Sooner State Dairy Show 2012

I've been bustin' butt every day either trying to get ready for the Sooner State Dairy Show or working AT Sooner State.

The breeder said that Carmelita was already trained to lead.  That she will walk with you on a rope halter, but when I got her home, she really didn't want to do that.  So for me, I had to almost start her from the beginning.  I had to outsmart her to catch her up, then get her haltered, and then it took two of us to make her walk.  She just planted her feet and sulled up like a little donkey.  Since she's a Jersey, she's fairly small, but still, that's hard work!


Stop and Stare is itty-bitty, but she can sull up and plant those feet with the best of them.  She even did the "Jersey flop" on me once while I had her haltered.   Stop and Stare flopped down and she got so comfortable, we thought she would NEVER get up!  But she did, and we finished up our training session.


Juicy is back home from the breeder.  She doesn't need as much work as the other two, but I worked her out anyway.


We scrubbed the girls down on our own at the farm.  Then we did something we've never done...we clipped all of my animals without anyone supervising us.  I liked it.  I didn't feel rushed.


That was on a Monday.  Tuesday afternoon, we loaded up all supplies, took them to Stillwater and unloaded and set up as much as we possibly could.  We got home around 11 P.M.


Wednesday morning we met to load up animals.  Got to Stillwater in time to have a hamburger at Braum's.  Then we unloaded and washed animals, and our advisor roughed in toplines for the animals we had chosen to use for showmanship that next evening.  I chose Juicy.  

Thursday night there were fifteen in my 11-12 year old class.  I'm not making excuses.  I know where I messed up, but  it was an honest mistake and definitely a learning experience.


I was second in line.  The boy in front of me was having a hard time handling his heifer.  (He said he knew she would be trouble that morning.)  She kept freezing up.  So I kept giving her a goose to help him get started again.  So at one point, he stopped and was wrestling with her, so I stopped and waited for him to go.  Sadly, that's where the judge told him to stop.  I should have been setting up, which is what he was trying to do.  Finally I started setting my animal up when I saw that other people were behind me.  What a stupid mistake.  Anyway.  Then she dropped the bottom five and then ten to come up with the top five showmen.  Even though I hesitated (which she labeled as "lacking confidence") I still made it in the TOP FIVE, barely, but I made it, and ten other people didn't, so I am still proud of my performance.  I learned a lesson.


I am also proud of my friend April!  This was her first Sooner State, and she got FOURTH in showmanship in our age group!  Her Holstein is a little crazy like my Faith used to be, so she REALLY deserved in the top five!  Yea, April!


Friday we did dairy judging.  I had the high score in our 4-H group, but I didn't place.  


Saturday we showed. I spent a lot of time goosing the Jersey in front of me to help the girl get it going around the ring.  Carmelita got 7th out of 9.  The judge was really complimentary about her and said there were LOTS of things she liked about her, but she was currently "carrying too much condition"  which is a nice way to say that she's too fat right now.   :)  That's okay.  I haven't had her long enough to get all the weight off her that I want to.  Just give it time.  She wasn't last!

Stopnstare got 1st in Jr. and 1st in Open as a Spring Calf.  (If you wonder where she got the name Stopnstare, maybe it would make more sense if you knew that her mama's name is SEXY!) 





Juicy ended up getting 1st as a Jr. Yearling. 

After the show Saturday, we tore down everything we could and moved it to the front of the aisle.  We went to eat lunch then...at 5:30 or so.  When we finished, my mom pulled the trailer that we loaded with supplies.  Our advisor pulled the gooseneck with the cattle.  We dropped the trailer at the farm then went to unload hay at the Ag Barn.  Then we took my friend home and finally headed to the house.  Woo!  What a week.