Monday, February 28, 2011

Stock Show Season has come to a close.

It's hard to believe.....it's over. The 2011 Stock Show Season ended almost as quickly as it began. As our family enjoyed the first Saturday at home (since the first of the year).....we ALMOST didn't know what to do with ourselves. I say almost because, well, we found plenty. There were pens to clean out.....trailer to clean out, show box to clean out, feed sacks to burn, and laundry, endless amounts of laundry to do! Regardless of the hangover, 2011 will go down in the books for our family as one of the most successful seasons we had. The boys seem to be pleased and we are as well!

SAN ANGELO
The last stop on the tour was in San Angelo. Donnell and Lanham arrived on Friday and set up shop so that Lanham could participate in the Heifer Futurity. Our good friend, Sally Buxkemper, developed this contest years ago. It must be the best kept secret in the junior livestock business. Contestants have a variety of competitions which include: showmanship, judging classes, reasons classes and the sales talk competition. Lanham was fortunate enough to win the Jr Futurity a couple of years ago....but as a 14 yr old, he was now in the Sr. Division with the big boys. I think he may have finished somewhere around 8th or 10th. Congratulations to Brazos Williams for winning the Sr Division. There were approximately 25 young people in each the Jr and Sr divisions this year.

Saturday night was a fun-filled evening with friends. Allison Ballinger made us reservations at Zentners Daughter.....and 35-40 of us enjoyed the private room and great food / fellowship together. Then it was off to bed....you can never get enough rest of these deals.

Sunday we found ourselves preparing the heifers for their final show. Altogether we had 4 big heifers and one baby. They all "prettied" up well! Tucker and our Ole's Oscar Heifer took first in class again and found herself all the way to the winners circle. Judge Jim Williams made our day, when he commented that if he had an opportunity to name a Supreme Champion in San Angelo, he thought it might be her! Ollie sure did make some friends for Red Angus this year. She should calve very soon and Tucker is looking forward to utilizing her in his breeding herd for many years. From a parents perspective, we too were excited. San Angelo awards a $1000 scholarship and $500 prize money to the Grand. So little home raised "Ollie" brought in a total of $11,000 scholarship monies and $750 cash this year for Tucker.

2011 San Angelo Grand Champion - Brown Ms Oscar W6542


The other heifers had a great day as well. "Berry Contagious" won 1st in the January/February class with her baby at side. She is right at home in the pasture now and being set up to flush soon. I'm sure the Red Angus world will hear more about this cow as time passes. She will no doubt be a cornerstone breeding piece for us for a long time. She is a Mulberry / Cheyenne heifer with a Celebration heifer calf at side. Carson Ballinger is the little guy on the calf's halter. We are thankful for his energy and willingness to help.

CWDY BERRY CONTAGIOUS 922


 Second in this class of heifers was Lanham's very own, Gracies Pride. She is a Pacific Pride / Cherokee Canyon going back to our AbiGrace cow. Lanham is very pumped about this particular heifer.....not only is she a 2nd generation show heifer for him, but also holds the distinction of being the 2nd highest IMF scanning animal EVER at the ranch. Wonder what he'll do with her next? Digressing just a little, Lanham was chosen to return for showmanship and ended up Reserve Showman behind good friend, Colton Curry. Colton does a great job showing, and it just so happened that he was the one we asked to help us with our excess heifers in this class. Thanks to him for giving us a hand.

Brown Gracies Pride W7908

And finally, Tucker's second generation show heifer placed third in this same class. It was the first time to the big show for her, other than the county show. She is a Mulberry out of a Vacation / Cherokee daughter that we just love. She will calve in March and then find her way to Tuck's breeding herd (aka college fund) also.

Brown Ms Paradises Mulberry W7892



Guess, I should wrap this up. Maybe I've gone on too long as it is? Whatever the case, thanks for sharing it with us. There's something pretty unique about how much your kids can grow through the countless 4-H and FFA projects. It's just so nice when you have a time that you can actually say "See, I told you so". It's worth it!

No comments:

Post a Comment