It's Show Time!

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy back in October, our family headed out to Billings Montana to attend the N.I.L.E. and to participate in the Show-Rite Club Calf Sale. One might think it was all a vacation but not in the least! It was more work than play! I am not certain if our little family has ever been on a vacation just to spend time with the family! That sounds pathetic...but with the lifestyle we live...it just hasn't been possible. At this point, I am quite certain if any trip is planned in the future, we would need to involve some sort of cattle venture, whether it be a tour, or an auction of some sort. But I can honestly say that I have no complaints with that! I am really liking the "cattle show experience"!

For this trip, we left early Sunday morning and made good time. We got in a little bit of bad weather but nothing too terrible to slow us down. We had a full load...6 passengers in the truck and 6 in the trailer! We were definitely loaded to the max!

The exhibition is held at MetraPark. It is a an unbelievable facility. Everything is indoors except the tie-out pens. It was quite a chore getting everything unloaded and set-up but once it is complete the "fun" work begins!

 

Backstage...behind the scenes. This is where most all the work takes place!

 

Getting cattle ready for a show involves A LOT of primping!

Hair products galore...blow dryers, several combs, clippers, glues and lots of hair products.

Show cattle are like supermodels of the cow industry!

 

And the competition begins! 

The judge should be measuring the whole package of the animal...the balance, the type and kind, the width, the depth and then comparing it to the other individuals in the class. Judging is an at of gauging cattle and not everyone has the gift. And every judge has their "kind" of cattle they are looking for.

 

First up were the heifers followed by the pen of 3 heifers, then the steers and last the pen of 3 steers. Believe me when I tell you it was a SUPER LONG day...especially for little ones!

 

And of course a melt-down or 2 was just part of the fun that day.

 

I really enjoyed watching Dirk, the professional, show/exhibit the calves.  It was obvious it wasn't his first show! The calves looked fabulous and were all super fluffy. They are so cute...like a big fluffy teddy bear. It is so amazing at what Dirk can accomplish, even as a one man band! Every other contestant had a crew hired for the week to help with the fitting and the showing. Dirk was mostly solo with a little bit of help from an acquaintance.

 

Jeslyn was asked to be the "ribbon girl." She really liked the job. We missed having her there to help us out. 

 

I wish I could remember our exact placing for each individual calf, but today my memory seems to have failed me. We did however have a steer that won his class and competed for grand champion. We were certain he was going to win...the judge couldn't find a hole in him as hard as he tried.  It was obvious by his movement and body language that he wanted our calf, he ended up lacing him 3rd overall among 80 steers. And then the next day at the sale, guess who bought that steer? The judge! In my mind...he couldn't have afforded a $10,000 grand champion, so he placed him where he was affordable! It was a little hard to swallow, but he brought more money than he would have in our back yard. Plus it was good exposure for our business.

 

8 hours later and the show is still going! 

Pen of 3 - Steers

 

I think they look GREAT! 

 

And we should have won!  Good Job Sweetheart...we all love you so much!

 

This year we stayed at the The Big Horn Resort in a 2 bedroom suite which was really accommodating. The rooms were big and spacious with 2 bathrooms. It was nice to have enough room for all 6 of us. The resort also featured an indoor water park which we took advantage of the last day we were there. 

 

On our way out of town we stopped in Hawkeye West, which is where Genex houses some of their bulls that are in stud. We did a walk through and saw 85+ bulls. This is always my favorite part of the trip. It also very educational.

 

We had an awesome trip. I am so glad we get the opportunity to go to "The Nile" and participate. I think we have a fun new tradition...something to look forward to in October!