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denver & the west | stock show
Teen accused of cheating back in competitor's ring
By Joey Bunch
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 01/19/2007 09:06:35 AM MST
At last year's stock show, Lane Daniel was accused, then cleared, of doping his second-place winning lamb. This year, he returned to compete. (Post / Lyn Alweis )The first time Lane Daniel was called a cheater, he read it last spring in The Oklahoman newspaper.
Lane was accused of drugging his lambs to gain an advantage during competition at the National Western Stock Show. His second- place finish had been nullified; his $3,500 prize money withdrawn.
"He had to go to school the next day," said his father, Larry Daniel. "Kids were asking about it. It was pretty rough. We didn't know what was going on."
Three days later, the 16-year-old from Hollis, Okla., received a letter from the National Western, formally accusing him of wrongdoing. He was among 17 competitors, ages 9 to 19, charged with injecting their sheep with a muscle-enhancing substance.
The family hired a lawyer and fought the charge.
"We thought if we didn't get it cleared up, we might not be able to compete again," Lane said.
The allegations were dropped against Lane and five others in May, when an investigatory panel found the evidence against them inconclusive. Lane collected his prize money and made plans to return to Denver this week.
"He wanted to come back, and I'm proud of him for that." Daniel said.
On Thursday, one of Lane's lambs finished third in its class, tantalizingly missing out on the thousands of dollars bestowed to the top two finishers.
Later in the day, Lane's other lamb would compete in a heavier class - his last shot at a big prize.
Protecting crucial lessons
Larry Daniel said he had never heard of doping sheep to gain an edge in livestock shows, where the lure of money and prestige has tempted some competitors to cross the line.
The Daniel family is not in the sheep-producing industry. They keep a few lambs for Lane to raise and show in competitions - a practical way for him to learn responsibility.
"He does all the work," Daniel said. "He gets up and feeds his animals every
Lane Daniel, 16, foreground, leads Yankee around the ring Thursday. Lane and his parents don't know why he was accused or cleared, his dad says. (Post / Lyn Alweis)day. He puts them on the treadmill and walks them to work them out. He does it all the way you're supposed to."
Eighteen lambs initially disqualified had sold for a total of $101,500 at last year's stock show auction, the big prize for winners.
An investigatory panel, which included pathologists from Colorado State University, was assembled to examine each lamb and its owner's explanation. Some could explain the injection sites; some could not.
The Daniels don't know what led to the accusation against Lane or what, exactly, cleared him.
Jeff Goodwin, director of 4-H youth development programs for the Colorado State Cooperative Extension Service, commended stock show officials for taking action. The event would risk heavy financial losses if it couldn't keep its competitions clean, he said.
"The easy thing to do is look the other way and ignore it," he said. "But that's the wrong thing to do."
Sometimes parents are the problem, Goodwin said. And it's not just the big money prizes and auction returns, he added, noting that the allure of winning is equally overpowering.
"The point of the youth development programs is to teach ethics," he said. "If we teach our kids that it's OK to be deceptive and dishonest, then guess what? They're going to grow up to be deceptive, dishonest adults."
Life in the ring goes on
Neither Lane nor his father had anything negative to say about the stock show over their experience, and they seemed ready to put it behind them.
By Thursday afternoon, it was time for Lane's second lamb to be judged.
In the show ring, other competitors struggled to control their animals. But Lane had complete control of his lamb, gently crad ling its snout while the judge felt its muscles as if he were giving it a massage.
As Lane left the ring, a 10th- place ribbon dangled from a back pocket of his jeans.
He was smiling nonetheless.
"I didn't do too good. I didn't come back the way I wanted to," Lane said, as he led his lamb away.
"But I came back."
Staff writer Joey Bunch can be reached at 303-954-1174 or [email protected].
Teen accused of cheating back in competitor's ring
By Joey Bunch
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 01/19/2007 09:06:35 AM MST
At last year's stock show, Lane Daniel was accused, then cleared, of doping his second-place winning lamb. This year, he returned to compete. (Post / Lyn Alweis )The first time Lane Daniel was called a cheater, he read it last spring in The Oklahoman newspaper.
Lane was accused of drugging his lambs to gain an advantage during competition at the National Western Stock Show. His second- place finish had been nullified; his $3,500 prize money withdrawn.
"He had to go to school the next day," said his father, Larry Daniel. "Kids were asking about it. It was pretty rough. We didn't know what was going on."
Three days later, the 16-year-old from Hollis, Okla., received a letter from the National Western, formally accusing him of wrongdoing. He was among 17 competitors, ages 9 to 19, charged with injecting their sheep with a muscle-enhancing substance.
The family hired a lawyer and fought the charge.
"We thought if we didn't get it cleared up, we might not be able to compete again," Lane said.
The allegations were dropped against Lane and five others in May, when an investigatory panel found the evidence against them inconclusive. Lane collected his prize money and made plans to return to Denver this week.
"He wanted to come back, and I'm proud of him for that." Daniel said.
On Thursday, one of Lane's lambs finished third in its class, tantalizingly missing out on the thousands of dollars bestowed to the top two finishers.
Later in the day, Lane's other lamb would compete in a heavier class - his last shot at a big prize.
Protecting crucial lessons
Larry Daniel said he had never heard of doping sheep to gain an edge in livestock shows, where the lure of money and prestige has tempted some competitors to cross the line.
The Daniel family is not in the sheep-producing industry. They keep a few lambs for Lane to raise and show in competitions - a practical way for him to learn responsibility.
"He does all the work," Daniel said. "He gets up and feeds his animals every
Lane Daniel, 16, foreground, leads Yankee around the ring Thursday. Lane and his parents don't know why he was accused or cleared, his dad says. (Post / Lyn Alweis)day. He puts them on the treadmill and walks them to work them out. He does it all the way you're supposed to."
Eighteen lambs initially disqualified had sold for a total of $101,500 at last year's stock show auction, the big prize for winners.
An investigatory panel, which included pathologists from Colorado State University, was assembled to examine each lamb and its owner's explanation. Some could explain the injection sites; some could not.
The Daniels don't know what led to the accusation against Lane or what, exactly, cleared him.
Jeff Goodwin, director of 4-H youth development programs for the Colorado State Cooperative Extension Service, commended stock show officials for taking action. The event would risk heavy financial losses if it couldn't keep its competitions clean, he said.
"The easy thing to do is look the other way and ignore it," he said. "But that's the wrong thing to do."
Sometimes parents are the problem, Goodwin said. And it's not just the big money prizes and auction returns, he added, noting that the allure of winning is equally overpowering.
"The point of the youth development programs is to teach ethics," he said. "If we teach our kids that it's OK to be deceptive and dishonest, then guess what? They're going to grow up to be deceptive, dishonest adults."
Life in the ring goes on
Neither Lane nor his father had anything negative to say about the stock show over their experience, and they seemed ready to put it behind them.
By Thursday afternoon, it was time for Lane's second lamb to be judged.
In the show ring, other competitors struggled to control their animals. But Lane had complete control of his lamb, gently crad ling its snout while the judge felt its muscles as if he were giving it a massage.
As Lane left the ring, a 10th- place ribbon dangled from a back pocket of his jeans.
He was smiling nonetheless.
"I didn't do too good. I didn't come back the way I wanted to," Lane said, as he led his lamb away.
"But I came back."
Staff writer Joey Bunch can be reached at 303-954-1174 or [email protected].
How sad for that to have happened to two kids........... 
Then I figgered out that it was CO WRESTLING........... :roll: