Beginning to Grand

As our family has made friends showing sheep, it is interesting to me to watch the interactions between the breeders of the animals and the exhibitors. Hewlett Farms is a local sheep farm.  They have helped us more than we ever could have imagined with sheep we have bought from them and with sheep we have bought from other breeders Ed and Connie (aka the Night Watchman) have been an incredible wealth of knowledge for the boys and the whole family. I asked Ed for a story about their farm and he shared how their youngest son got started in the sheep business himself.  You can find them on Facebook at Hewlett Farms Sheep.

 At the Black and White sheep show and sale 2005 in Oklahoma City. The beginning happened, the idea, thought,and or an inclination at least to be or do something different. Not by me, or the night watchman but rather 11 year old son Curtis. He, while checking out the stock, and wandering through the aisles of lambs, proposed the question. Mom why don't we buy a Dorset Ewe? 

When she presented the same question to me, I still remember the pride of owning my first 4-H project and in no way was I going to deny him of the same. So, the ground rules were laid and he was off to select the ewes he liked. The only real rule was that he had to pay for it with his own savings.

When his first choice hit the auction block and blew by his limit and so did number two, he came to me head down and discouraged. So doing what any good father would, we set out together to find another and as luck would have it choice three was the winner. After the show, enroute home, the night watchman proceeds to tell me her only experience with Dorset sheep is they had one as kids and she never lambed. Oh no! I thought Curtis has just bought one and now she is not going to breed, and that just wont do, so that was the beginng of phase two: Get more Dorset ewes. 

A call to Mr Ross owner of Curtis's new ewe and a road trip later his flock was now two . Feeling good about the project a few months later at the Midwest Stud Ram sale in Sedalia, Missouri, we ask Curtis about the idea of buying a ram and a couple more ewes. We thought he could be starting his own registered flock and not cross breeding them. He thought about it for a short time and then was off to select his new stud Ram and much like earlier at auction time his ram selection went out of sight he thought. He said, "Now what? I don't like any others!" 

By this time the night watchman was in the game and she had a young March ram in mind. With quick discussion and convincing he was to be the one and by the end of the auction Curtis had added a stud ram later named Polar Express and two more ewe lambs. He was set, and phase three was put in place. The plan was nothing short of Genius. Breed the four ewes and take those lambs back to Midwest ram sale the very next year. 

The year seem to fly by and Polar Express, though small, finally got the job done and lambing time was smooth. Praise the Lord! Curtis now had 5 lambs, 3 ewes and 2 rams. He decided that he would take Polar and 2 ram lambs to Sedalia and while there buy a new stud ram. It seems so simple.

During the show luck was with Curtis, and when judge Clay Elliott made the final selections. Curtis's little flock had the Res Grand Dorest ram, a second to him in class and the first place yearling with Polar Express. The phone call back to the Night Watchman was exciting and she couldn't believe it. All that was left to do was buy the new stud ram and wouldn't you know the only one he selected, was the one he couldn't beat. That's right the Grand ram bred by Slack was the one his sights were on. 

With great anticipation we could hardly wait for the auction. It was a tough fight and more than he wanted to invest but the gavel fall proved Curtis meant business. The only fitting name for the new stud was simply Grand. In all endeavors, there is always risk, and with that Curtis had put it all on the line. We encouraged him to buy more ewes to spread the risk, which he did adding three more. The plan had worked so why change it and year two was to be much the same. Save back a few ewe lambs and sell the ram lambs. 

To save you all the drama year two was incredible. Grand's first lamb to be offered won the Black and White Dorest ewe show and sold well. Then on to Sedalia, Curtis was loaded for bear. He took three each rams and ewes all lambs. With the judge favoring our style, the lambs were unbeatable. Curtis carried both the Grand ram and Grand ewe ribbons out of the ring. The sale went just as well and Curtis's second year endeavor was in the black with room to spare. From just a simple idea 24 months before to a winning, profitable, program all thanks to breeders offering good animals and a great ram called GRAND. 

Ed Hewlett 
Hewlett Farms Sheep

Hardwork ALWAYS wins over High Prices

Over the years that my kids have been in 4-H showing livestock, I have met some pretty well spoken young people. Caitlyn Carnahan a student at NEO shared this on her Facebook page the other day. I asked permission to repost for all of you to share.  I would echo many of her thoughts as we enter a new show season and are shopping for this year's new projects.

I recently saw someone say that money will get you success, specifically in the livestock showing industry. This is very false and also true in a way. It is not all about money, and HARDWORK conquers all. In the end hardwork will lead you to success. Hardwork may not necessarily reflect on your winning in the showring on that day but it will prepare you to be the successful adult that you will become. 

 

With being in the livestock industry and the show industry, hardwork has gotten me a lot farther than what money has. Yes money can get you that high dollar, flashy animal but what is that teaching you? 

In the end hardwork is going to get you a lot farther in life and the real world than what money will. Money is temporary and hardwork is infinite and will last you a life time. With going into my last and 11th year showing, the hardwork that it has set within me and the life skills it has taught me is going to allow me to get far in life to help me accomplish my life goals. 

 

I have always had to do my own work with my show animals, from my first year showing a pig to my last showing sheep and cattle. Along this journey there have been people that have accused my family of not doing our own work, especially me myself. At my barn it has always been a group effort, however if my brother or I were not out in the barn my parents were not. Because of them I want to do all of my work with my animals so in the end if I do get the purple ribbon and get to stand in the winners circle I can say that I did my OWN work MYSELF. 

 

To me that is a big deal because my family did not have to pay someone to do the work I am very capable of doing. This following fall I started college at NEO and still had show animals at home. Yes, I was not there every single day to feed them or work with them. However, I made an effort to drive an hour one way every other day throughout the week and every weekend to just be home for 3 or 4 hours so I could get work in with my animals. After I would get finished I would drive back to Miami, Oklahoma to school. While all of this, I was one of the baton twirlers at NEO, having practice daily. And that fall at the Kansas State Fair I achieved one of my goals to get into the top five in showmanship.

 

 I was able to achieve this with my own hardwork, not with money or having the right name or because I knew a certain person. In college everyone pays the same amount, and those who have went above and beyond with their own hardwork were awarded scholarships. But in college if you do not have a drive and do not work hard then you will not be successful. So before you think that money will buy you success, go out and achieve your goals with hardwork so you can say, "THAT WAS ALL ME.

Bracing and Grappling

This year, my oldest has taken on a new challenge with wrestling.  The longer the season goes on the more I realize it is pretty much like showing sheep.  A special thanks to Brillhart Slater Club Lambs, Messner Farms, Mom At the Meat Counter, Frankenstein Show Goats and H&K Farms for allowing me to use some of their pictures. 

25. Sweat. We all know athletes sweat, but have you ever seen a showman who has been wrestling a 130 pound lamb for 15 minutes?

24. Hair/wool length is checked.   Wrestlers can't have hair past their eye brows and sheep can't have wool above their hocks.

23. Handshakes are still strictly enforced.

 22. No matter what you are doing, there is always someone who is watching and wants to be you

21. There are no timeouts.  Coaching takes place off the mat and out of the showring.

 

20.  Hold 'em. Whether it's in the barn or in the gym, they hold they line them up to get ready to go.

19.  Watch the order.  You have to watch the match or class before you.  Some kids get pinned in 30 seconds and some take the whole time.  Some judges are fast and some are slow. 

18.  Warmup.  Everyone has their warmup routine.  Lambs get walked and set up...wrestlers jump rope, swing their arms, run in place, etc.

 

17. Moisturize. The wrestler tells me they have some spray on moisturizer which made me think of Revive.

16.  Sideline Signals. Whether watching a lamb show or a wrestling match, you can catch someone giving signals to those competing.

15.  Cuts and scrapes.  We hate it when a lamb gets a sore or cut, because we know it will leave a scar.  I have used more bandaids on my wrestler since Thanksgiving than he has ever used.

14.  Hydration.  Whether watching sheep or a wrestler it is amazing how much water they can drink.

 

13.  Electrolytes.  Whether drinking ReStore, Ensure or Powerade, both like their electrolytes.

12.  Whether I am going to a wrestling tournament or lamb show, I am always packing food and drinks for kids and livestock.  

11.  Exercise.  Everyone works out.  Lambs get walked and wrestlers get to run.

10.   It looks absolutely foreign to anyone knew.  I am still trying to figure it all out halfway through the season and when I asked for some pictures, my all knowing wrestling friend commented this when I asked for some of the pictures you see in this post:

I so, know how she feels when sitting in a gym watching wrestling.

9.  Early Saturday Mornings.  Whether it is lamb showing or wrestling, I am up at 5:30 in the morning on Saturday.

8.  We know the weight of the clothes.  We know a lamb blanket and halter weighs about a pound.  My wrestler tells me shoes and shorts weigh two pounds.

7.  Stinky laundry.  Amazingly, I will take wrestling laundry over sheep laundry any day.

6.  Fungus.  We worry about the lambs getting club lamb fungus which is no different than ringworm.  Before the larger shows, our lambs have to be inspected for fungus and the wrestler tells me they have to go for "skin checks"  at each tournament.

5.  ALL Day for a few minutes.  Anyone that has watched a livestock show or a wrestling tournament can tell you that you sit hours for for a few minutes of activity by your kid.

 

4.  Work in Silence.  Most of the hard work is done where no one else can see you.

3.  One is accountable.  No matter how you do on the mat or in the show ring, there is only one person you can blame.  No one else is out there with you.

2. Spandex.  Enough said.

       

1.  Family.  Like it or not those people crazy enough to spend their Saturdays with you will become a second family.  Your kids will have more brothers and sisters than you could ever imagine.  They will take care of them no matter what.

 

 

Why do we do it? Guest Post

Mom's, your kids may not show cattle or any animals, but I'm betting you have had a similar discussion with your family.

In the world of 4-H and livestock showing, some families become more like family than friends.   Meet Lisa of Dream on Cattle, Company.  I was a second mom to her middle  daughter for the first part of Maine Anjou Junior Nationals last year and she was a second mom to my boys when she arrived and I had to go home to wheat harvest.  Her husband took my boys and heifer and treated them like one of the family.  We didn't know each other all that well last summer, but this summer I am glad to call them part of our show family.  She and I have come to support each other more than beside the show ring and here is her first attempt at blogging, if you like it leave a comment and share it to let her know.  -A Kansas Farm Mom

May 15, 2016
It had been a rough morning in the barns, if you have kids who show livestock then you understand what I’m talking about.  When you roll outside at 5:30 am to get chores done and animals taken care of, you can’t expect everything to go as planned or everyone to be chipper while doing it.
But on this morning, one of the girls was giving it her all to show us that she didn’t want to be there.  And Daddy took this attitude to task.  Which resulted in this rather loud declaration “I hate showing cattle and I never wanted to do it, why do you make me!”

Ah bless us all, here we go.  You’ve been there or you are raising angels and I’m jealous.  She doesn’t hate it but she doesn’t always love the work involved leading up to “show day.”  She’s a typical child in that she would prefer to do things the easy way and still get the glory somehow in the end.
So lucky for us, this was not a day when they had to be at school.  And lucky for her, about 2 hours later we had a “sit down.”  And during this meeting, which I had all the children attend, we discussed why our children will not be allowed to opt out of showing livestock.

It is what we do together.  Sure we love to watch them play sports or listen to them play piano/trumpet/clarinet but those activities are very kid-centered.  Not family-centered.  We all have a role when we show and we do what is necessary to help each other.  And we are TOGETHER which in this day, is a rare and special treat for us!
Showing livestock is how we have decided to teach our children about work ethic.  Off the farm and apart from being seriously hungry, I’m not sure how you teach today’s kids to work hard.  So on the farm, we get the luxury of being hard workers.  There is always something to do and never enough time/able bodies to do it.

Something else depends on you and your ability to finish the job.  It really isn’t an option to not feed or water.  And I am that mom that says, they eat/drink before you do.  Learn to put something in front of yourself.  Some might call it harsh, I call it leadership training 101.

The bottom line would it be easier on me to let her quit?  Yes perhaps in the short run, no one wants to deal with the whining, sighing and eye rolling (my personal fave).  But in the long run, she knows we are not giving in that easy.  Because I want her to feel success as an adult, I want her to set her sights on an impossible goal and get there, letting her quit is not an option!
I’m pretty clear with my kids that a purple ribbon or a grand champion would be an awesome reward but it doesn’t happen every day.  And furthermore it is one person’s opinion at one moment in time.  It won’t always go our way, actually rarely.

 My reward and theirs will be the lessons learned and the memories of all we did together.

One more show mom that I totally look up to sums up our weekends pretty well below.  Melissa Falkenstien of Falkenstien Family Show Goats is a show mom that I really admire and am proud to call her a friend/family.-KFM

If you liked this post you might like my Tribute to Livestock Show Moms, too.

If You Give a 4-H'er a Calf...

If you let your 4-H'er get a calf, they will fall in love with it.

If your 4-H'er falls in love with it, they'll want to spend lots of time with it.

If they want to spend lots of time with her, they'll get up at 5:55 am to go to feed her.

If they go to feed her, they'll want to brush her.

If they brush her, they'll think she needs a bath.

If she gets a bath once, they'll think she needs a bath every morning.

If they give her a bath, they'll want to blow dry her.

 

If you let them blow dry her, they will want a fan hung in the barn to keep her cool while they are at school.

If they get up to feed her to keep clean they will wear wind pants and a hoodie over school clothes.

If they wear clothes over their school clothes, you will have to pick them up at the barn because they won't come back to the house until they need to go to school.

If you pick them up at the barn, they will strip off the top layer of clothes as you drive them to school.

If they strip off the clothes, your truck will be full of clothes.

 

If  your truck is still full of clothes when he gets in after school, they will want to go back to the barn.

If they want to go back to the barn, you can make them do their homework before they visit the barn.  Homework will be done the fastest ever!

 

If they are more motivated to do their homework, they might reach their reading goal for the month before the last day of the month.

If they get their reading goal done before the last day of the month, you might let them show the calf at some shows.

If they make friends at the shows, they will want to go to more shows.

If they want to go to more shows, they will find there are other things to show other than cattle.

If they find there are other things to show, they will want another animal.

If they keep doing their homework, feeding and grooming the calf, you will let them them have a lamb and then you will find out what happens when you give a 4-H'er a lamb.