It is no secret that with my crew of show kids I am the “coordinator of chaos, cattle and kids”. It is a title I proudly embrace and wear well. While most people would shy away from the constant schedule keeping of show and fair deadlines for multiple kids and cattle, I welcome the challenge. It does boggle the mind at times when I can’t remember what I did with a particular set of show schedules I need to read. Or when I am trying to remember if I wrote something in my planner, calendar or some random piece of paper that may or may not be in my bag, purse, or scattered on my kitchen table.
The kids think I am really organized because I keep a binder of “fairs and shows”, the “registration paper” binder where I also keep copies of the kids cattle I haul…..just in case they forget theirs. Then there is another binder that is for the show I put on for our Beefmaster youth. I highlight dates in my planner for the entry deadlines of certain shows, so we don’t forget to get the entries done on time. I coordinate with the kids when we need to get these done and if they happen to be at my house, we fire up the laptop and get them all done at one time. Realistically I am probably NOT that organized, at least in my head I am not.
We just finished up our 4th year of our Beefmaster youth show that I organize and run. I handle the entry forms and fees and getting the facility ready and planning fun events for the kids and families. This year was our first year at a new location, which was great that I didn’t have to worry about places to tie up cattle, where the kids will wash cattle and most importantly, the bathroom facilities. For weeks leading up to the show, I am busy making sure all of the sponsors and prizes and awards are in place, checking with families to see how many they may be bringing and stressing out about how many will actually show up.
The theme for this year’s show was Hawaiian and it was easy for me to go to a particular store that will remain nameless and spend my own money on several fun items to decorate with. Our belt buckles and banners were designed in a Hawaiian theme and we had logos designed for the buckets to match the theme. I ordered things from Temu like leis and fun photo props and if you have ever ordered from Temu you know there is a chance it may arrive and not be what you expected. I only had one item that was not what I expected (palm trees) but we figured out a way to make the palm leaves work in the backdrop.
We had halters to hand out to all the youth and 2 of my show kids are skilled in paracording and they spent about 2 weeks working on fun paracord color combinations to put on the nosebands of the halters. During all of this time, my house starts to fill up with buckets and banners and assorted things for cow Olympics like a giant box of pool noodles and also different things that would be used for the cow costume contest. Any kind of cleaning or organization ceased to exist in my house and all I was trying to do was get thru the show and not forget anything. It looked like a luau farm store blew up in the house!
It is also no secret that I will haul multiple kids and cattle to shows and about a week before the show I realized we would need to take both of our trailers to accommodate all the cattle that would eventually make their way to our house. During this time of chaos, my husband is patiently watching the nonsense overtake the house and wondering if he will have room to make it to his recliner when he comes in the door. I eventually have to spill the beans about hauling 2 trailers and hoping he is able to request vacation at work because now I need his assistance to get all of this stuff 45 minutes from the house in one trip.
Even though my husband and I are empty nesters, we have a bedroom with bunk beds for the ‘show kids’. There are times in the summer we will have 3-5 kids and any number of cattle in and out of the show barn. My poor husband never knows when he comes home what random cattle will be in the barn or kids. I don’t even think he tries to keep up anymore and I know when I text him I am hauling another calf home from a show or sale, that he probably just rolls his eyes.
We managed to get the kids, cattle and decorations hauled to the show facility in one trip and I surprised myself by not forgetting anything. I keep multiple lists when getting stuff organized for shows and this one had about 10 different lists floating around the house, barn, kitchen table, my purse and the truck. How we managed to not forget anything was a feat in itself!
We had a great show, got to see many of our summertime show family and had some great laughs watching the costume contest and of course the cow Olympics. Thankfully I had some great show friends that helped me all day organizing classes, kids and cattle and the show was a big success. Hauling back home, everyone was tired and worn out from all of the chaos, but as soon as we hit the door, the kids were asking about the next show and getting entries done. I am not sure how or why, but these kids have become experts in embracing the cows and chaos that rule my life and we are always looking for the next adventure to haul to.
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].
