Aspen with Sugar at the Fair
This year the we had a lot of ups and downs at the fair. Morgan (and me because I was the assistant leader) worked very hard all year on her horse 4-H. The week before fair she tried out for the 8th grade volleyball team. The coaches decided to practice in the mornings which conflicted with the show times for horse & steer. Morgan made the decision not to miss practice two days in one week and didn't show her horse in the show. She had to show her steer or she would not have been able to sell it. It was kind of disappointing after all of the hard work, but also a relief not to have to deal with all of the show day drama. Everyone gets a little nervous on show day, which translates into snappy & grouchy a lot. This year I also volunteered to be on the sale committee. The original committee decided 10 days before fair to spread some of the work around and get some additional input. I volunteered to be over the marketing for the sale. It put me in a pretty tight spot time wise, so I worked my fanny off trying to get brochures, signs & mailers done. With some help from a couple people we got it all done, and only offended one business that I know of. Fortunately, in the end the did just what I wanted, and came to the fair to bid & buy, instead of just adding a little money on to kids projects. I think the sale went really well. We got some new buyers there and the youth got good prices out of their animals. We had a record number of projects with 107 animals going through the sale. That was about 25 more than last year. We got good reviews on the work we did, so maybe the won't fire me next year!
Morgan, getting ready to go into the show ring, with mom fixing her hair. Morgan did great this year showing her animal. I think the best she has ever done. Her steer was very well trained and she did everything right. Unfortunately, for some reason the judge didn't like what she was doing. She placed a girl that had no control over her animal above her, which put her in the 3rd place spot and out of the running for overall showman. She was very upset, and if you ask anyone around me, I was livid. Everyone asked if I said something to the judge, but unfortunately for me, when I get angry I also get very emotional, and usually cry. Not a good combination. The judge also placed her very low in quality, which I didn't understand either. In mine, & other people's opinion, that should know, her steer was one of the better steers at the fair. So Morgan came away from fair very frustrated this year. She probably won't show next year, both because of volleyball & her experience this year. She did end up selling her animal for a very good price, I think 4th highest overall, so that was a little consolation.
Grandma Berta was totally enthralled with Morgan's sparkly belt
They guy behind her is Zach. She bought her steer & another steer from him. He came before the show and gave her some little tidbits of advise. He has showed animals all over in different states for years. He was also very angry over the placement of both her showmanship and quality. Especially her showmanship.
In the showring
Carter in the show ring with his pig, Chubs. He is the one in the back. Carter had a great time with his pig this year. Towards the end of the year, we started get concerned the Chubs was living up to his name and getting way to fat. The weight limit at the fair is 300 lbs. I did some talking to people and weighed him. He was at 252 lbs 3 weeks before fair. This translates into to fat for the fair. We put him on a special grain to help keep him from gaining to much weight. It worked, he weighed in at 290 lbs.
Carter placed 4th in his weight class for quality. This placed him 12th overall out of 63 hogs, in quality for his animal. This was very exciting for him and me, it meant he got to sell earlier in the show and shows the quality of his animal.
Carter has a really hard time in showmanship. He is still very shy, and has a hard time keeping eye contact with the judge. I don't think he looked at the judge one time while he showed. He did very well controlling his pig, so maybe next year he can get it all together.
Morgan getting Sugar clipped for the fair. Her steer, Sugar, was the greatest steer this year. We named him Sugar because he was just a big baby. He loved to be petted and scratched. By the time it was time to teach him to lead, Morgan walked right in a put a halter on him. She taught him all by herself, because I couldn't get in there with my knee. I did help her one time by driving the tractor, to teach him how to keep walking, instead of stopping every few steps. I think I have a harder time than even Morgan when it is time to send these animals to the buyer & butcher. I asked Shawn how I can so attached to these animals, because I sure do.
Les Schwab Tires (Uncle Neal) bought Chubs this year for $2400. This was a surprise, because he bought her animal two years ago & they usually don't buy from the same person twice. She also got additional boosts from McDonalds (Trent Cichos) $100, Brad Smith (accountant) $100, Edward Jones (Lane Steele) $25
No comments:
Post a Comment