describe your first cattle showing experience

mine was a heifer who drug me through the mud for about a month.  i ended up winning my class in showmanship and one more class beating a lot of old hands.  then they judge asked me a question and i was out of there.  the experience instantly taught me that you didn't need to pull to get a calf to lead since i couldn't pull on her in the mud.  it taught me that you didn't need to get them clean the first time to get all the mud out once it stopped raining.  taught me about soap that was too concentrated and to dilute it first.  it taught me that a lot of people like mystery and just follow people around who are pro's but don't really figure things out for themselves and those turn out to be the biggest gripers.  it gave me great satisfaction to turn those experienced gripers into people with knowledge rather than admiration and ignorance.  it opened me up to a whole new bunch of friends.  it taught me that asking questions is a good thing and that finding out where to get information is probably more important than getting answer out of someone as it could be easily forgotten.  all in all, it was a good thing that had a lot of practical value.  i started again because of my daughter who still has to wait a couple of years.  just trying out some breeding rather than being a follower and looking for the hot heatwave calf.

im to soon find out with my first steer

<cowboy>I had a steer that was a pain at first but in the end he was gentle. I could seriously climb all over him, I even used him as a bed at fair. My first time in the show ring was an adventure. At first he didn'tlike the ring and acted like a butt, but I calmed him down and we went on. My heart was pounding the entire time. so when he lined us up for the last time I was in my mind completely freaking out but I did what I needed to do. I ended up placing second out of 10, I would've placed first but I overworked my steers feet, and I won a pretty silver showstick, and the only one that beat me was some one who had shown since he was little, and all the others i beat out had shown for several years. I then went to the FFA runoff and placed 9 out of 10 against all the first and second place winners, all the others had been showing for years. Then I went into my market class and placed second. so I did good. To say the least I had fun. (clapping)
Little Heifer (angel)

My first show was at the battle on the border prospect calf show this summer.  I took a steer and heifer over and had a blast!  Got to meet some fellow people off steer planet.  I placed 3rd out of fourth with my heifer and won my class with the steer.  Thing I remember most about the show was the tip of my show stick falling off in the champion drive haha.  Good thing my calf wasn't a contender for champion haha.  Going to my second show on oct 10th.  Going to take three heifers.  Hopefully this show goes as well as my first one did.

Man, it was one that I would rather forget.  No one in my family knew anything about cattle and I decided that I wanted to get in 4H.  Had a few acres so decided to go with simmental cattle.  That was back when simmies were built using stilts as a foundation.  I had this heifer that wasn't the best for a first time cattle showkid,,,,, but she was mine and I loved her.  She was about 800 lbs and I was about 80.  Odds were definately in her favor, not to mention she had a little evil in her.  She wore me out a few times to say the least.  First fair, she spooked while being led for her morning walk and drug me a distance that was measured in yards...... not feet.  I wasnt about to let go... I thought she would be gone for good, but when my knee wrapped around a rock that was sticking up I decided to let her go and whaddya know, she stopped about ten feet away from me and just stood there.  Well, needless to say everyone at the barn freaked out and decided the rookie needed some assistance, so.......before the actual show someone talked my Dad into giving my heifer some granular promazine.  Dad didnt pay attention to how much heput in my girls feed (no directions for him) and I think it was like a cap per 300 lbs....... turns out he put in four caps.  I didnt know that he put anything in there.  My heifer layed down on me four times, just in my class show.  I couldn't hold her head up at all and she ended up "passing out" while using me as a leaning post as the judge talked to the crowd about my ........ really laid back heifer that seemed to drag her feet a little bit when she walked out.  Needless to say, Dad was not allowed to feed my cattle from that day forward.   I was hooked though and ended up showing quite a few years after that.  This year I had the honor to see my daughter go through some of the trials and tribulations that I went through.  I must say though, she is a much better, and a heck of a lot cuter showman than I was!!!  

My first showing experience was with a four hundred dollar bull calf. He was not weaned, not broke and not cut yet. So I got the whole experience the first year. lol We showed him at the county fair. He was about 1260lbs so he was great weight with great finish. He was fourth in his class at our county fair and beat out two steers that were over 1000$ each. He led pretty good, but everyonce in a while you had to take him in a circle to slow him up and he kicked the showstick nonstop so I couldnt set him up. He was third in the rate of gain and second in the ultrasound competition so he was the whole package for a county fair steer. It was fun and I learned a lot in that first year with him being a bull and unbroke. It was a great experience.

My first cattle show was with a steer that my grandfather had gave me (he gave all 4 of us grandkids there first calf, we had to buy them after that!).  He was a little angus/hereford cross that finished at 875 pounds.  His name was Albert.  I don't remember the show, it was over 30 years ago but I do remember I got a blue ribbon, think I was second in my class.  I still have a picture, I will have to dig it out and scan it and post it!

Time warp --

1960 era (Notice I said ERA)

Home raised crossbred commercial PUD of a steer -- I was 7 going on 8

Got my butt kicked -- a hundred times over.

Judge later kicked it again -- several more times.

Dad then finished the ordeal by kicking it again!

Ticked me off so bad I said I would never quit until I got the best of them -- never got the best of them all, and you guess it -- I still haven't quit -- told myself I was going to raise show cattle until I got it right !

ARGGGGHHHH -- I am beginning to realize I May NEVER get it right -- but by golly -- it sure is fun trying!

Thanks for the memories Knabe  (thumbsup)

Terry

(I have realized it is harder to break a calf now than it was 47 years ago -- go figure)

My first time. Had a Simmy/Gert steer the guys that where fitting him had painted him brown and on the way to the show ring we had to go through  rain. Well when we got to the ring he looked like a Braford. I won my class with him and showmanship to. After that day I was hooked.

My first experience started when I was about 10 or 11 with a calf scramble. Imagine turning 20 4 weight calves loose in a small arena with about 40 kids. You had to physically catch the calf, halter it and drag it back to the assigned area. No problem right! Wrong! Factor in several calves still running loose and being chased by a bunch of kids, usually right over the top of you. I was fortunate enough to catch a hereford heifer and get her tied to the pole in the proper area and the journey to today began. This heifer was as wild as a march hare (she was given the name "Spookey") and even after months of work she would not lead. Keep in mind that my family were not cattle people even in the wildest imagination. It came time to take her back to the county fair to show (part of the calf scramble requirements) and against my dads advise we loaded her on the trailer. We backed up to the barn to unload her and she walked off of the trailer like a seasoned show heifer. From that day on she was never a problem to handle. She was the start of my commercial herd and was still in the herd along with several daughters 17 years later when I sold the last of the commercial cows and went all purebred. Alot of cows have come and gone since "Old Spookey" but I will always remember her.
PS - Cowboy - us old timers use a donkey to break calves RW

My first was a Holstein dairy steer that our neighbor let me keep at his place and show for the summer.  The deal was if I worked hard on it all summer he would supply the feed and I could have everything over market price it brought in the county fair auction.  We ended up being reserve grand champion dairy steer and I was hooked for good.  I don't remember the steers name but he was  real quiet until  we were waiting to go in the ring a a family with a baby stroller walked right behind him and he kicked it.  Luckily it was one of the fiberglass rental ones and the kid never even woke up.  The parents and I  were  both startled but all was well and I just shrugged my shoulders and said sorry to them.  Made for a fun first county fair. 

Sure was fun this summer when our daughter had her first county fair.  Felt just a little more prepared than I was for my first.

My first year of showing was when i was nine years old. I had the best showing start you could ask for because i had a calf that was bullet proof you could do anything to it and it didn't care and i also placed very well with her. I also had a bucket bottle calf that was tame and there was nothing you could to get her excited. Both of them was great to show because i placed well and had a good first time at showing. I couldn't ask for anything better.  ;D

My first experience showing a calf was when I was 10 years old. I guess I had helped my dad with cattle prior to this, but this was my first time at showing myself. At that time, 10 was the earliest age to me a member of the 4-H, and I thought it would never come. My first steer was a roan home raised Shorthorn ( who would have guessed?) and he weighed 820 lbs at almost 16 months of age. He was Reserve Grand at the regional show, which was a big show at the time, with over 150 steers. He sold the next day and he brought $.32 per lb, which was an unheard of price at the time. The Champion sold for $.30 per lb. I was almost embarrassed as my steer brought more than double the sale average of $.15/ lb.( It really wasn't the dark ages, but it was close)

When I think back, it is really hard to imagine how things have changed. My 820 lb steer was fed in a pen in the barn from October to July, on a ration of rolled oats, barley and cooked barley along with protein supplement and beet pulp. Today, it is not unheard of for calves to wean at 800 lbs. As for the prices received in that era, it was a long ways from where our local 4-H club sells today. The regional show and sale is still held here, and it is a far cry from what it was when I started out. Our 4-H club averaged almost $3/lb on all their steers this year.

my first calf was a Char. steer that we raised. I remember my dad took me out to the feedlot and he showed me the steer he picked out for me. The next day we sold calves and I was pushing the calves up the chute onto the semi. I saw a steer that looked awfully familar. I forgot to tell dad until we were on the way to the sale barn and he didn't believe me because he locked him in the barn. Well after much insisting by me we went and looked through teh calves at the sale barn and sure enough there he was. Turns out Grandpa let him out.
Charlie and I became best friends after that and we were undeafeated in class and won grand twice. We won the Char show at state fair and i got my first belt buckle and had a smile that you couldnt wipe off my face for the next week. I remember every morning i would just stare at my buckle and couldnt believe that it was mine!

Strawberry Shortcake was her name and she was all mine. My uncle took her and my five-year-old self to a jackpot. I got her all taken care of and even fit, clippers and all. She bled and looked like Swiss cheese, but my parents stayed out of the way. Class is called, I suit up and they won't let me show her by myself. I pout the whole time as I have to hold the end of the show halter, which I put on her, and follow my daddy around. I don't even remember the outcome! I love looking at the pictures! It's a wonder my parents ever let me out of their site again

I had a horned hereford heifer named Queenie.  She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.  I was probably 9 or 10  and had been bugging my parents to let me show cattle for at least a couple years prior to that.  My equipment consisted of  a wooden show stick, a round metal curry comb, rice root brush, a sisal rope halter, and my dad's old wide leather show halter.  I worked all summer on getting her hair set & curled.  I don't remember what we fed her but I do remember tieing her to the tree by the back door and getting yelled at because she ate all my mom's flowers.  She was gentle, I crawled all over & under that heifer.  Then we took her to the fair & she was the smallest one in the class & I got a white ribbon to show for it.    I was hooked. 

My first year showing was kind of an adventure.  I was 8 and small for my age.  My steer, which I named 'Cookie', was a 1250lb. angus steer.  My heifer was a june angus heifer, and her name escapes me right now.  I remember working hard all summer and that steer getting away from me every day.  I was really nervous that he would get away from me when I actually showed him at the county fair.  The heifer was a complete sweetheart that loved to work with.

On show day the steer acted perfect in the ring.  I remember setting him up(not being able to see over the top of him) just waiting for him to bolt.  He won his class and then won champion angus steer, which was more of a result of him being 1 of 5 angus steers in the show.  He got his butt kicked in the open show two days later. 

My sweet little heifer came in heat the day of the show and was riding everything in sight.  At that age I had no idea what was going on!  She won her class but I remember wishing she would get third so I wouldn't have to show her anymore.  In the champion drive she ended dragging me through the showring and like an idiot I held on.  I got the 'Just hold on speech a little too much'.  I now instruct my cousins that if they lose their footing to let the animal go.

i got a photo somewhere, i will see if i can dig it up and embarrass myself

loaded up maybelle in the pickup w/sideboards,she was a hereford heifer.my wooden showbox,ivory liquid, corona,aquanet,headed to the kaufman co stock show.placed 34th out of 35.the 35th place may only had 3 legs.slept in the barns and had more fun than a 12 yr old should have. rusty

finally:
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