BY: Shayne White
Stock shows are a place where you have fun, spend time with family and maybe make some money. They are also a great way to meet new friends and learn new skills. Each time I go to a show, I look at it like the first day of school, where the doors are open and nothing is stopping you from having a great year.
I participated in my last state fair as a 4-H member; it was a week that I will never forget. I met some people that have turned out to be lifelong friends. We all worked together to make sure that each one of us had a successful week. It did not matter what species you were showing, all of us were there at ring side to support one another. To me this is what being part of a show means …. supporting and helping everyone.
My favorite part of state fair was when my sister was getting ready for the 4-H market lamb show. She was 15 minutes away from going into the ring when a girl we had just met at state fair offered to help Shyane fit the legs on her lamb. She did not hesitate to go get her clippers and clip the legs out of that lamb. The best part was that Hannah was going to compete against Shyane in the same class. Yet she was willing to help Shyane be as prepared as she was walking into the show ring. It is youth like her that make stock shows so much more fun and enjoyable. She was willing to put herself out there to help others. Her twin sister did the same for me when it came to fitting my heifer. She was showing me tricks to fit and clip. To me this is the most important part of stock shows …. helping youth grow by teaching and supporting one another.
The friendships I made at state fair were great. The group of people I hung out with came from all over the state. You would have thought we were all lifelong friends, that hadn’t seen each other for a couple of years. The connections and friendships that were made at state fair is what made my final show bigger and better. You could tell that each person was a big competitor. Our goal was to win and make ourselves proud. The more important part was that we were all there to congratulate each other on their success in the show ring, help take a photo or hold animals. We were all competitors in the show ring but when we stepped out, we became each other’s support system. That’s what makes stock shows worth the time.
