Catherine Ellerton
Moapa Valley Progress
It’s crunch time – six weeks until the Clark County Junior Livestock Show at the Fair. So I decided to check out the 4-H and FFA Clubs to see how their animal projects were coming. Each year youth from around Clark County raise livestock for the Junior Livestock Show and auction. They prepare a goat, a lamb, a pig or a steer for two areas of competition: market and showmanship. In the Market Competition, the livestock is judged on its meat quality and in the Showmanship competition, the exhibitor is judged on how well he/she handles and presents the project.
This is a critical weigh-in time because by Fair time the animal must be a certain weight in order for them to be sold at the fair. Mark Streett, a third year 4-H member, explained that if the animal is underweight, feeding has to be stepped up. Each animal has minimum and maximum weight requirements.
The next and continuing step is to train the animals for the Showmanship Competition. The animal and the handler must show the proper setup position for that animal and the proper showmanship techniques for the handler in front of the judge.
Several experienced showmen (or show-women) have been helping young exhibitors learn the ins and outs of the show. Lori Jones and Cindy Shakespear volunteer their time and expertise at training sessions at the Fairgrounds each Monday evening. Many other 4-H leaders and parents are conducting similar sessions in order to help all the exhibitors get their projects ready to show.
It seems that these are often beast vs. handler sessions. Sometimes the beast seems to be winning, but then a more experienced team member steps in, offers advice or takes over to calm the beast.
In addition to training, the handler must convince their project that being washed and trimmed is not that bad. These pampered animals get a fast wash, “blow and go” before they enter the ring at the fair.
For the exhibitors, the Livestock show itself is the reward after all the work of raising an animal. The show provides more than just experience for many exhibitors. All of the animals at the show are auctioned away to buyers for meat by the pound. For many, this provides an opportunity to earn money.
Kayla Shakespear said that her game plan is to put money away for next year’s project, pay off this year’s project and put the rest of her hard earned money in savings for further education. Many other members of her club agreed.
Abbey Henson of the “Moapa Valley Kids ‘N’ Pigs” 4-H Club was proudest when in her first year of showing she went on to the Round Robin Event and won first place in her age group. She enjoyed showing the steer the most.
Leslie Hills has been involved in 4-H for 10 years, loves to work with animals and is the first to take her animal to an area where fair visitors can ask her questions about it and where she can share her joy and love of animals.
It’s a lot of hard work that begins in the fall when most animals must be purchased before the first weigh-in in January and ends in April when they are shown and sold. It is the love of working together of the whole family that pulls it off. And, even more importantly, it is the willingness of volunteers such as Tanya Barlow, Lori Jones and Cindy Shakespear who are eager to give of their time and share their knowledge to help train the fair exhibitors that makes it a success.
