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Grand Champion Steer brings $210,000

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Ugly sides to everything unfortunately even Canadian Minor Hockey lol-you just soldier on and try and make things better. My kids get as much from the public speaking etc in 4H as they do from show and sale day. My Dad never let me in it either-I sure wish he had-I think we'll of had 90 some 4H animals by the time Emily and Sara are done.
 
We just buckled down and worked harder. I have a brother that rode the first State Champion Trail horse at the Nebraska State 4-H Horse Show. He was just another common ranch horse, we used him everyday. My sister rode the last Champion Western Riding horse, he was a horse my dad picked up on a horse trade, we only owned him a few years. We spent lots of time practicing after we got home from working all day and it paid off. Anyone can be beat, there are things money can't buy.
 
I'd agree $210,000 is pretty extreme, but I just read the following article on the girl that exhibited that steer. If she doesn't deserve that sale money, I'm not sure who does.

Teen from Loving turns terrible year into Stock Show victory
FORT WORTH — At the Fort Worth stock show, Rikki Buckalew signs autographs like an "American Idol" winner. She's the new grand champion of a contest she didn't think she had a chance to win.
In 10 years of showing steers, Rikki has never come close to winning. This year, one of her cows died and another came up lame, leaving only the big one she calls her baby.
She gave him a name he could live up to: War Admiral.
But raising him wasn't easy. "You have to feed him twice daily, you have to water him every day," Rikki explained. "We don't have electricity in our barns; we don't have a cooling room, like most steer people do."
At Graham High School, she was working to be in the top 10 percent of her class, hoping for a scholarship to Texas A&M.
But then, the headaches started.
"It was scary," recalled her mom, Leann Buckalew. "It was extremely scary not knowing what was going on, why she was in so much pain."
After a week at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, Rikki said she was diagnosed with a rare disease.
"It's where my brain thinks I have a tumor, so it makes a bunch of spinal fluid," she said.
Rikki missed so much school, she almost failed. She was accepted at TCU — she just couldn't afford it.
And as for the Stock Show, her expectations were low. "Seventh place, maybe," she said.
So as Rikki Buckalew led War Admiral into the show ring, she wasn't exactly confident.
"I was like, 'Oh, he's not picking mine. These other steers are better, I'm sure.'"
But she was wrong.
To her surprise, War Admiral won the grand prize at the 2010 Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.
Her father, Mitch Buckalew, couldn't help but cry as he enjoyed the happy ending to a very tough year.
"Back in October, when we were in Cook's, we didn't care about calves — it was just the girl," he said.
And now that girl is a winner.
War Admiral and the other championship animals were auctioned off on Saturday morning, with all proceeds going directly to the children who raised them.
War Admiral sold for a Stock Show record $210,000.

Here's a link to a television piece, too:
http://www.wfaa.com/news/entertainment/pets/Teen-from-Loving-Turns-Terrible-Year-into-Stock-Show-Victory-83693147.html
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That story is why stock shows are awesome! :D Kids learn about work and cattle and life. They win some and lose a lot more. They have opportunitys and experiences they otherwise might not of. Is it perfect? No. But it's a great way to get kids doing something constructive. I know of a bunch of high school seniors who stopped chasing girls and being selfish teenagers and knotheads long enough for one day at our county stockshow to take part in a miracle. Without any prodding or adult suggestion of any kind, they all pooled their money and bought a lamb during the sale. The young man showing the lamb was confined to a wheelchair and couldn't speak or walk. But he sure could smile! His lamb was near the bottom of the order and had only managed to win a red ribbon. But that lamb topped the sale, beating the grand champion sale price by $700 bucks. I can still remember the tears in his parents eyes and the smile on his face. He died before the year was over. I was one of the guys who bought the lamb. I'll never forget it! That's what is right with FFA and 4H.
 
All i can say is good for her,she truly earned the honour of having grand champion steer.As a 4H leader i get a real since of pride when a kid who has overcome the obstacles on the way to the topis rewarded.in our regional show 11 clubs some 250 kids in 12 projects the kids that rise to the top have done it through hard work,dedication to the program,at the club level i have kids that just squeak by doing the minimal but i also have kids that dedicate themselves to 4H as well as carry a full load of sports and school activitys where the also evcell.which are in the majority.my partner,her 2 girls and I are fully commited to 4H as leaders and members.it makes for an interesting load when your hauling a horse,fat steer,market lamb,and rabbits to the show and sale.this year we are adding a heifer &ewe lamb to the herd.and i am proud to say except tor the initial halter breaking the now 13 year old has done her own work with out help from her mom or me.
 
I thought they put a cap on what the kid got and the rest went into the scholarships fund. I know they did here in Houston. My wife got the Houston livestock show scholarship back in the early 90's and by the time she finished college it went up $2,000.
 
This was a really good sale. The Reserve steer was a Horned Hereford and it brought $200,000. And I thought the Champion Polled Hereford steer was even better than that one.

With all of the corporate-bashing that goes on these days, I think businesses need more recognition for doing this type of advertising that is also supporting our youth that have an interest in agriculture. The Ft.Worth Stock Show Syndicate puts together all the money for these deals.

http://www.fwsss.com/history.php

And it's not just for the big deals - they work to be sure there's a buyer for every animal in the sale. This year's sale totaled $2.8 million - all of it going back to the kids. Sure, some of it will be wasted on $10,000 steer prospects for next year, but a lot of that money will buy college educations for kids interested in ag.

In all the years the Stock Show Syndicate has been functioning, they've never taken their eye off the ball - helping the kids that have an interest in agriculture. They deserve a lot of credit for getting this kind of money back to the kids - $2,800,000 - that's a helluva lot of money for one sale.
 
The problem with the whole deal is, that to be truly competitive at these big shows you see the serious families paying twenty, thirty, even fifty-thousand bucks in an effort to buy the next great calf. This is no exaggeration, I am friends with a fellow that sells many calves every year. It's a very lucrative thing for him, believe me. Now I realize that some home-grown or "common" calves can rise to the top, but it's not often. So, showing competitively at the big shows is a game of money from start to finish. That part is just not healthy.

It would be fun to have shows with a cap on how much you could spend on the prospect calf. If a thousand bucks was the limit then the kids would have to go scrambling to the hills to go find a nice calf in an everyday cow herd. GASP!! :shock: Then we'd see some kids receiving a lot better lessons from the experience and the kids with limited resources could have just as good a chance as anyone to win.

HP
 
Our Grand Champion sterr had an illustrious background-our neighbors had a purebred Black Angus bull get out and breed the other neighbors only purebred cow-she had a bull calf and he sired the Grand Champion and record selling steer for our district-$6,000-nothing compared to what you guys are talking but enough for a small town business to pay. It's truly a whole different deal than stateside.
 
Who says ya got to go to the big shows? :???: Who says ya gotta win every one of them? :???: Ya'll are missin' the forest for the trees! It sure as heck isnt the destination, It's the trip getting there! Let the "pro's" do what they do! Or better yet, go knock them off their perch! WHO SAYS THAT YOU HAVE TO SPEND 10 OR 20 GRAND TO WIN?
 
In Houston at the stock show....doesn't matter how much the steer goes for....the kid only recieves $60,000 of it. A few years ago the grand champion brought $640,000. The rest is put into their scholarship funds for other kids. I don't necessarily think that's right...because these days $60,000 might not pay for the education that kids goin for. Example...Texas A&M costs way more than that for 4 years.
 
You don't get outta Utah much do ya' H ? :D

I judged a county fair of 60 steers this summer and the top three to five steers were very expensive cattle. This fair was not a great big deal, and no big money to the winner. But the three insane families that campaigned the top three were in a completely different league compared to the rest. It made me feel pretty sick for the other kids. I don't care who blows their money, that's their choice. But you don't go pick a steer out of the neighbor's pasture and beat these kind of cattle, you just don't. I never said that I wouldn't let my own kids participate. I'm not saying that at all. It would just be more fun if the kids could be kids throughout the whole deal. When several thousands of dollars have been spent, it is not a kid activity any longer. The parents have some serious issues. Those parents maybe need to learn how to rope and they can blow their money and get a competitive rush that way instead of vicariously through their kids.

Just the way it is in lots of places, not everywhere, but lots of places.

HP
 
High Plains said:
You don't get outta Utah much do ya' H ? :D

I judged a county fair of 60 steers this summer and the top three to five steers were very expensive cattle. This fair was not a great big deal, and no big money to the winner. But the three insane families that campaigned the top three were in a completely different league compared to the rest. It made me feel pretty sick for the other kids. I don't care who blows their money, that's their choice. But you don't go pick a steer out of the neighbor's pasture and beat these kind of cattle, you just don't. I never said that I wouldn't let my own kids participate. I'm not saying that at all. It would just be more fun if the kids could be kids throughout the whole deal. When several thousands of dollars have been spent, it is not a kid activity any longer. The parents have some serious issues. Those parents maybe need to learn how to rope and they can blow their money and get a competitive rush that way instead of vicariously through their kids.

Just the way it is in lots of places, not everywhere, but lots of places.

HP
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I guess i'll stick with backwards old Utah. :???: Because if what you described is true, it's tragic! Maybe next time you "judge" a show reward the kids that aren't professionals. You are the judge right? Is there a rule that says which calf wins? Or is it up to you? If I had two calves before me and one was home raised and one a high dollar calf, guess which would win? :wink: If the judge is rewarding the fancy calves then the judge is a big part of the problem! :shock: So are the parents. So is the show commitee that allows it to happen. Out here in the sticks there is a limit on purchase price, out of county enrtys and fluff! But maybe we have a tad more back bone than you Nebraska boys! That sounds worse than the way I meant it. What I mean is, let the pro's go to Denver and let the kids enjoy the county shows. With steers picked from the neighbors pen. I would think even a judge could figure that out! :D :wink:
 
High Plains said:
You don't get outta Utah much do ya' H ? :D

I judged a county fair of 60 steers this summer and the top three to five steers were very expensive cattle. This fair was not a great big deal, and no big money to the winner. But the three insane families that campaigned the top three were in a completely different league compared to the rest. It made me feel pretty sick for the other kids. I don't care who blows their money, that's their choice. But you don't go pick a steer out of the neighbor's pasture and beat these kind of cattle, you just don't. I never said that I wouldn't let my own kids participate. I'm not saying that at all. It would just be more fun if the kids could be kids throughout the whole deal. When several thousands of dollars have been spent, it is not a kid activity any longer. The parents have some serious issues. Those parents maybe need to learn how to rope and they can blow their money and get a competitive rush that way instead of vicariously through their kids.

Just the way it is in lots of places, not everywhere, but lots of places.

HP
Click to expand...

:agree:
 
My Daughter loved ruining a good lack steer show. She pick and show a Hereford steer either off our place or out of a Friends her sometimes boss Pure Breed herd. She competed. My kid all showed home grown steers and lamb, Had blue ribbon steers never a grand, A lot of times our Grand was a big money steer bought at Denver and sold at the fair for less then what was paid for it.
They break the lamb classes into White, Smut Faced, and Black Face , We did have a grand or two between white and smut lambs, but could never beat the Black face for over all Grand or Reserve.
My kid won Grand with Chickens' both hen and rooster, and ducks.
But we pushed them more in Showmanship, all three of then at one time won Sheep, 2 won Beef and 2 won Round Robin and the 3rd took Reserve on his last try…. Oh he won the Poultry showmen ship a time or two too.
 
What it really comes down to for me, is that the kids need to see the profit/loss in the end product. 4-H has that as part of the record keeping process, but if Mom & Dad buy the animal, I don't think that usually gets factored in. I want to see kids set up for reality. Now that I'm one of those crazy grass farmers I try to think of ways kids could have a 4-H project that emphasize good grazing management focusing on profit/loss, without an emphasis on showing.

The thing is that most 4-H projects are under "different" management, it's certainly not efficient to set up a rotational grazing cell for a handful or even one animal. But if they could work with a producer as sort of an intern, then they could buy an animal, help move poly wire, monitor the rate of gain, see what different grasses perform throughout the year, and then finally see the carcass in the end. I personally think that would be a far more valuable experience then learning to wash, clip and lead a cow in the show ring. Maybe there would be opportunities for them to go to New Zealand, Argentina, Ireland etc. As far as the public goes, I have idea for that as well. I'm thinking about getting a hold of the "trail" organization, to put a trail on the outside of my perimeter fence that isn't on a property boundary. That would allow the public to see animals grazing and keep the brush off the outside of the fence.
 
IN our county your not required to turn in a Record book seems to me it might be a start back to the Basics of life
 

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