Well, it has been over a week since I posted anything on here. Let’s just say that we have been a bit busy.

First, we have been kidding does. Second, holidays. And third, the Dukester and I ventured west to Phoenix. I could have posted while there, but I don’t like typing on an iPhone. Plus I was busy showing, eating, or dealing with work stuff even though I was on vacation.

Our primary focus was to win the hog show. Duke got that done with a york barrow from Paul Rickabaugh. Bacon was a Paparazzi x Night Tripps/Pipe Dream sow. He won it easy. Sizzle, the cross wasn’t as good as we hoped, but that is part of it. The hog numbers were down. Bacon was the barn favorite and the judge’s favorite. Wide based, sound, big topped, square assed and clean fronted made Bacon a good one. Lucky for us, he prolapsed in October, otherwise, he might have weighed about 350. We held on him for awhile, but he was an easy feeder and stayed fresh. I am disappointed in the pictures of Bacon, as he looked good. But taking pics of a pig isn’t always easy.

The goat show wasn’t as planned. Torque got the shits a few days before we left. Kela and Duke medicated him, but the medicine that they used has a 14 day withdrawal time. So, torque had to stay home as the ANLS has a very strict testing policy. That meant Squatch was going. Just one problem, Squatch really wasn’t in show shape. He looked the part and handled really fresh, but he was soft over his ribs. Thus the reason that he was reserve grand. We have a habit of getting wethers softer than most, but we normally get them in shape. Not this time. Marvin Ensor judged it and did a very consistent, easy to follow job of lining wethers up. We got beat and that is fine. We know why.

The wether goat numbers were up at Phoenix. The quality was way up from previous years. Lots of good goats from AZ, NM, California and Kansas. The quality in those states seems to be improving rapidly. There was also a few good wethers from Texas. Squatch was a 191/ 100 from Helms. Those goats are feeding as our crew has had a res. div at Tulsa, grand at OK State Fair, res grand at Phoenix, Grand at the Lone State Elite as well as res & 3rd overall at Champion’s Choice jackpot.

The Arizona National is a laid back show that is very exhibitor friendly. It is great for young kids. They stopped the goat show while kids were in the hog show ring, in order to let kids show their own animals. It is a long way out there, but I highly recommend the trip. Nobody will get rich from the premium sale, but they give nice banners, buckels, chairs, etc to winners. Not to mention that the grand hog gets a set of scales.

We did take a co-pilot. A true hog showing legend, Mr. Kade Lamle. He was a welcome addition to the trip as he spelled me from driving. I am known to travel at a high rate of speed, but Kade managed to improve our travel time when he was behind the wheel. He and Duke hit it off well. Duke learned a lot hanging with Kade this past week. This is good and bad. I am afraid that I am going to need a larger barrow barn as Duke likes to show a few pigs. One of my favorite things about the stock show program is watching older kids take younger kids under their wing and show them the ropes. Duke likes Kade and they move at the same pace. Not fast, but they get things done right.