County fairs are about a lot of things. The rides, the food, the rodeo, the demolition derby, and the time together with neighbors to visit and enjoy an annual summertime event. For youth livestock exhibitors, it might be the chance to show your animals, hang out with your friends, and make a little extra money during the livestock sale.
The intent of youth livestock shows are to allow the exhibitors to compete with their fellow youth and display the livestock they have spent time and energy caring for, working with, and preparing to exhibit over the past few months. They are examples, to show the general public, how well the youth of today are preparing themselves to be the future of the livestock industry.
In preparing to become the future of the livestock industry, youth learn valuable lessons by raising one or multiple animals projects for the fair. Everything from animal feeding, health care, animal handling, grooming, livestock marketing, to record keeping are all part of the process of raising a livestock project.
So, what did you learn this year? When I ask youth this question, the usual response comes from something they considered that went wrong or was a failure. Learning from a mistake is not a bad thing. We all had to fall a few times to learn to walk. It is easy to focus on negatives. They tend to stick with us. I can still tell you the place, the judge and the heifer I was showing when I was named reserve showman, all because I did not comb the spot the judge touched her while asking me questions during showmanship. I never missed combing my claves again, and have always touched a calf when judging a show to make sure the exhibitor combed the spot.
The thing about the fair is it tends to show us a mistake that was made way before the fair started. So what did you learn this year? Do you need to pick animals of a different age to be the appropriate weight for fair because they were too light or too heavy? Do you need to change your feeding regiment to grow your animals right? How was your showmanship? How well was your animal groomed? Did you have the tack you needed?
After the fair, everyone is tired. The animals are gone or turned out on pasture. Tack may or may not be unloaded from the trailer. The stalls and pens may still be dirty from when you loaded up and headed out. There is an abundance of dirty laundry, but nothing to eat in the fridge.
As you start putting things back together, don't forget to make note of what you learned from this year's fair. Start planning for the next fair or show. To improve, make those changes to how you do things. Your next experience will be better than this year's if you do.
Scott Stinnett
Extension Associate
Kit Carson County
Golden Plains Area
Colorado State University Extension
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