Area youth show their stuff at Hays County Livestock Show
The Hays County Youth Livestock Show got off to a frigid start, as winter storm Enzo blew into the area, bringing an unusual dusting of snow to Dripping Springs. But that didn’t stop hundreds of dedicated young kids from showing up.
The event, held at Dripping Springs Ranch Park, is an opportunity for 4-H and FFA members from across Hays County to exhibit their project work. On Sunday evening, Jan. 19, students with ag mechanics and homeskills projects checked in to prepare for the next day’s judging. One of those students was Tex Burklund, a senior at Johnson High School. He was exhibiting an Oliver 66 tractor that he had restored.
“My great grandfather bought it at the Robinson Oliver dealership in Creedmore,” Tex said. “He bought it new, and drove it home two miles away. It stayed within 10 miles of where it was bought for its entire life, which is around 75 years. The furthest it's ever gone is here, right now, in Dripping Springs.”
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Tex’s grandfather restored the tractor around 1982 and put it back to work. It eventually got back to a “trashy” state, and Tex decided to restore it to its former glory.
“You don't have any blueprints to go off of,” Tex said. “I mean, there's articles and photos and stuff like that you can go find, but tractor restoration is by far, in my opinion, the hardest ag mech project that you can do.”
For Tex, this restoration wasn’t only cosmetic - he completely rebuilt the engine and the chassis.
“It was a crazy process, especially with an engine that old,” Tex said. “There's a lot of quirks and features that you don't see on a modern engine nowadays.”
Tex’s project won Reserve Grand Champion in the ag mechanics show.
Another student competing in the ag mechanics show was elementary student Will Zelhart, who attends St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Wimberly. His project, a shooting target, won the junior showmanship award. He did the welding himself. He also entered the homeskills competition.
“I made a lemon cake. I just learned it from a recipe,” Will said. “It got a red quality award.”
Will also had four heifers and a steer at the competition, and he won a junior showmanship award in that category. Laramie Doyle, of Dripping Springs 4-H, won the intermediate showmanship award, and Kelsey Tovar, a junior at Dripping Springs High School, took home the senior showmanship award. Kelsey had two steers in the show.
“I've been showing since third grade, and I've been showing steers for like four years,” Kelsey said. “I showed lambs and goats, and I do pigs too. Steers are more work. You have to do a lot of stuff with them. Like wash them, blow them, walk them, feed them twice a day.”
Kelsey said pigs, in contrast, are easy. She had two pigs in the show, a ham and a cross.
“I got second with my ham and then I got third with my cross,” Kelsey said. “My favorite part is showing and having fun and making a sale.”
Calvin Kinley, a freshman at DSHS, was also in the cattle show. He had a heifer and two steers.
“I've been showing three years,” Calvin said. “The most difficult part is probably getting them showready for their stances and stuff, so they look good in front of a judge. The judges are looking for a round rear and a lot of muscle up front, and a belly that fits their frame, so not under or overweight.”
Meghan McClelland and Addison DeMarcos are also freshmen at DSHS, and they were showing their lambs. It was the first year for both of them.
“My mom did it whenever she was in high school, and she was just like, you should totally raise lambs,” Meghan said. “I've been around the country my whole life, so this is so much fun for me.”
Addison is in the barrel racing industry, and heard about the show from friends. She thought it would be fun to try.
“One of the hardest parts is balancing school and outside of school activities and having enough time to make your animal good enough,” Addison said. “You have to teach them lots of things, just from being able to walk on a halter, to bracing, to setting their legs right. There's a lot of stuff that goes into it.”
Meghan agreed, and said the consistency in the hardest part. She said that for lambs, the judges are looking for a really big butt, and a straighter back. Their leg shag is also important, and her lamb Elvis excelled in that characteristic.
“He has a lot of leg shag, and that's one of the main parts that the judges look for when they judge your animal,” Meghan said. “He won champion, which was so much fun. I was really happy,” Meghan said.
Arya Cope, a 5th grader at Science Hall Elementary in Kyle, was at the show with her two pigs, Ivy and Harley. It’s her fifth year showing. Ivy got fourth place and Harley got 11th place. She said getting the pigs show ready can be difficult.
“At first, they don't know their surroundings, so it's hard,” Arya said. “I had to teach them how to walk, and how to actually stay still. Both of my pigs really don't know how to stay still, though!”
One of the biggest prizes at the show is Grand Champion Steer, and this year that honor was taken by Shelby Cox, a junior at Wimberley High School and the 4-H president and FFA president. She started showing when she was seven years old, so this is her tenth year.
“It's just a lot of everyday work and staying consistent,” Shelby said. “This is just a county show, so if you do good or bad, it doesn't really matter at the end of the day. These animals - this isn't the end of the road for them. They'll go on major shows and show their stuff.”
Hays County Livestock Show results will be included in an upcoming special section in the Century News.
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