We are full into show season with the kids and their calves. We usually hit one show a month in the “off season” but we will go to two or three shows a month in the spring and early summer. We recently returned from a show in Arkansas and even though there was a show closer to home that weekend, we made the decision to travel a little farther to a show that let the kids show their bulls.
We have to be up early for these shows since there is extra drive time, so that means up at 4 am most times to give 4 girls time to get ready…insert eye roll…and then time to get the cattle loaded. We check the doors, tires and lights before we pull out and make sure we do a last-minute verbal check on show clothes because someone always forgets their boots or a show shirt.
This particular morning, I had a right light out on the trailer, which was working the day before. After some investigating, we found a broke ground wire that needed to be re-attached.
I am limited on tools at someone else’s house, so I found some duct tape in the truck and used my knife to strip the wire and literally taped the wire to the trailer. It managed to hold the entire trip and is still holding tight, not sure why, but it is. There is nothing 5 girls and a roll of duct tape can’t fix at 5am!
Long drives make for some funny conversations, and I am always pointing out different things along the way and giving the kids tidbits of useless information along the way. A lot of these shows we have been to a few times, so the kids will remember gas stations we have stopped at. I keep a mental note of that too, so I know if it is easy to get in and out of with a trailer AND if they have clean bathrooms!
One thing that always makes me laugh are the things the kids remember from each of the shows. They are always asking if the particular show we are going to is the one that they remember a certain crazy thing from. This trip they were trying to remember the show we went to that we ate at Taco Bell and one of the girls got a crunch wrap that was the size of her face. Such a random thing to think about, but we talked about it for 30 minutes until we were pretty sure we figured it out!
A funny memory we talk about A LOT is the time we went to a show and there was a random couch in the area we were going to stall at. It was an old dirty couch covered in some wild flower print and I actually moved it to where we keep all of our equipment so it was out of the way of the cattle. We made bets on which boy would set on it first and got photos of him lounging on it. Those kids talked about that couch all day and they still talk about it and ask, “Are we going to the show that had the flower couch?”
For me, that particular show holds a different memory of blowing the head gasket on our truck and all the logistics of getting the cattle, the truck, and the trailer home. Not quite as funny of a memory.
We had a show one year that was pretty close to the house and when you haul a bunch of kids and cattle sometimes packing up and loading, things get overlooked or loaded someplace it doesn’t belong. This trip, we had multiple kids and cattle that needed to be dropped off at different points and 2 trailers to load up. Once the trailers were loaded and gone, me and one of the kids made a final sweep of the area to check for anything left behind and normally it is something small and nothing that won’t fit in the trunk of my car. This time the item left behind was the BIG wheelbarrow. I am not one to leave anything behind and I certainly was not leaving my good wheelbarrow. I knew it wouldn’t fit in the trunk of my car and I wasn’t sure about the back seat, but we managed to get it in the back seat of my car with only the handle sticking out the window. This is also the reason my husband doesn’t let me borrow his car because I am always doing stuff like this in mine. The kids have seen me haul some stuff in the trunk of that car!
We then have the show that holds a couple different memories, like the year it was so cold, I mean brutally cold! I have been to Denver and showed in January and this little show had that one beat hands down! Another year at the same show, one of the kids got sick and their mom had to make a trip to Wal-Mart for an entire new wardrobe. That little girl is tough because she managed to get her heifer shown with a smile!
All of these shows and kids hold so many memories, some for me as a kid growing up showing and some with my own kids traveling up and down the road showing. I hope these kids look back when they get older and maybe with their own kids showing, they remember the fun times and the travels and the laughs we all had. This is what I love about livestock shows, it is being able to give them that time and those fun memories. Even if we have to get up at 4 am to get them!
Debbie Elder is a native of Ottawa County, Okla. and lives on her farm in Webster County, Mo. To contact Debbie, call 1-866-532-1960 or by email at [email protected].
