by bite, he wolfed it down and was declared the winner of $250 in gift certificates provided by Fred Meyer, the Westfield Vancouver mall and Big Al’s bowling alley and arcade. Second- and third-place winners were sent home with gift certificates for lesser amounts.

After the contest, Munoz said he was feeling full, “but I could have another couple (of hot dogs) if I really tried.”

It was his first time participating in an eating contest, and he said he didn’t employ any specific strategy — he just ate them like he normally would.

He was at the fair Sunday with his fiancé, their two daughters, ages 1 and 2½, and his fiancé’s mom and sister.

“Usually, when they’re all done eating, I finish their plates,” Munoz said. He added that it was the women who encouraged him to enter the contest.

Though he blew past the competition, he said his 10th hot dog was tough to choke down.

“I had to really think of something else while I was eating (it),” he said. Munoz added that he’ll consider coming back next year to defend his title.

The event was one of a few eating contests scheduled at the fair. A watermelon-eating bout took place earlier in the weekend, a cheeseburger-eating contest is set for Saturday, and a classic pie-eating contest will happen next Sunday, the final day of the fair.