leanin' H
Well-known member
Good evening amigos. Would you mind, if I kinda brag on our kids some tonight? We spent the last 4 days at our county livestock show and have returned home tonight with tired feet and full hearts. I will post pictures on another evening when I get them downloaded and such. Tonight, I'd like to just share with you all the pride I feel in my kids and the kids here in our little 4H club.
We live in a tiny town on the edge of the West Desert of Utah. Our kids here show steers, pigs and lambs and this year we had a little lady show a goat. 15 good young people ranging in age from 9 to 17. Our kids showed 11 steers out of the 33 in the entire county. They had 5 hogs out of 86 and 9 lambs out of 138 head in the show. The lone goat from our area competed against 22 others. We competed against/with 3 high school FFA programs and a bunch of other 4H clubs from the bigger towns. The kids simply knocked it out of the park!!! 26 total animals shown in the market classes and 26 blue ribbons won!!! Not to mention that 6 steers went back to compete for grand champion and won star class ribbons and 1 lamb went back for grand and just missed a star class ribbon! A huge thanks to our great leader who has been involved in 4H since she showed a dinosaur as a youth! She also happens to be my Mom, and has been a Grand Champion Mother for my whole life! Many thanks to her, for teaching several generations of kids about livestock and 4H! Love ya Mom!
Now for the news from the H family.....
Littlest H showed a pig and a lamb this year. We bought 2 pigs from a farm known for having good show hogs and they made him a fine deal as a beginning showman. He worked with those 2 pigs everyday as he got them to go where he wanted them using a cane. We haven't been a pig operation and we were awful green starting out. But we worked at it and we all had fun with those 2 crazy pigs. "Porky" was a barrow and grew like a rocket. His sister, "Porkette" grew quicker toward the fair and she sure was a pretty little lady. Both had personalities and were so dang much fun to work with. They'd bark like dogs and race around when we turned them out to walk them and exercise them. Then they'd march around where ever littlest H' would drive them. Porky topped out at 320 and while he was a nice hog, he didn't exhibit the muscle tone and definition of Porkette. So littlest H showed her and Porky will be in our freezer in 2 weeks. Littlest h showed her like a champ and she placed 6th in her 240 pound class. He also competed as a showman in fitting and showmanship and did a banner job! His lamb was a lot of work all summer long too. He did exceptional with his lamb but has decided that in 2017 he will show 2 pigs! It oughta be good for some grins! He sold his pig for $600 and his lamb for $450. Not bad for our area. We are proud of the fine young man we have the privilege to be the parents of!!!
Little H is a sheepwoman! She has her own flock of 4H ewes and a buck and she takes to running sheep like her dad loves having cattle. She tells me all the time "Cattle for pride and Sheep for PROFIT Dad"! :lol2: She picked out 2 wether lambs and showed the heck out of them! And she took one of her ewe lambs to the 1st ever breeding show competition this year at our fair and took 7th. She really excels as a showman and this year she proved it. Folks, we aren't from a sheep background. We have only been raising sheep for 5 years. She was competing against multi-generational family sheep ranchers kids who live and breath for showing sheep. And they are good at it! Well, Little H stepped in the ring and went toe to toe with them. She is 14 and in the intermediate division. She won her class and went back to try for premium money in the intermediate class runoff. Then she won that!
I almost fainted!!! Me and Mrs. H couldn't of been happier if she would of won grand champion with a lamb! We were amazed that she had done so well and were tickled to death for her and the $20 prize she was awarded. They invited her and 2 others from intermediate plus 3 from the senior division and 3 from the junior division into the buckle round. The senior division has kicked butt and taken names for the past decade, in the buckle round. They have the knowledge and experience and it shows. That, and the fact that those same sheep families have dominated, made us know that Little H was facing pretty stiff competition. So she simply went out and was pert near flawless!!! When that Idaho judge walked up and shook her hand as RESERVE CHAMPION SHOWMAN, I may have passed out a little! Littlest H was holding his breath sitting on the fence next to me as we watched his sister try, and he bailed off the fence and into my arms just balling his head off! He was so happy for his sister that he couldn't contain his emotions. He kept yelling, "SHE DID IT, SHE DID IT"!!! WE DANCED A JIG, he and I! The crowd went wild and we had folks we didn't even know coming up to congratulate her and us! Even the competition were shaking her hand and slapping her back. She hasn't taken that belt buckle off since they handed it to her and she just beams!!! She isn't a conceded kid and is pretty humble, unlike her dad. I am so dang happy for her and the work she has put in on her ewes and her lambs. She sold lambs to 3 other young women this spring and all 3 lambs received blue ribbons as well. She even bought a ewe lamb at the show as she continues to build up her little flock and improve the quality of her bunch. She has made friends and goes out of her way, like her Grandma, to help others with their projects. She is a prize winner as a daughter and my pal! I love my kids and so does my sweet, talented wife. Thankfully, both our kids take after her!
I will end my epistle by giving thanks to God for all my blessings! I sure do not deserve to have an angel of a wife who is the light of my life. I have 2 amazing kids who are fine young people and give me hope for the future of this country and agriculture. I have wonderful parents who have molded me and loved me and are exceptional examples of work ethic and service to others. I get to live on a ranch, far from the lights and noise of a city, on some of the prettiest country on the planet. I hope my pride in my blessings doesn't come across as boasting! I humbly admit freely that these blessing have very little to do with me. I am one lucky desert cowpoke!!! Have a great night!!!
We live in a tiny town on the edge of the West Desert of Utah. Our kids here show steers, pigs and lambs and this year we had a little lady show a goat. 15 good young people ranging in age from 9 to 17. Our kids showed 11 steers out of the 33 in the entire county. They had 5 hogs out of 86 and 9 lambs out of 138 head in the show. The lone goat from our area competed against 22 others. We competed against/with 3 high school FFA programs and a bunch of other 4H clubs from the bigger towns. The kids simply knocked it out of the park!!! 26 total animals shown in the market classes and 26 blue ribbons won!!! Not to mention that 6 steers went back to compete for grand champion and won star class ribbons and 1 lamb went back for grand and just missed a star class ribbon! A huge thanks to our great leader who has been involved in 4H since she showed a dinosaur as a youth! She also happens to be my Mom, and has been a Grand Champion Mother for my whole life! Many thanks to her, for teaching several generations of kids about livestock and 4H! Love ya Mom!
Now for the news from the H family.....
Littlest H showed a pig and a lamb this year. We bought 2 pigs from a farm known for having good show hogs and they made him a fine deal as a beginning showman. He worked with those 2 pigs everyday as he got them to go where he wanted them using a cane. We haven't been a pig operation and we were awful green starting out. But we worked at it and we all had fun with those 2 crazy pigs. "Porky" was a barrow and grew like a rocket. His sister, "Porkette" grew quicker toward the fair and she sure was a pretty little lady. Both had personalities and were so dang much fun to work with. They'd bark like dogs and race around when we turned them out to walk them and exercise them. Then they'd march around where ever littlest H' would drive them. Porky topped out at 320 and while he was a nice hog, he didn't exhibit the muscle tone and definition of Porkette. So littlest H showed her and Porky will be in our freezer in 2 weeks. Littlest h showed her like a champ and she placed 6th in her 240 pound class. He also competed as a showman in fitting and showmanship and did a banner job! His lamb was a lot of work all summer long too. He did exceptional with his lamb but has decided that in 2017 he will show 2 pigs! It oughta be good for some grins! He sold his pig for $600 and his lamb for $450. Not bad for our area. We are proud of the fine young man we have the privilege to be the parents of!!!
Little H is a sheepwoman! She has her own flock of 4H ewes and a buck and she takes to running sheep like her dad loves having cattle. She tells me all the time "Cattle for pride and Sheep for PROFIT Dad"! :lol2: She picked out 2 wether lambs and showed the heck out of them! And she took one of her ewe lambs to the 1st ever breeding show competition this year at our fair and took 7th. She really excels as a showman and this year she proved it. Folks, we aren't from a sheep background. We have only been raising sheep for 5 years. She was competing against multi-generational family sheep ranchers kids who live and breath for showing sheep. And they are good at it! Well, Little H stepped in the ring and went toe to toe with them. She is 14 and in the intermediate division. She won her class and went back to try for premium money in the intermediate class runoff. Then she won that!
I almost fainted!!! Me and Mrs. H couldn't of been happier if she would of won grand champion with a lamb! We were amazed that she had done so well and were tickled to death for her and the $20 prize she was awarded. They invited her and 2 others from intermediate plus 3 from the senior division and 3 from the junior division into the buckle round. The senior division has kicked butt and taken names for the past decade, in the buckle round. They have the knowledge and experience and it shows. That, and the fact that those same sheep families have dominated, made us know that Little H was facing pretty stiff competition. So she simply went out and was pert near flawless!!! When that Idaho judge walked up and shook her hand as RESERVE CHAMPION SHOWMAN, I may have passed out a little! Littlest H was holding his breath sitting on the fence next to me as we watched his sister try, and he bailed off the fence and into my arms just balling his head off! He was so happy for his sister that he couldn't contain his emotions. He kept yelling, "SHE DID IT, SHE DID IT"!!! WE DANCED A JIG, he and I! The crowd went wild and we had folks we didn't even know coming up to congratulate her and us! Even the competition were shaking her hand and slapping her back. She hasn't taken that belt buckle off since they handed it to her and she just beams!!! She isn't a conceded kid and is pretty humble, unlike her dad. I am so dang happy for her and the work she has put in on her ewes and her lambs. She sold lambs to 3 other young women this spring and all 3 lambs received blue ribbons as well. She even bought a ewe lamb at the show as she continues to build up her little flock and improve the quality of her bunch. She has made friends and goes out of her way, like her Grandma, to help others with their projects. She is a prize winner as a daughter and my pal! I love my kids and so does my sweet, talented wife. Thankfully, both our kids take after her!I will end my epistle by giving thanks to God for all my blessings! I sure do not deserve to have an angel of a wife who is the light of my life. I have 2 amazing kids who are fine young people and give me hope for the future of this country and agriculture. I have wonderful parents who have molded me and loved me and are exceptional examples of work ethic and service to others. I get to live on a ranch, far from the lights and noise of a city, on some of the prettiest country on the planet. I hope my pride in my blessings doesn't come across as boasting! I humbly admit freely that these blessing have very little to do with me. I am one lucky desert cowpoke!!! Have a great night!!!