Trucks and trailers lined the parking lot of the fairgrounds Saturday afternoon for the Tom Green County Stock Show. The event was open to kids from Tom Green County Future Farmers of America (FFA) programs.
Some as young as six, others high school seniors, fed, groomed and prepped their animals for the contest. At the show, the contestants paraded them around for the judges and spectators to see.
Joy Gibbs, whose son shows heifers, believes that it is a great program and way to learn important life skills.
“It teaches great work ethic and responsibility,” said Gibbs. “Tom Green County and Wall FFA are doing a really good job with the kids.”
Her ten-year-old son won Grand Champion and Reserve Champion with his heifers and plans on going to San Antonio, Fort Worth, Austin and of course the San Angelo Stock Show.
Because his heifers were breeders, he won’t be selling his animals.
“He will be recognized at the sale, but we don’t sell her [heifer] and when we go to other shows, she is shown as a breeder,” Gibbs explained. The Gibbs family plans on showing for years to come.
A little further down the barn was Coltyn Friend, a newcomer to stock shows, and his four pigs. Friend and his Cross Gilt Molly, or ‘Mo’, won sixth place.
“This is my first time here,” he explained. “I’m really excited that we got sixth, it’s a lot of work but a lot of fun.”
Friend mentioned that his friends in the Wall FFA program convinced him to start showing pigs. He plans on showing next year as well.
Parents, friends and family were there in large numbers supporting the young ones and their animals. The general consensus being that the stock show was well worth the money for their youngsters to gain life experience and learn a work ethic.
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