With the events of the last few weeks (more on that tomorrow) I’ve been a little behind on some of the updates I was originally going to post a while back. There’s quite a list at this point – even when things are normal, there’s a ton of things going on this time of year – but I’ll just start with one today.

Around here, the end of July always means it’s county fair time. I mentioned a while back that Sissy was working with a steer as a 4-H project this year. To her credit, she really stuck with it. Like most everywhere else, this summer was hot, and working with Cubbie in the heat wasn’t a treat most days. Let’s just say it turned out to be good conditioning for fair week as it came in as some of the hottest days of the summer.

The schedule for 4-H steers at the fair is rather involved. The fair doesn’t officially start until Tuesday, but 4-Hers are asked to help set up and bring in their tack on Sunday. All of the livestock needs to be in place and checked in on Monday morning. Tuesday is a day of waiting. Wednesday is show day and the steers are sold on Thursday.

All of this was new to Sissy so no one was sure if by the time Wednesday rolled around she’d be ready to go or a nervous mess. I’m guessing it was a bit of each – and since the temp topped out at 101 (actual – who knows what the heat index was) about the time Sissy entered the show ring there was no such thing as a red-faced nervous sweat – that’s just how everyone looked that day.

So, how’d she do? Well, Cubbie stood second in class. Sissy handled herself and the steer quite well for a rookie. More importantly, she made it in and out of the ring with a desire to learn more and do it again. (Selling Cubbie the next day at the auction put a bit of a damper on things, but not to worry – Sissy was picking out names for next years steer before she even made it home that day.)

A Good Perspective Of The Size Difference

Concentrating On The Basics

Standing In Second Place

If Sissy Was Nervous, She’s Not Anymore