SUBSCRIBE NOW

Enjoy all your local news and sports for less than 6¢ per day.

Subscribe Now

DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR

MARBLE FALLS — The cold drizzle kept most people tucked away someplace warm Jan. 2, but Marble Falls High School student Shiloh Williams stood next to his show steer, waterhose in one hand and a soap-socked sponge in the other.

“Yeah, it’s not the best weather for this,” he admitted as he scrubbed dirt and mud from his show steer’s body. “I’ll do it again just before the show.”

Hopefully, it will be a bit warmer.

READ: Youth livestock show supporters ‘buying’ into future

The cold stretch of weather didn’t change the fact that for hundreds of Highland Lakes youth, the Llano and Burnet county stock shows are coming Jan. 8-10. Each year, area youth transport steers, heifers, hogs, lambs, goats, rabbits, turkeys and even metal works and baked and cooked goods to the shows in hopes of earning a ribbon and money. For some 4-H and FFA students, the county show is the end of the line. For others, it’s the first stop in a season of events that could take them to major events in San Antonio, Houston, San Angelo and other places.

Cheyenne Stratton demonstrates how to get a lamb to show off its muscles for a livestock show judge. Stratton has six lambs she’s raised for the Burnet County 4-H & FFA Livestock Show on Jan. 8-10. For some youth, the county show is the only event they’ll enter this year, while others will head for additional shows, including major ones in Houston, San Antonio and San Angelo.
Cheyenne Stratton demonstrates how to get a lamb to show off its muscles for a livestock show judge. Stratton has six lambs she’s raised for the Burnet County 4-H & FFA Livestock Show on Jan. 8-10. For some youth, the county show is the only event they’ll enter this year, while others will head for additional shows, including major ones in Houston, San Antonio and San Angelo.

Some youth will be attending a county show for the first time this year, but for others, such as Shiloh, it has become an annual event.

“I’ve been showing for awhile now,” he said.

Although this is his first year showing a steer, he understands what it takes to prepare for the livestock shows after raising hogs and other animals in the years before.

As he washes and scrubs — and then blow dries his steer — outside the Marble Falls High School agriculture barn, inside the barn, 4-H student Cheyenne Stratton lines up her six lambs. That’s right, six lambs.

“My mom got a really good deal on lambs, so I got six,” she said with a grin. That means she has six lambs to feed, groom, exercise and work. As a veteran of the show ring, Cheyenne knows she can’t just get a lamb, put it in the pen, feed it and then step into the show ring and expect to do well.

Typically, she sees her lambs at least twice a day.

“Lambs are social animals,” Cheyenne said. “They like being around you and other animals. If you’re only showing one lamb, you really need to get another one or companion because they like it.”

Along with feeding her lambs, Cheyenne works them so they’ll put on a good show in the arena. This entails standing in front of the lamb, holding its head and pushing into it. The lamb, in turn, pushes back, which triggers its muscles from the neck through its hindquarters to contract. A judge looks at the musculature, the fat content, the wool makeup and the overall appearance of the lamb while ranking the animals in the ring.

It’s a fine line between too much or too little fat, explained Dawn Stratton, the Marble Falls High School animal science teacher and Cheyenne’s mother

“You can’t have them too big or fat,” she said. She pointed out one large lamb that weighs within a few pounds of the maximum weight for its class. If the lamb adds more pounds before the show, there’s a chance it won’t qualify, but on the other hand, it can’t drop too much weight or it might not look as good to the judge.

Cheyenne knows this all too well. She’ll clip her lambs ahead of the show, but not necessarily at the same time or even the same day. By clipping the lambs in the cooler weather, the animal will shiver (when not covered with its blanket). This reaction burns more fat, making the animal more lean.

“But you don’t want it to lose too much fat,” she said with a shrug.

Another lamb prep method includes using a dog to work the animals. The Marble Falls High School agriculture barn includes a pen outside, but under a cover, where the youth can put a few lambs. Then, using a dog — typically a herding one such as a border collie — the student “runs” the lambs a few laps.

“You don’t want to do too many laps, maybe three or four,” Dawn Stratton explained. The running burns fat and builds muscle.

With the livestock shows approaching, the participants are putting in the final hours with their animals. But Cheyenne pointed out that if she hadn’t been working with her lambs on a consistent basis already, her efforts during the week leading up to the event really wouldn’t matter much.

“It takes work,” she said. “It’s not always fun. And, sometimes, it’s just cold.”

The Llano County Junior Livestock Show is Jan. 8-10 at the John L. Kuykendall Arena and Event Center, 2200 RR 152 in Llano, while the Burnet County 4-H & FFA Livestock Show is at the Burnet County Fair & Rodeo Grounds, 1301 Houston Clinton Drive in Burnet.

The public is invited to both events. Admission is free.

daniel@thepicayune.com

Burnet County 4-H & FFA Livestock Show schedule

Jan. 8

10 a.m. — Barn opens

1:30 p.m. — Opening ceremony

2 p.m. — Dairy goat show followed by Angora goats (Ring A)

3 p.m. — Poultry show and showmanship (Ring B)

4 p.m. — Boer goat show (Ring A)

4 p.m. — Ag mechanics show

6 p.m. — Market goat show (Ring A)

Jan. 9

8 a.m. — Breeding sheep show followed by market lamb show (Ring A)

8-10 a.m. — Rabbit show and showmanship (Ring B)

Noon-5 p.m. — Market swine show followed by breeding swine and then crossbred gilt class (Ring A)

5-5:30 p.m. — Future feeders show

5:30 p.m. — Steer show followed by heifer show (Ring A)

Jan. 10

8:15-10:30 a.m. — Creative meat and bake show

11 a.m. — Buyers lunch

12:30 p.m. — Opening ceremony and special awards presentation

1 p.m. — Premium sale

Llano County Junior Livestock Show schedule

Jan. 8

Barn opens for arrival of animals

Jan. 9

8 a.m. — Hog show begins followed by Little Britches Showmanship (6 years and younger)

1 p.m. — Lamb show begins (or following showmanship) with meat goats following

5 p.m. — Turkey show begins followed by broilers and then rabbits

Jan. 10

9 a.m. — Cattle show

5 p.m. — Buyers mixer

6 p.m. — Premium sale (also at the John L. Kuykendall Arena & Events Center)