Young exhibitors, future of agriculture

A group of adorable youngsters captured the hearts of visitors during the livestock shows at the Wheat Land Communities’ Fair on Labor Day weekend. The four children, ranging in age from five to seven, bravely walked into the show ring with livestock animals on Thursday and Friday, and became champions in more than one way.

Canyen Whitaker, Chase Galbreath, Alyssa Williams and Camron Olson first gained recognition during the market judging classes on Thursday. All of these exhibitors showed in the open youth division during the fair.

As the only open youth swine showman, seven-year-old Whitaker stunned audience members when he walked his 281-pound hog into the ring on Thursday morning. Calmly and confidently, Whitaker maneuvered the hog around the ring and allowed the judge ample time to rate the market value of the pig.

Whitaker, son of Jeff and Louetta Whitaker, says that he is not afraid of his hog, but there have been times when the pig has turned to face him and the two end up in a stare down competition. Whitaker said he has been worried the pig will charge at him but added he has always been able to turn the pig away from him and escape incident.

The next display of extraordinary youth confidence and determination took place later on Thursday afternoon when Olson tugged his goat into the show ring. Motivated by the fact his older brother had not used a halter with his goat in a previous class; Olson used only the lead chain to guide his goat “Don’t-Know” around the ring.

Olson, son of Chris and Ami Olson, competed in an open youth class with 4-H members and other youngsters, but received first place for his age bracket. The five-year-old said that he showed a pig last year and wants to show a calf next year, but plans to keep Don’t-Know so Olson’s younger brother, Douglas, can show a baby “don’t” at the next fair.

Thursday afternoon also meant the open youth calf competition and again visitors were in disbelief of the courage of the youth exhibitors as Galbreath proudly walked his calf into the ring. Galbreath is the son of Dan and Cami Galbreath and said that he received his calf from his grandpa’s feedlot and had a lot of fun showing during the fair.

The Brown Swiss calf gave Galbreath a little trouble when it started acting up during the fitting and showing competition on Friday, but he remained calm and controlled the calf. The judge also mentioned how impressed he was with Galbreath for accurately and confidently answering questions during the same competition.

Also in the open youth calf class was five-year-old Williams with her calf “Clarabelle.” Williams said that this was her first calf, and she got her calf from her grandma. Williams also said that she won a lot of ribbons during the fair, and was especially proud of the purple champion ribbons.

Williams is the daughter of Andy and Lori Williams. Before the fair, Williams wrote in her record book that her goal for the fair was to have Clarabelle be calm. And she achieved that goal, as she was able to direct and walk Clarabelle around the ring during the two classes she competed in.

All of the kids participated in the open youth market classes and the fitting and showing classes, and displayed improvement with their animals by the second day of fair. The main qualification for exhibitors to enter the open youth livestock competitions is that they can control and show the animals with little assistance.

Even though the fair provided an excellent social experience for the kids, they were still required to be responsible for their animals. Before the livestock competitions, the kids bathed or groomed their animals to have them presentable for the judge. They also maintained regular feeding schedules morning and night.

The four exhibitors all had relatives that were also competing in the livestock competitions or involved with the administration at the fair, showing just how much of a family experience the event could be. But support for these exhibitors came from more than just family members; it also came from other exhibitors and visitors.

For many of those onlookers who were able to watch the open youth competitions, the four youngsters were more than just cute farm kids; they were a symbol of the future of agriculture.

The educational and overall experience that these youth gained during the weekend fair will help them in the future as they continue on as leaders in 4-H, FFA and in the classroom.