Friendswood’s heifer show team brought nine cows to the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo on the weekends of Feb. 10 and Feb. 17.
Agriculture teacher Trevor Reifel oversaw the process, hauling two sets of cows for the two different weekends.
“These shows take a whole lot of patience because it takes a 12 hour or sometimes longer line just to unload the trailers,” Reifel said. “Once we get to the front, they let a certain amount of trailers go at a time and give us a very brief time to unload so others can get in.”
The first round of the competition is class, followed by division, overall breed, and overall supreme, respectfully. Winners of each round compete against each other as the competition progresses.
“Different cows are split up into classes by age and breed to make it as fair for everybody as possible,” class winner Kennedi Penn said. “It wouldn’t be fair for a seven month old heifer calf who doesn’t have a lot of belly on her yet to compete against a heavy-bred, two-year-old senior.”
Judges are very selective about certain feminine features when looking at heifers, such as long necks, large stomachs for gestation, and well-kept hair.
“Judge bias is a huge factor because you could have a heifer that wins a whole breed at one show and then places second in class at another show,” Penn said. “All judges have different things that they look for. It’s just a part of what we do.”
The students who moved on from class to division were Faith Jackson, Kennedi Penn, Kalynn Torres, and Tabitha Reifel. Jackson moved on additionally to the final round, winning Reserve Champion Heifer Calf and Reserve Champion Red Angus.
“I had been stuck in the same class placement for a while, so moving on that far was very unexpected,” Jackson said. “It was the first time that I couldn’t show my cow because I was sick, so I had to trust in a lot of other people to get the work done.”
One of these trusted people was Jaxton McCollum, who showed her cow first and Jackson’s cow after learning of Jackson’s unexpected illness.
“I always get very nervous before I get in the ring, but I was especially nervous going into the final round with Faith’s cow,” McCollum said. “Once I was in there, the showcase was super serious, and I didn’t think about anything other than impressing the judge.”
According to Trevor Reifel, these shows are not only important to his students and their learning, but to audience members as well.
“Stock shows give the average everyday person that watches the inside into agriculture,” Reifel said. “This is sometimes the first time kids have ever seen a cow, pig, lamb, or goat, so it’s incredibly important for the future of agriculture.”
