Junior livestock show held
By Kirsten Ballard
Published in News on April 9, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Kayden Newcome, 6, smiles as he answers questions from judge Bruce Shenkle about his goat while competing in the novice portion of the Junior Livestock Show. Kayden received first place in his category of the goat show.
Speckles the Goat was done.
He planted his front feet into the wood chips and stopped.
Payton Williams' training kicked into gear.
The 7-year-old coaxed the 64-pound goat back into line, bestowing a smile at judge Bruce Shenkle.
The novice division of the Junior Livestock Showmanship Goat Show did not have places.
"It's just to have fun," Payton said. It was her third time showing.
Fifty children participated in the goat, calf and hog shows. For 17 children, this year would be the first time they showed. Five-year-old Caden Ladd was one of those first-time participants.
He wrapped his blue ribbon around a button on his shirt to display it for the world.
"I just had to (show)," he said.
His 29-pound goat Fluffy was the perfect starter goat.
"He doesn't weigh enough to be sold," Caden said.
Caden was not nervous as he walked into the ring. He shot his family a thumbs up as he helped Fluffy into his showmanship position, trying to display his pint-sized goat's muscles.
He was hooked.
"I liked just walking him around," he said.
Later, watching the show, Caden started petitioning his parents to show calves.
Shenkle was impressed by the quality performance of the youths. He was looking for showmanship, where the participant highlighted the animal's best qualities.
"Know about your critter," he said.
He paused during each round to ask the competitors questions about their animals: How much did they weigh? What did they eat? What were the five parts of a goat?
In the senior goat showmanship, Taylor Glover won third, Hannah Lewis won second and Alan Johnson won the first place ribbon.
In the junior class, Caleb Heath won third, Daniel Dunn won second and Abigail Johnson won first place.
For the market division, Hannah Lewis won Grand Champion with her goat Meatloaf. It was her first time showing. Taylor Glover won Reserve Champion.
"I really love animals," Hannah said.
The biggest challenge was getting Meatloaf to build muscle, she said. The 7-month-old goat was fidgety and non-compliant when the two started training. As they ramped up for competition, they were practicing daily.
But for Hannah, it was all about the fun.
"I loved talking to friends and playing with an animal," she said.
For the first time, 9-year-old Keiley Severson was showing a calf.
She is an old hand in the goat division, but she was a little nervous for her first time showing the bigger animal.
"You have to show them who is boss," she said.
She didn't have as much preparation time as she wanted because of her dance schedule and the weather. Still, she went boldly into the ring with Mr. Floppity.
She was the only girl in the ring.
Judge Shenkle congratulated her for participating and told her to continue practicing so she could be great.
In the junior division, Jensen Barwick won third, Caleb Heath won second and Daniel Dunn took home the blue ribbon.
In the senior division, Mary Dunn won second place and Taylor Glover won first.
In the Market Class Cattle First Class, Keiley won Reserve Champion and Caleb Heath won Grand Champion.
Jensen Barwick won Grand Drive and Mary Dunn won Reserve for their Market Class heifers.
The show continued today at 9 a.m. with the return of the hog show. The show is free and open to the public.
Festivities will continue at 5:30 p.m. for the costume contest and the 6 p.m. City Slicker Contest.
The City Slicker Contest allows the public to participate by showing animals.
Wayne County Livestock Development Association board of directors member Eddie Pitzer laughs when he described the competition.
"It's not a competition, it's just for people not used to showing animals," he said. Animals are provided for the competition.
At 7 p.m., awards will be presented and at 7:30 the sale begins.
The money received from the sale and premiums on the ribbon goes into educational funds for many of the youth, Pitzer said.