This one is long and I don’t care.  If you don’t want to read it……..don’t.  It is that simple. 

         Tammy and I have watched the 1883 show.  It’s good but not always great.  In short, it is about a group traveling to Oregon.  Not all of them survive the journey.  They have Tim McGraw and Sam Elliott as guides.  We watched this streaming show during the months of February and March.  Ironically, this is stock show season in Oklahoma and Texas.  GOD bless the rest of you, but let’s be real, Oklahoma and Texas are the two most important stock show states.  No offense.  Just keepin it real.  

       I survived another OYE although I am having hell getting rid of the barn cough.  I’m not a 100%.  But like the rest of you, it ain’t covid and I’ll get through it.  Just like I have for the past couple of decades. 

      I experienced some firsts at the 2022 version of the Oklahoma Youth Expo.  Normally, I just have a satisfaction feeling.  A feeling of a job well done, goals reached, dreams dashed or like OSU football, there is always next year.  This year was different. 

         For starters, I knew that we had a good set of ag mech projects.  However, I had a senior boy that pushed all of his chips into the middle of the table.  Eric Quisenberry is the kind of kid that EVERY ag teacher wants/needs in class.  He won the livestock division at OYE in ’21.  He wanted to win it all this year.  He didn’t.  Yet, he had the grand champion at Woodward District and ended up Bronze overall at OYE.  He won a whole shop full of tools from these shows.  So cool!

        He built a cattle tub and alley.  This project took up a lot of real estate and if you’ve ever been to the Shattuck Ag Building, we don’t have much shop space.  It was fine as he worked and worked and worked.  Nobody else welded on it.  In short, he built a project that is better than you can buy from a commercial outfit.  Badass!!!  His presentation was spot on.  OYE made a video about him and his project.  I get choked up watching it. (I’ve now watched it 9 times)  The OK State Secretary of Ag spent time and photo ops with him and this project (and she knows what it’s like working cattle).

         In short, I felt pride.  Not self pride.  Pride for the kid.  I’ve dealt with a lot of big winners at major shows.  This one felt different.  I taught him the skills.  I gave him the opportunity and he took it and ran with it.  I wasn’t the dad, the jock, the breeder…..I was the teacher and I had the privilege of watching him work, build and most importantly, set an example for the other kids.  His goal was to be grand.  It didn’t happen.  He placed right where I would have placed it.  As good as this project was….it doesn’t have axles, hydraulics or electrical.  And let’s be real, Bronze at a major show is wicked good!   Super proud of this kid.  My sense of pride is not for me.  It is strictly for EQ as he made a goal, worked for it and rang a bell in the end.  So cool!

        Now, back to the livestock world.  Another senior had pushed all in with his sheep project.  Clayton Washmon decided to forego athletics his senior year.  It was all about showing sheep.  My goodness!!  Bad accidents.  Fungus, more fungus and a whole bucket full of bad luck plagued him all year.  His attitude changed from a love of stock shows to one of a person that was determined to just finish the damn race.  He rolled into Woodward district.  He had grand with a wether that he raised.  How cool is that?  Badass cool is the proper answer.  At OYE, he took three really, really good wethers.  The first two placed but not where we had hoped.  Simply put, there were better lambs in those classes.  

       Senior year for Clayton was now down to one lamb.  One he raised.  Out of 9 classes of cross wethers, he was in class 7.  And the class was good.  The judge pulled him quickly on the walk.  But, he also grabbed a couple of others.  

        People, I have had the honor and privilege to have been associated with a lot of winning animals at major shows.  I’ve followed many an animal down that ramp into that arena and watched as numerous kids/animals were picked as winners–all species.  I’ve done it with some of my best friends and I’ve done it with my own kids.  Never, never before have I been nervous at a stock show.  Jared Schneberger has stood with on that ramp and commented, “I don’t have a dog in the fight and I’m nervous.  You have 4 kids in the lineup and you are you.”   Duke was one of them and it didn’t matter. 

      This was a first.  Never with my own kids, never with students and never with friends.  I’ve never been nervous.  This felt  different.  Way different. 

       I was actually up in the stands watching as Clayton’s class sorted to the top ten, then six, then “Yes!  The judge made those 6 walk.”  The knot in my stomach now came untied.   At this point, the stock sorted.  Trust me.  Winning a class at OYE with a home-raised wether was not the goal.  Really cool backup plan–4 sure.  

       As the show unfolded, Clayton made the premium sale.  And as a bonus, he also raised another premium sale wether.  Clayton had 5 wether lambs born last year.  2 of those 5 made the sale at OYE.  Think about the flocks with hundreds of ewes that didn’t have one.  40% is huge!   

        No matter what these two studs accomplished, the best part was how all of the other Shattuck kids acted.  All of the sheep showers and their families stayed an extra day in order to watch Clayton show.  All of the Shattuck Ag Meckers were hoping and cheering for Eric to get a piece of the big prizes.  It was fun!   

       Now, add in that Sydney Melton had taken it upon herself to win some scholarship money in the skillathon.  As a sophomore, she won the senior division.  Dang!!!  She needed to be reserve champion.  Once you win it, you’re done.  No matter, she picked up some scholarship money and is a wicked good kid that is constantly working to make things better.  

     And back to 1883.   If you haven’t watched it, oh well.  OYE has turned into a show that if you want to participate, well, you need a guide to get you to the destination.  The year is currently 2022 and there is no doubt that if you want to ring a big bell at a major show like OYE, you better have a guide.  And even that doesn’t guarantee a thing.  I’m just saying that it isn’t for the faint of heart.  In 1883, as I stated earlier, they had Tim McGraw and Sam Elliott as guides.  And their people drowned, got shot, stabbed, horse thrown, snake bit and shot with a turd covered arrow.  Only a few made it to Oregon.  And some of them walked with a limp.   Sam Elliott blew his brains out on the beach in Oregon and Tim McGraw stopped in Yellowstone where he buried his daughter.   It ain’t for the faint of heart. 

         Not every animal nor every showman needs to go to OYE, Houston, San Antontio, etc.  On that note, I left some really good ag mech projects at home.  I left some really good goats at home.  People, these major deals aren’t for the faint of heart.  Sometimes, a family is better off heading to Red River than trying to vie for an Easter colored ribbon.  Months ahead, a family needs a plan, a BUDGET, goals, work ethic and they dang sure need a trustworthy guide.  And even then, you better be prepared to walk away with a limp and hope there was some learning experiences to justify the losses.  

        And yet, there is a wicked good story that comes out of OYE.  If you have lost some faith in stock shows…. well, I understand.  Yet, the story of the grand barrow exhibitor at OYE will restore your hope and love for the game.  The cast includes a kid that was dealt a REALLY rough hand in life, a wicked bad-ass ag teacher, a former student of that ag teacher as a guide, a community and some help from OYE leadership that is just helping to make it all happen.  It’s not my story to tell.  But if you livestock junkies need a fix, call me.  Great, GREAT story! 

       People, have a good one.  Have a better tomorrow and here’s to cheers of things getting better, regardless of who you voted for as POTUS.  I’m done.