FARMINGTON -- A rainy Sunday cut down on the crowds at opening day of the 168th Farmington Fair but riders, many dressed in dusters and rain gear, were still eagerly awaiting their chance to tackle the intense sport of team penning.

"We have 25 riders today. That is a bit down from last year because of the weather but everyone is having a good time -- even the cows," said Cindy Bickford, a rider from Anson who on Sunday, was working in the judge's booth at the fairground's corral. The event was sponsored by the Central Maine Team Penning Association, which sets up competitions from spring through October.

"I love team penning for the adventure, the intensity, there is never a dull moment and it is never the same thing," she said.

Team penning is considered the fastest growing equine sport in the country. A team of three riders in the arena face 30 cattle bunched together at the other end that are numbered from 0 to 9 with three of each number. The judge gives a number to the team when the first rider crosses the start line and the clock is started.

The challenge is for the team to cut the three cattle with the same number out of the herd move them down the arena and into a pen within the allotted 75 seconds. The fastest time with the most cattle wins.

"The key is having good communication with your horse," Bickford said.

Also on Sunday, alumni along with community members gathered at the 1872 Red Schoolhouse Museum for a flag-raising to celebrate the restored and relocated one-room schoolhouse's first anniversary at its new home.

The schoolhouse, once on Wilton Road in Farmington, is part of a museum complex the Franklin County Agriculture Association has slowly been creating to educate visitors about the area's agricultural and cultural heritage.

Susan McCleery Small of Portland, who attended the school into the 1950s, presented engraved plaques of appreciation to Don DesRoches, who cataloged and packed the collection of schoolhouse memorabilia and oversees its historical displays, and Association trustee George Barker for his "perseverance and dedication" to making the project a reality.

The schoolhouse was built in 1852 and was in use until 1957. After it closed, it was deeded to the Farmington and Wilton historical societies. When it had to be moved or else risk demolition, the Association spent $50,000 and $6,000 was raised from donations to move the building to the fairgrounds.

Inside, the original, lath-and-horsehair plaster arched ceiling has been repaired and painted and neat rows of desks and slates are back in their places. There is also a donated organ and wood stove and the original blackboard and teacher's desk remain. The fairground also has a museum space for historical societies to use, maintains an agricultural museum, and has a maple sap house and blacksmith's shop.

The schedule for Monday, Agriculture Education Day, includes hands-on displays and animal exhibitions; 9 a.m., 4-H Horse Show; noon, antique tractor pull; 2 p.m., midway opens; 4 p.m., 4-H Dairy Show; 7 p.m., Demolition Derby.