Scarlet's prank goes viral as deputy catches wandering heifer at Bremer Co. Fair

It was Scarlet’s first night at the fair and when her owner, Emily Manweiler, 18, left her in the barn for the night, everything seemed in order.

It would be fair to say that Scarlet was not a novice at being exhibited in public. She had been shown at the Wisconsin Spring Jersey Spectacular, at the National Cattle Congress, at last year’s Bremer County Fair and at the Iowa State Fair.

But something happened that night, which prompted Scarlet to set herself free and start roaming the fairgrounds.

As luck would have it, Bremer County Sheriff’s Deputy Jackson Schmidt was on duty that evening.

A Waterloo resident, he got a taste of what it means to work the Bremer County Fair as a security guard.

Schmidt had signed on to provide security at the fair, which is part of an agreement between the sheriff’s office and the fair board.

Little did he suspect that his endurance and agility would be tested in such an unexpected way.

Schmidt happened to be chatting with Sgt. Sean Hartman, of the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office, who was working patrol that evening but decided to stop by the fair and check up on the new deputy.

That’s when Scarlet showed up and Schmidt started hoofing after the animal, eventually catching it.

It just so happens that Hartman, who handles the sheriff’s office Facebook page, was ready with his phone camera and took a video of the incident.

“This cow was cited for failure to stop at a stop sign and interference with official acts,” Hartman wrote on the social media post.

He then added the following explanation:

“Not only do we help fairgoers with questions and concerns, but we also provide security for the animals. Every fair year we have animals that get loose over night and our Deputies make an attempt to act like cowboys and wrangle livestock. For the record we are cops and not farmers, so we can’t promise the animals end up in the right stalls or the knots we tie are pretty, so we apologize in advance.”

Bremer County Sheriff Dan Pickett said this humorous happening is different from the situation several years ago when someone deliberately tried to let animals out.

“After that started happening, we are paying extra attention to that area,” Pickett said.

Schmidt later told Pickett that he thought Hartman was going to help him, and when he looked back, he saw Hartman videoing him and chuckling.

“He laughed, his eyes started watering, it was so humorous,” Pickett said.

Scarlet’s trainer and owner, Emily, told Waverly newspapers she learned of Scarlet’s exploits from her dad when she woke up Tuesday morning.

“She is super easy to catch,” Emily said.

That may not have been exactly Schmidt's experience but the chase and the laughter that the incident elicited added a light-hearted memory to his first fair.

Emily said she called the calf Scarlet because it had its own mind.

“She always had an attitude when she was little,” Emily said.

When she reunited with Scarlet on Tuesday morning in person, she looked at Scarlet, then laughed.

“I heard you had some fun last night,” she said.