This year’s annual stock show will take place at the Lampasas County Showbarn located on 283 US-190 in Lampasas. The Lampasas County Youth Livestock Show is Jan. 11-13. Entry is free for anyone watching the show though contestants must pay to enter an animal.
“There are probably over 200 entries and the majority are from Lampasas,” junior Paige Rutland said.
Chaperones include Madison West, Judy Hale, Kirby Phillips, Kevin Kaase, Dusty Mahan, FFA’s Junior board and Livestock Association board and volunteers.
Animals to be shown are poultry, rabbits, goats, lambs, swine, steers and heifers. Judges deduce their scores based on specific aspects of the handler’s animal and care routine. They look at show and presentation from both the handlers and animals, structure, balance, muscle mass and skin care.
“I’ve been showing since third grade,” Rutland said. “My mom showed when she was in high school so she had that background. I showed a few pigs in third grade and fell in love with it ever since. We get pigs around the beginning of school so we feed and train them throughout the year. When we get closer [to the show] we do skincare and work on show ring presents.”
Waking up in the morning, Paige and her brother head to their barn to check on their pigs. Around 4:00 p.m., the pigs get their afternoon feeding. She walks each of her pigs daily, constantly increasing the time in which doing so the closer they get to the show. Throughout the week, the pigs are medicated as needed and their pens are spot cleaned.
“Caring for my pigs is an everyday commitment,” Rutland said.
Her family designated Sundays as barn day. The pigs are walked, their weight is measured, and their pens are deep cleaned.
“I am so excited,” Rutland said. “I enjoy it so much and it is an experience that I will never forget and that I will cherish forever. It has given me so much experience and lifelong friendships.”
Sophomore Allijah Good is showing her goats this week after showing her chickens the year prior. She has owned her goats for roughly seven months and has received experience over the time caring for them.
“You gotta check on them a lot, make sure they have feed, and get certain supplements for muscle growth,” Good said.
Junior Brylie Turner has been participating in stock shows since she was 5 years old, making this her twelfth and final year through the high school.
“I started showing when I was 5 and each year we get a new set of livestock and this year I picked it based off of others we compared it to,” Turner said. “My very first animal was a pig and I showed sheep in third grade. We raise a bunch of livestock and that helps us get our name out and that is how we raised some good ones.”
This is West’s first year as an agricultural teacher and she showed throughout high school and elementary school.
“Showing livestock is one of the best things, in my opinion, that a student can do because it prepares a student and gives them lifelong skills and lessons,” West said.
