It’s not simply a few minutes escorting an animal around the show ring and then taking home a blue ribbon.
It takes long, tedious hours in the barn or pasture, feeding, washing and regular exercising to raise a champion.
And, with the outcome resting not only with the animal but also upon a single judge’s opinion, the paradox of presenting livestock is that a showman has so much yet so little control.
Working in tandem with their calves, Marshall Heldberg (right) took first place and Taylor Wolf (left) earned second place in the intermediate showmanship competition at the Le Sueur County Fair 4H beef show on Thursday.
Both will be seventh graders at CHS this fall.
Heldberg raised his 10-month-old heifer “Cow Girl” on his family farm northwest of Cleveland. He also shows sheep and rabbits at the fair and said he likes animal shows because they give him a chance to be with his friends.
What he learns about taking care of animals will pay off when he has his own farm someday, he said.
Wolf’s sixth-month-old steer “Bucky” didn’t win any prizes in the class competitions earlier, so Wolf, who her dad said is a “competitor,” was glad to earn the silver prize in showmanship. She raised the steer on her uncle’s farm near Le Sueur.
She said making sure to never turn her back on the judge, watching the judge half the time and her steer the other half and keeping her steer’s feet positioned to show its form in its best light were keys to her victory.
Also competing at the beef show from the Cleveland Pioneers 4H Club were siblings Ella and Keegen Lamont and sisters Amelia and Samantha Baker.
The fair in Le Center continues with more animal shows on Friday and Saturday.
Fifth grader Amelia Baker and her spring calf.
Eighth grader Keegen Lamont and his fall calf.
Freshman Samantha Baker and her spring calf.
Sixth grader Ella Lamont and her heifer.