3 Reasons We’re Grateful the Shows Go On

Clad in masks to their eyeballs, cowboy hats, boots, and button-downs, it looked like a gang of bad guys from an old black and white wild west movie.

In truth, it was a bunch of stock show kids on their way to the show ring obediently following the Covid-19 protocol required to be able to show.

This show season was definitely different. Maybe the most different was the uncertainty that there would even be a 2020 show season. Shows were canceled. Shows were postponed. In-person events replaced with virtual ones.

When we finally and gratefully were able to get back to the show ring in the early summer, C-19 guidelines and protocol varied from state to state, county to county, and even within counties, depending on the group hosting or the facility where the show was being held. So, in addition to making sure to follow the show rules, families needed to pay special attention to human health guidelines.

At some shows, the pressure to make sure the kids, parents, supporters, show staff, and livestock followed the protocol was stressful. Not just for health reasons but for the very real possibility that this show or the next could be shut down if we didn’t.

It was worth it.

“I’ve missed this!” my friend exclaimed by the show ring in a laughing-so-hard-there-are-tears moment.

BoyChild was in the show ring for a single entry class showing a heifer who just wasn’t in the mood that day. He’d already pulled and tugged her through showmanship. Trying to will her to walk by giving her a look of sheer desperation. It didn’t help matters when her class rolled around and she was the only heifer in it. 

Right as the pair passed by the announcer’s stand she stopped. Again. A pull and a tug from BoyChild yielded no results. A little help from the ringman got the heifer walking. BoyChild, in the midst of pulling with all he had, was taken by surprise. He stumbled a bit and the heifer stepped hard on the back of his heel just as he took a step. This caused his foot to neatly slip out of his boot with his next step. 

His boot flying in the air caused the whole crowd, including the judge, to dissolve into hilarity. Known for his antics, BoyChild, sock-footed and stumbling, caught his balance, kept his feet, and never missed a beat. The judge, taking pity on the kid, held the heifer while BoyChild wriggled back into his boot. Shaking it off, taking back his heifer and continuing around the ring with his best nothing-happened-here attitude, we all realized, in the chaos, he was walking with his show stick upside down. More. Laughter. And some good-natured ribbing toward BoyChild.

The friend who declared she’d missed this: Since we’d started showing cattle again in July, her son had had a very successful summer. In fact, he earned Supreme Champion at this particular show.  Not to mention the success of her daughters, who were both winning classes and had mightly stepped up their showmanship game.

Their success as a family was sweet, yes, but what she really missed was the laughter. The kidding. The silly things that happen, like a bootless show kid, that spark those “remember when…” stories. The joy of being with our people. What my friend missed, what we all missed, was the genuine fun we have with our stock show crew. Those friends we do life with.

And, man, it felt good to laugh with our people.

Because of What’s At Stake

When we made it back to the show barn this summer, I was particularly happy to see a  young showman we’ll call, Tex. 

Tex is a kid who doesn’t have access to his own show stock. That doesn’t stop him. Tex travels and shows with a farm that has had a lot of success in their respective breed, spending time in front of the backdrop locally, regionally, state-wide. They’ve even brought home banners from majors like The National Western and the North American. 

Tex would probably tell you that he’s lucky to have the opportunity to show with this farm. The best parts of his day are when he gets to head to the barn and help with the daily care of the show stock. He gets to travel to places he may never have had the opportunity to go, all in the name of showing cattle. He’s made friends. He’s felt success. Tex is lucky fortunate blessed to be a showman.

Mr. Owner, the fella who owns the farm Tex shows for, often tells the story of one of Tex’s first livestock show road trips. The parents and show team members were loading up in various cars and trucks. Tex sort of hung back and finally, when it was clear that tires would soon be rolling, asked Mr. Owner if he could ride in the truck with him pulling the cattle trailer. Mr. Owner was a little surprised but happy to oblige. 

Mr. Owner calls that a great truck ride. They talked about cattle, breeding, feeding, showing. They talked about a lot of other things too. Tex told Mr. Owner that showing cattle had changed him. Tex didn’t only think about video games and watching silly videos. He was more concerned with helping take care of animals than sleeping in. He was motivated. He had goals.

This 10ish-year-old kid knew the difference showing livestock was making in his life. This kid took the time to tell the man who made it all happen, “Thank You.” That’s a stock show kid.

Yep, if you ask Tex, he’ll tell you he’s the lucky one. Talk to Mr. Owner, and he’ll emphatically say he’s blessed to be able to help provide this experience to Tex and other kids who show with their farm. To be able to help shape young people with the influence of a few Saler cattle. 

I watched Tex this summer. Tex can show, sure. Tex also embraces every single ounce of the livestock show experience. He grabs hold of every opportunity. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if everyone in the livestock industry knows his name someday. 

Imagine if Tex, and other show kids like him, had missed this summer showing cattle. It would’ve left his trophy case a little more empty. Most all, it would’ve left Tex a little more empty. How fortunate are we all that we got back to showing just in time for a fill-up?!

Because of Family

“If your son doesn’t stop wielding his show stick like it’s a ninja sword, I’m going to cement his arm straight!” My buddy came up and whispered this in my ear during a tough final heat of Junior Showmanship.

Sure enough, among the sea of masked up kids, BoyChild’s heifer was walking perfectly, he was holding her head at just the right height, his posture was on point…and his show stick was wobbling in a way that could be best described as majorette-like. He did not secure a spot in the Top 5.

Leaving the ring, pretty disappointed, BoyChild was intercepted by that buddy. I saw him gesturing and demonstrating the show stick Olympics we had witnessed. BoyChild grinned, nodded his head, and since then has paid particular attention to how he holds his show stick, greatly improving his showmanship performance.

The buddy that helped BoyChild, his daughter is in the same showmanship division. She was in that final heat. In fact, this summer she and BoyChild were many times each other’s biggest showmanship competition (he took Reserve to her Champion at our State Fair). That buddy could’ve kept his mouth shut. He could’ve hoped that we didn’t notice BoyChild’s bad show stick habit. He could’ve used it to his kid’s advantage. He didn’t. He wants to see all of these kids perform to the best of their ability. He wants them all to reach their goals.

Just like his son who is one of the biggest supporters of all his peers. The kid is the first to offer an encouraging word. He’s the voice behind me when my kids are in the ring, whispering for the judge to shake their hand. 

Just like at the State Fair when our pals kept winning classes and divisions in the sheep show. A fantastic success, but a problem because they had 3 heifers that were about to show at the same time in a different barn. Except it wasn’t a huge problem, because my husband and I had their cattle ready to go when they came out of the sheep show ring. Just like they had jumped in the night before to help shear our lambs – in the dark – when we were stressed out about the possibility of not finishing before dawn. 

That’s what we missed. Showing our kids the importance of jumping in and helping each other. The feeling of being a part of something bigger than oneself. The comfort of being a part of a family.

There are a hundred more examples of this sportsmanship, this helping mentality, from just this short summer. A thousand more through our livestock show years.

We Went Back to the Show Ring

This show season was different. The next may be as well. There are still cancellations. There are still changes, modifications, mitigation strategies designed to help keep exhibitors and families safe. 

What hasn’t changed is the heart of the showman. The importance, the advantage, of kids growing up in a show barn. 

So Thank You

To all the show managers, volunteers, breed reps, extension staff, teachers, and folks who rescheduled, jumped through hoops, created shows from scratch, kept us all safe, and all the other million things it took to make livestock shows in 2020 happen, thank you. 

To the judges who traveled in this travel-restricted year, gave elbow bumps instead of handshakes and judged in masks for hours at a time in the summer heat, thank you. 

To the parents, grandparents, and supporters who kept buying and breeding, encouraging the everyday stuff even when the show schedule looked bleak, thank you.

To the stock show kids who followed through, showed in masks, and submitted to every safety request, mostly without complaint, because they wanted to show, thank you.

The Shows Go On!