Practice matters when getting ready for fair

WILSON CREEK - On the surface it's something of a conundrum. How does a 10-year-old, or for that matter a teenager, control a 1,500-pound steer in the show ring at the Grant County Fair?

Or a 500-pound pig, or even a 100-pound lamb? Cattle, pigs and sheep do have minds of their own, and sometimes they use them. And sometimes a show animal uses its mind in the show ring, and sometimes the results aren't pretty.

Well, it's all about practice. Practice, practice, practice.

Or at least practice helps. It's possible to do OK without practice, but success comes easier with an animal, and a handler, that are familiar with each other and ready to work together, Cori Kane, the leader for the Wilson Creek Livestock 4-H Club, said.

"You put your time into it. And put your effort into it, and they (the animal) will help you out," Kelsey Kane, 15, said, who's in the process of training her steer Thumper for the fair, one week away. "The more you put your time into it, the more they've help you out."

There was an occasion where she didn't work with her animal as much and she didn't like the results. "I learned from that. You have to work a lot," she said.

The steer arrives in February or March, and that's when training begins. It's a mix of tying, leading, untying and letting the steer run with the herd. "You walk with them a lot. Mess with them, like, scratch them, brush them," Kelsey said. There's a little less work when school is in session, a little more when school is out.

"You can tell when it clicks with him and he likes it," Kelsey said.

Kelsey, who will be a junior at Wilson Creek High School, said she's been showing steers "since I was in the third grade." Attending the fair she saw the older kids in the ring, she said, and it looked like fun. Besides, "I thought that it would be a good way to make a college fund."

Showing animals can be profitable, but the initial investment is considerable, Cori Kane said. When they arrive at the fairgrounds steers must weigh at least 1,100 pounds. So every day they get a ration of corn, oats, barley, grain, "and then hay on the side of that," Kelsey said.

"It's not a cheap hobby," Cori Kane said.

Kelsey buys her steers from her maternal grandparents, who own a ranch, she said. Competitors can help or hurt their chances, at least a little, by their animal selection.

"Muscle," Kelsey said, "and - what else?"

"You're looking for a quality breed," Cori said. A prospective show steer must have a certain look, and a long frame. "You don't want a short boxy one (steer)."

There's one more desirable attribute. "You prefer a good disposition. If they start out with a bad disposition you have to put in twice as much effort," Cori Kane said.

No matter how much preparation and training, the ultimate decision on blue, red and grand champion ribbons is up to a third party - the show judge. Competitors and their animals have to make it as easy for the judge as possible, Kelsey said.

"Set them up easy and quick for the judge," she said. The judge is looking for body type, and the competitor has to give the judge the best look possible. It's better if there are no bovine theatrics.

"I have to keep him calm and very relaxed," Kelsey said. "And show the judge that I know what I'm doing. That's where the practice comes in." Some cattle are sensitive to their surroundings, others not so much, but animals do have a mind of their own.

If the steer acts up, the competitor leads the animal in a circle and gets back in line, Cori Kane said. If the handler stays in control, there's a better chance the animal will regain control, she said.

The fair opens Aug. 13.