Tykes on Trikes Have Field Day at County Fair : Ventura: From three-wheel hot rods to animals and games of skill, every kid finds something to get excited about.

Six-year-old Courtney Thrailkill hiked up her flowered dress, scrunched her nose in concentration and began pedaling like crazy in her determination to establish her family as the new Ventura County Tricycle Pull champions.

Thirty-six feet, five inches and a bead of sweat later, she succeeded.

Scowling at the TV cameraman who got in her way, Courtney scrambled over a yellow guard rope and thrust her trophy at her cheering mom, proud of her prowess in pedaling a plastic trike weighed down by a sled full of bricks.

Her victory sealed a triumphant day for the Thrailkills. Her younger sister, Toni, took third place in the 3-to-5-year-old category, and her stepbrother Jeffrey earned the same standing in the 6- and 7-year-old pool. Ribbons went to the kids who dragged their loads the farthest.

As Courtney’s mom herded the entire family into the nearby petting zoo, Junior Fair Board volunteer Dan Geis, 17, shook his head in admiration. “I think we have a new dynasty here,” he said.

The beribboned Thrailkills, of Santa Clarita, stole the limelight from the Singletary family, the longtime champions who failed to appear at Thursday’s trike pull for the first time in years.

Plenty of other novices joined the Thrailkill kids in vying for the title of county trike-pull champ, one of the biggest draws among a series of events staged by the all-volunteer Junior Fair Board.

“She really didn’t want to do it, but then she got to looking at the bike and decided she did want to try--especially since they’re giving out trophies,” said Sheila Burkhart of Oxnard, whose 5-year-old daughter, Emily, made a valiant but wobbly effort.

Before the 1 p.m. start, the teen-age volunteers collected $1 entry fees and balanced bricks in the trike’s sled, while the budding athletes flexed their muscles--or clutched their parents’ hands.

Most of the youngsters offered a succinct reason why they felt sure they’d come away with a blue ribbon: “Because.”

A few, though, had unique explanations for their confidence: “Because I live with a mom named Rhonda,” 3-year-old Brandy Lopez of Santa Paula confided gravely.

While the trike pull carried considerable allure, some in the toddler-to-kindergartner crowd were more intent on racking up prizes than hauling bricks.

In his first year shepherding his grandson around the Ventura County Fairgrounds, Thousand Oaks resident Jim Collins quickly learned a grandfather’s role: Fork over the bucks and lug around the booty.

A squirming, hopping, jumping bundle of energy, 4-year-old Kyle Collins dragged his grandpa from booth to booth. Within a 10-minute stretch, Kyle chucked basketballs toward a hoop, dangled rings over milk bottles, aimed a water pistol at a gaping plastic hippo and tossed darts at balloons.

He came away with a huge plastic ice-cream cone and a black stuffed snake, both of which received a cursory kiss before being passed on to his caddy-grandfather.

“I personally enjoy the animals and the agricultural displays, but when I was a kid, I liked this kind of stuff,” Grandpa said tolerantly. “When I go broke, that’s when I leave.”