Setting The Stage For The Big Show

By MAGGIE MCMURRAY

Moapa Valley Progress

Cold wind and rainy weather didn’t stop hundreds of people from converging upon the Glen Hardy Livestock Building at the Clark County Fairgrounds last Saturday. The Clark County Junior Livestock Association (CCJLA) held its annual weigh-in and preshow in preparation for the 2018 Clark County Fair.

The event marks the official beginning of fair season for 4-H and FFA youth with lamb, goat, and pig projects. Youth with steer projects began their projects in early December.
The day started bright and early. Livestock trailers lined up at the scales much earlier than the scheduled 8:00am start time.

Despite the fact that two scales were in constant operation, the process of individually tagging, recording an official starting weight, and registering each animal took most of the morning. With many years of practice and constant improvements in operations, however, the process went off without a hitch despite the increased number of animals registered in every specie.
“Everything really ran flawlessly today,” said CCJLA secretary Missy Hardy who ran the registration table. “We are excited to see an increase in youth that are showing and the number of animals that were entered.”

Hardy reported that this year there are a total of 294 animals registered for the show. Of those, 54 are registered as alternate animals. There were a total of 156 swine, 48 lambs, and 35 goats registered in addition to the 55 beef projects registered in December.

Lamb steward Jenny Reber was pleased with the increase in numbers as well. “Weigh-in went really smoothly and we can’t wait to see the kids come back and show in April,” she said.

As soon as the last animals were weighed-in, a giant BBQ grill was wheeled out and the barbeque began. Hot dogs were donated by Glen and Shirley Hardy and CCJLA provided water and chips. Participating families brought side dishes to share and although there were many people, food was plentiful and everyone refueled for the preshow, which followed the lunch.

The preshow began with the beef classes; then it proceeded through the pig , lamb, and goat classes. There were so many participating junior and intermediate pig showmen, that their age groups were each subdivided into 4 classes. This guaranteed that every youth had a moment to spend with the judge and get advice on how to improve this season.

This year’s judge was Joe Parker from Paso Robles, CA. Parker has judged the CCJLA preshow twice previously and has a great way of helping to educate young showmen.

Participation in the show was up in all areas, which led to some stiff competition. At the end of the day, however, all kids that participated received a ribbon and their choice of candy bar. The first, second, and third place winners of each class also received an additional prize of show equipment or livestock grooming products donated by Sullivan Supply.
“I had a great time today,” Parker said. “I worked through a lot of good livestock and even better kids.”

Although the day was long and cold; and there were plenty of tired kids and parents by the end; everyone was positive about the experience. Jamie Bundy, Bunkerville, was excited about her 2nd place win in senior steers, saying, “My steer, Broccoli, did an awesome job and I was excited we got second place today.”

Kai Haiola, Logandale, placed 2nd in intermediate lambs. “I’ve been working really hard with my lamb and it felt good to see my hard work pay off today,” he said.
Dally Barlow, Logandale, showed a goat for the first time. “It was a great learning experience,” she said. “I’m planning on taking what I learned today and using it as I practice between now and fair.”

Preshow winners:
Senior Beef: 1st: Anna Stratton; 2nd: Jamie Bundy; 3rd: Joey Herring
Intermediate Beef: 1st: Abby Matthews; 2nd: Sam Wheeler; 3rd: Allie Nelson
Junior Beef: 1st: Mason Wheeler; 2nd: Mark Nelson

Senior Swine: 1st: Emily Matheson; 2nd: Victoria Herring; 3rd: Beau Burgess
Intermediate Swine: 1st: Andi Webber; 2nd: William Gutierrez; 3rd: Cinjin Freeman
Junior Swine: 1st: Nadia Shakespear; 2nd: Bodie Burton; 3rd: Fallon Yardley

Senior Lamb: 1st: Cassidie Jones; 2nd: Sydney Hansen; 3rd: Anna Stratton
Intermediate Lamb: 1st: Shayla Wolfley; 2nd: Kai Haiola; 3rd: Victoria Herring
Junior Lamb: 1st: Nadia Shakespear; 2nd: Aurelie Stratton; 3rd: Avery Freeman

Senior Goat: 1st: Sierra Burgess; 2nd: Anna Stratton; 3rd: Madison Zelesny
Intermediate Goat: 1st: Shayla Wolfley; 2nd: Victoria Herring; 3rd: Taytum Yardley
Junior Goat: 1st: Fallon Yardley; 2nd: Aurelie Stratton; 3rd: Sierra Wolfley