Posts Tagged With: #stockshowkids

Last Week in Pictures

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Overall we had a great week and were happy to be going to a show again. It almost seemed normal.

Monday was a beautiful day. Truffles had a cute miniature horse filly by Dreamer, she looks like she will be blue roan.  Toni went through her 880 pics she took over the weekend while she waited for the court to call her for court over the phone. Kaine and Jaxsen had baseball practice. Toni, Anna, and Kade finished the last of the continuous fence at mom and dads, and put a man gate in, so we are finally done with that stretch of fence. While Toni was putting a chain on one of the panels, it happened to touch the electric fence to the North, so she got shocked. She had told the kids that they could have a break from fencing, but after the shocking incident, now she wants to tear down the electric fence and put something that is not electric up.  Kaine and I got there about the time they were getting done to help clean up.

                Tuesday Toni had a lot going on in the morning, in addition to her law stuff. Big Bend showed up to put up a new guild wire. A private delivery company, that looked really shady, showed up with a package. She told them they might want to put something on their vehicle. There was a semi fire on Highway 17, so traffic was rerouted down Hendricks Rd. After chores, Toni worked on Huckleberry, then we all headed to my house to continue loading the trailer. There is no doubt that something is going to be forgotten, the question is what?

Wednesday we went to the Spokane jr Livestock show. Grace called first thing and she had a flat tire, so I ran over in the little white trailer and picked her up. Toni and the kids finished loading our gooseneck up, and then we loaded some steers in our trailer and headed to Connell. We picked up dad so he could bring the white trailer and Red back over. We got to Connell and loaded up the steers in the Eby and the rest of the tack in the Titan and headed to Spokane. The boys all wanted to ride with Uncle Joe in the mini-Pete. I guess they find him amusing? We had a caravan with Traci driving one pick-up full of kids, Leslie in one, Toni and I in one, and Stacy in one, with Joe leading the pack. We stopped at Ritzville for lunch at the great Carl’s Jrs (it has a good parking lot) and then on to Spokane. The steers all unloaded great and Joe took back off.  We weighed the steers and unloaded our tack. Then we washed, fed and went to the camper for the night.

                Thursday we had market and prospects in the afternoon. Because of covid restrictions they had 30 min scheduled for each class. The Judge averaged 9 minutes per class so there was quite a bit of down time. So we got up and washed in the morning, fed the steers and then went to the camper for breakfast We rested for a bit, because we are not supposed to hang out in the barn. We headed back over around 11, with lunches packed, and fit the steers. WA Grown (on PBS if anyone wants to watch it) had asked Anna about interviewing her for the show and recording her showing. So they came and did some interviews, that was fun and good for the industry and promoting the show. Prospects showed first, Anna had 3rd overall 4H prospect, Kade was 4th in the class and Kaine was 5th. So not bad. Then in market everyone placed well, but no one went back. Kaine and Kade were in the lighter classes, Anna and Ady in the middle, and Grace, Adrian, Natalie and Julian were in the heavy range. Then we did our afternoon chores and Pete and Sammy came over and drank with us at the camper. 

Friday we had fitting and showing in the afternoon, again, classes were scheduled every 30 min.. So we did our morning thing, then we back to the camper to change. Headed over around 11 again to fit steers. It was youngest to oldest. All three of our jrs, Ady, Natalie and Julian made it back to the champion round. Julian was 4th overall and Ady was 3rd. Adrian, Kaine and Kade were Intermediates. Kaine made it back to the championship round. Anna and Grace were Seniors, Anna made it back  and was grand champion. All of the kids showed great and we are proud of all 8 of them. We were able to load the prospect steers out on Friday, so Kick had brought a trailer up. We could also go pick up a mare we were Aiing, so we loaded the prospect steers, then Toni took a pick-up and went with Kicker over to Medical Lake to load out Barb so she could go home too. We had smoothies, adults had alcohol in their smoothies, and we hung out for a while then went to bed.  Not a lot of details, but even with the slower schedule, Spokane is a fast paced show, and it really wears a person out.

Saturday was the sale, the steers sold last. We did morning chores and rinsed, then went back to the camper to hang out there for a bit. The three boys, Kaine, Kade and Julian, went back to the barn around 11 to watch the steers. They also talked to some potential buyers and showed them their steers. We sold early afternoon, the prices were great for Spokane. Thank you to our buyers. Then we packed up our tack and cleaned out the bed. Some of the steers left on Saturday, but the rest stayed to load out on Sunday. We went back to the camper and packed it up, so we would have less to load out on Sunday.

              Happy Mother’s Day. Sunday we got up and went to the barn to load out steers. We cleaned our stalls out the rest of the way and watered the steers. They slowly left. We all helped clean up, loading panels, washing the wash rack, cleaning up the isle, etc. Then we went and loaded up the campers and headed home. When we got home Kicker was doing so stuff for mom and dad with the loader, pulling out some shrubs, moving some dirt around, etc. Ben was working at circles at our house, and 811, the bull, had gone through a gate and had it wrapped all around him. Toni and I moved horses up to her house, Crystal and Dunny and some heavy mares over, Payton, Blue and Shadie. Shannon and Jordan showed up for a bit to talk. Mom made us a pie and we gave her her mother ‘s day presents.

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What a fun week to have an actual show and allow the kids to do what they love.

Luckily Monday was a little overcast and breezy because  the yearling colts had gotten a panel unchained, Shiner is actually pretty good at that, and were out in the haystack area. Toni had to run down and get them back in. Getting horses in is always strenuous, especially one person trying to move six colts back to the right area. Shiner was trying to unchain it again as she was getting a string to tie it shut. It is a good thing she thinks he is perfect and smart, otherwise he ability to be an escape artist and lead the other colts astray could be annoying.  Kayla came out and brand inspected the heifers and steers going to Filer to the Jr Angus show and the Idaho Jr Beef Expo. We (read KIDS) are really excited to go to a real show. Except Jaxsen, he is happy to not go. The kids and Coco did chores, and Toni and I put up a railroad tie where we are going to start our continuous fence project. We could not get the post hole digger to go down far enough, so Ben and Kicker showed up to help.  This was our first attempt to run the post hole digger on our own. We are excited to be working on this project. Once the new continuous fence is up, the colts will have a tougher time getting out. Anna, Kaine and Kade had gone home to feed the steers and heifers, and were done except Dring BeeBee by the time we got there.

I stared at Lona with no foal on Tuesday morning, and I am starting to agree with mom that she has a tumor. Morgan sent two bottle calves from Montana to WA for Anna to feed, Diane went and picked them up and dropped them off at our house Tuesday night. The trailer lights pulled out on her way home there, so she had to stop in Ritzville and get them fixed.  We were busy on Tuesday trying to get everything ready to leave for Filer Wednesday morning. We aren’t as efficient at packing for shows as we haven’t been to any! Lets hope we don’t forget anything.

Wednesday morning Ben, Anna, Kaine, Kade and I woke up and Leslie came and picked us up and headed to Filer, Idaho for the Jr Angus show and the Jr Idaho Beef Expo. We stopped in Pasco and picked up Traci and Natalie, then made our way South. We stopped at Baker City to get fuel and Subway, and it took an hour to get sandwiches, I am not joking, I was not impressed, especially since I am not really a Subway fan anyway. It was a long trip, but a good one. The cattle hauled really well and came off the trailer well. Only one of the heifers hasn’t been hauled to a show, so they cattle were pretty much pros, even though they haven’t been to a show this year. We were all tired when we got to Filer, but excited to be at a show, and especially a big show!

Toni, Jaxsen and Kicker stayed home to do all of the chores, so 2 workers and Jaxsen doing chores that normally take 7 people to get them done.  Toni and Dad ran Double Shot and Pow into Othello to the vet. Double Shot needed to be gelded and Pow is going to CA for training. Toni said that both were rockstars. Double Shot has not been hauled before and was very impressive.  Dad then went to Moses Lake to get the Polaris that has been in the shop for a week to get it running again. Luckily Marlo decided to house sit at my house so she was there to help Toni with feeding the bottle calves (Toni refers to them as four legged Piranhas). The heifer that came from Montana to be a Washington bottle calf isn’t friendly, is a touch waspy, and isn’t a fan of our weather.  I had already told Toni not to send me hate texts while we were in Filer regarding the chores at my house. Luckily she took me seriously.

Thursday we did not have to do anything until around noon in Filer, so Leslie and I told the kids they could sleep in and we would feed and could wash when they woke up. But they woke up early, so Traci and I relaxed while Leslie and the kids went and fed. Ben’s sister Candice, and her kids, came up and stayed with us, they camped in a tent. Then after Ben made us breakfast we went and washed, had lunch and then just had to check in and weigh the steers on Thursday. We had an exhibitor meeting after everyone was checked in. There were 270 head that came into Filer for the show. That is a good turnout for this show and we are excited to be at a show this big with the level of competition.

Thursday Toni, Jaxsen, Kicker and Marlo did all the chores. Toni had Jaxsen helping her put posts in for the continuous fence. She has told me that Jax did a tiny bit better with chores on Thursday. Wednesday hadn’t gone well. Toni and Dad went to Othello early and got Double Shot. They took him to the barn at my house where he will reside until he goes to his new home. Again, Double Shot loaded like a champ and was great to handle, especially with the limited handling he has had. Thursday afternoon Shelby and her mom Pam came out to look at the foals. It was especially hot on Thursday.  The two new bottle calves from Montana did not eat well on Thursday night because of the heat.

Friday morning we just got everything ready, and then there was an exhibitor BBQ and auction. 30 minutes after the auction we had no fit showmanship. Chandra and her husband Miles showed up on Friday to watch the kids show. There was not enough food at the BBQ for everyone, so some of us went back to the camper to eat. After lunch we got ready, Natalie showed first, since it is by age, she did really great, Kade was called back, but his heifer did not show well in the championship round, and Kaine also showed great but was not called back. Anna showed in the Jackpot showmanship, so that was at around 7:30 that night. Her and Freddy were Reserve Champion Intermediate. She then went back in for overall showman, at around 8:06, Traci had said she would show at 8 so she said she called it. So it was a long day when we got done.

Toni, Jaxsen, Kicker and Marlo continued to keep things running at home. Toni had court on Friday, so she took Jax with her to Pasco. You still can’t go to a restaurant in Pasco, so they grabbed some food at Vinnie’s Bakery and ate lunch in the park. Friday night Kicker came down to look at the posts that Toni and Jax had been putting in and ended up pulling some out because with continuous fence, everything has to be perfect. I think this is going to be a frustrating fence. But we are getting lots of practice digging with the post hole digger.

Saturday was the breeding and market shows. The show started at 9 with bred and owned Angus, we only brought owned Angus, so we started around 10:30. Christy and Kelly Korrel showed up to watch the kids since they now live down there. Natalie had the youngest heifer, so she was in the first class, she got second, so got to go back for the championship drive in that division,  she won a nice can of adhesive. Anna was next with Tilly, Anna did a great job showing her and Tilly looked good. Kaine and Kade were next with their March heifers, there were so many March heifers they split the class, Kaine was in class 30 and Kade in class 31. Both of them showed really well. After that we went back to the barn to wait for the jackpot steer show. We went back to the camper and had lunch. After lunch we washed the heifers and started doing some preclipping on the steers. Then they were down to 17 classes, so we started fitting. Smithers and Kaine were in class 3, they got third in their class. Anna and Freddy and Kade and Gogol were in class 4 (there was a division championship round in between the two classes) Anna was second in the class and Kade was 5th. All three of the steers showed really well. Freddy and Anna went back into the division championship round. These are pictures from Friday, I have not gotten to Saturday pictures yet. So Saturday pictures are coming soon.

After that we cleaned up our spot, loaded the trailer to leave the next morning and then Ben went and got us all pizza. While Ben and Candice were getting pizza, the kids got their second wind, which would have been nice when we were cleaning our area, and played with the neighbor kids. The neighbor kids’ dad was in charge of the fireworks that night. After pizza the kids all played some more and then we put chair in the back on Candice’s pickup and watch the fireworks. The kids finished off the pizza. Ben went and checked the heifers and steers afterward and everyone was wide eyed but ok.

Toni, Jaxsen, Kicker went over to Clarkston for the day to spend some time with Sherri and Barry for an early Father’s Day. It is a long trip, but worth it. They were able to sit down in a restaurant and eat lunch over there, so that was a treat! Dad and Mom had gone to Ellensburg to see the Akehurst family for a party to celebrate Button’s and Don’s birthdays as well as their anniversary. We have been friends with the Akehurst family for many years and are thankful for their friendship.  Marlo had a dinner obligation Saturday night, so Toni, Kicker, and Jaxsen did chores when they got back from Clarkston.

I asked Ben to wake me when they loaded Sunday morning, since Leslie and Traci wanted to get on the road early so Traci and Natalie could get back for Father’s Day. But he said they had enough people so he didn’t. It was nice to sleep in until 7:30. But, it was father’s day, so Ben should have slept in. We had breakfast with Candice and the kids, Candice was up early and helped load. Then we all got our stuff packed back up and headed home. Kaine and Kade were hungry by the time we hit Boise, so we stopped to eat at Applebee’s, which, took less time than the subway headed down. We hit the road again and got home around 6.

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Toni had made lunch for Dad and Kicker for father’s day. Kicker had gone out and chopped thistles for three hours on his own, not sure why he wanted to spend father’s day doing that, but still glad he did!  After lunch Kicker went over to Connell and got the livestock and tack and brought them home. He was excited because he got to see baby Reese for the first time as Jolene and Nick were over there. Toni went down to Mom and Dads and moved water and got ready to show horses.  Toni was still showing horses we we got home, so we went down and did chores.

What a fun week to have an actual show and allow the kids to do what they love.  We are all exhausted, but allowing these kids to pursue their dreams is what we as parents feel we should do.  Life on a ranch can be so time consuming that there is little time for anything else, but finding time to let the kids explore and develop their dreams is always a priority.

AND happy Father’s Day to all of those fathers out there.

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Even we don’t know how we get it all done sometimes!

We had a pretty normal Monday here, you know, Reptile Man at the library, washing steers and heifers, Jaxsen playing in the dog pool with the dogs. The steers are all doing great. The calves are getting tired of being washed, so they were a little rowdy Monday. But besides that a pretty normal day here. Toni did not end up having to go to Yakima for the week for her big bankruptcy case so the kids were actually able to work on their show cattle which made Anna happy.

 


Tuesday started normal, then Debbie texted that Truffles had foaled and the palomino mini mare had stolen it. I was already at work so I texted Anna and she called Dad, my dad not hers, and they went over to rescue Truffles and the new baby. Ben met them there and helped they get them loaded. Then dad and Anna fed the new little colt some colostrum, just to make sure he got it. Kaine and Kade went with Leslie and the 4H group to the water park in Moses Lake. Anna did not go since she stayed home to take care of Truffles and the foal. Anna is very diligent about getting work done and doesn’t seem to care if she misses some of the fun stuff. The boys on the other hand, are all about the party! After work, Toni hauled Colonel to the house, we are hand breeding Kool to him, and since she is so old we don’t want to turn her out. Colonel is not super impressed with being locked in, but he is being pretty good. We also hauled Red Robin and Stinger to the house to get an ultrasound on them on Thursday. We still have Cammie, Bayless’ black mare and Abs to get to the house, the rest of the 12 mares are already there.

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Wednesday we woke up to some rain. Toni had a lot of work to do, so Kaine and Anna caught the steers, washed them and tied them up. Kade, Jaxsen and grandma (or mom to me) picked raspberries so mom could make raspberry pie, one of our favorites from Grandma Ruth’s recipe. Kade and Toni were waiting for me with the trailer when I got there, they had brought Abs and Bayless’ black mare down. So we went out and caught Cammie and brought her back to ultrasound too. It is SUPER fun to try to take mares out of Sagebug’s pen. Sagebug is a pain in the butt, and so are all of the foals out there. I had to sacrifice myself and pet all of the foals while Toni caught Cammie. Sagebug and Money had loaded themselves in the trailer, so we locked them in while we went and took pictures and got Cammie moved. Sagebug is still a really young stud (he is 3), but so good minded. But he does not like it when we take mares out, he likes addition not subtraction.

 


Thursday Toni went and got the kids bright and early to help with ultrasounding. Anna and Kaine had the steers tied in the barn when she got there. We were ecstatic to find out that Cammie is FINALLY pregnant. Red Robin is also pregnant, great news. Stinger is open again this year, we are going to try something different with her next year. Abbey is no longer cycling, she is 26, we were not surprised. Pistol and Pepper both have twins, but Pistol’s looks like it is resolving itself. Pepper, we need to watch. Overall a super good day. Toni took the kids up afterwards to work on their steers and heifers. Then the kids cleaned out the gooseneck for Toni to take them to a steer clinic with their 4H group Friday. Also, Colonel bred Kools on Thursday, then we gave him a bite of grain. We think he might actually like this hand breeding business! Thursday was also Shannon Miller Case’s bday, but we missed it trying to get everything done.

 


Friday morning everyone was up early to go to their steer clinic. Toni took the kids over and they did great with their steers. This was these three steer’s first outing. McCall did the clinic while some of the 4-H group did other things, lots of people and steers were there. Everyone was hungry afterwards, so they went to the Burger Factory on the way home. Then they packed up the show box to get it ready for the show next weekend. Also on Friday, Coco stopped and got Jackpot and is bringing him back from CA. They had a layover in Oregon Friday night. The California contingent is headed North. Coco has been bringing Addy up to go show with us for a few years now and the kids always enjoy their time with her.

 


Saturday morning we had a horse clinic put on by Dusti Kissler. We invited the 4H kids over so that they were ready for when they made it to the round robin. After showmanship Dusti, Anna, Kaine, Kade and Toni had a riding clinic. Toni rode Friday, Anna rode Ollie, Kaine rode Cad and Kade rode Slick. Everyone had a great time, but it was a long hot day. The horses and humans all did great. Friday has come back as an amazing horse that we could not be happier with. She was the only filly out of Colonel and Peppy . We have always loved her and she has met our expectations. We can’t thank Rachael Hamby enough for the training that has gone into this horse.

 


After the clinic it was lunch time and then the kids started washing steers and heifers for the upcoming shows. I helped Jaxsen and the rest of the kids did their own. Next, Kaine, Kade, Jaxsen, Anna, Ben, Kicker and I moved the Hereford cows down to the pen Bishop was in. We got the bull calves in to check for bad eyes, there is a lot of tall grass in that pen and they get grass seeds and cheat grass in their eyes that has to be pulled out or they will get a blue spot. While we were looking through the bull calves Coco and Addy drove by with Jackpot. So the boys and Anna went back to the house to see Jackpot. Toni had left to get work done, but she showed back up when Jackpot did, coincidence? Kicker, Ben and I came back when we were done. Jackpot looks and acts great. We are all happy he is home for the short time he will be here. Also, the hay was ready to bale Saturday night, so we skipped the birthday party we were going to go too for our friend Caleb and Kicker and Ben were out late with the hay. The dew came in too heavy and they had to finish Sunday. I am sure everyone is noticing a pattern here, we are too busy to do anything with our friends! Luckily everyone pretty much knows how we roll, so no one is surprised when we send a so sorry text.

 


Sunday we woke up and caught the steers. Hay was still being baled and Kristi was out with Toni looking at Genuine (Colonel Belle colt that she bought). Kristi, Lynn, and Matt all went on an abbreviated tour. Matt wanted to pet Rocky and they wanted to see the tiny babies as well as Genuine. They then headed down to the Merc for some local food. The twins were coming at 2 to help the kids clip everything, so we ran to town for groceries before they got there. However, the twins got there early so Anna called Toni, Kade, Coco and Addy and had them go down and get started. The heifers and calves still had to be caught. When we got there they had everything caught and set up and were getting started. So the kids and twins clipped all day on Sunday.

 


I went out and checked the cows, I made sure everything was paired up from the move the day before. One cow and calf had come back, however, there was still a fence separating them, so I got them paired up. Everything else looked good. I went back to the house and helped the kids for a bit. Then, Toni, Coco and I did chores. Colonel and Kool are still having their abbreviated fun, and we think Colonel is really getting the hang of it. He does his business then walks back to his pen and nickers at us for his bite of grain. He is not a stupid horse!

 


We are excited to have all of our owned horses out of California and back in Washington. We got good quality training from both trainers, but it was time to get Friday home and take Jackpot to the next phase of his life, whatever that is going to be. It is truly a great feeling to have these horses live up to the expectations that we have for them and know that as our breeding program moves forward, it just keeps getting better.

 

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Breeding Mares, Angus Show and more

Monday was a pretty normal day, as far as ranch life goes. I guess what I mean is that nothing died, nothing was born, and nothing ran through the fence. Tuesday dad headed to Yakima with Stinger and Pistol, Stinger to get AIed and Pistol for a recheck. Pistol had absorbed her foal, so we decided we would bring her home and breed her naturally. Toni also had to go to a different vet when Dad got back with Lemon Drop to get her ready to move to California. Lemon Drop loaded great and did great. She is a pretty nice 2 year old. Two emergency vehicles drove by with sirens blaring when Lemon Drop was being vetted, and she stood like a champ. She has just been an exceptionally fun young horse. Super happy to be with people. Mil went to her trainer and we are getting lots of updates about how well she is adjusting.


Thursday Blue foaled, and had a fancy colt with two blues eyes and a really cool blaze. I was hoping he was a filly so I could keep him, even though Dad does not like blue eyed horses and never wants to keep them. Madison came out to look at Rosie’s filly and fell in love with her. Madison is currently running high school rodeo and one of her geldings is a Zink son.


Friday dad went back up and got Stinger and Pistol. He had to be back by noon so I could get the trailer loaded for our cattle show. Our Braford heifer calved and had a cute black ballie heifer. Then, in the afternoon Toni, Anna, Kaine, Kade and I headed to Ellensburg for the Jr Angus Field day. We weren’t able to unload until 4, so we rolled in at about 3:45. The heifers unloaded great and acted like the pros that they are. We had five head that we hauled to Ellensburg, four of them were shown last year quite a bit. Both Anna and Kaine have 2 big heifers.


Saturday the kids had a great day showing, all three made it back to the championship round in showmanship. Anna had the Grand Champion Sr. Yearling Bred and Owned heifer with Mal. Anna, Kaine and Kade all did well with their January heifers. We had a great time and got to see our showfamily and cousins. The best part was that there was an art show and auction at the fairgrounds at the same time, and a taco wagon right outside of our barn. The other really great thing was we stayed in a hotel, so all got hot showers.


Sunday we had a VERY busy day. Rachel came out and took Friday up to ride her. Erina and Terry came out to see Katana and they bought Hot Shot of Mocha while they were out. Michelle and John came out for their anniversary to look at the foals, especially their 2 year old colt’s full brother, Big Iron. Then we moved Blue in with Colonel and Pepper out with Gunner. The kids washed their show heifers and turned Darma out. We had three groups of people come out to look at horses on Sunday, along with celebrating our Uncle Skip’s birthday which was on Saturday while we were gone. Sunday was a get everything done day, so we kept at it until we couldn’t keep going. We did get everything that was necessary done, like moving the mares around so we don’t miss their heat cycles. We also decided to try breeding Pistol to Reed, so that could be a really cool combination. This week the kids get ready for a jackpot show with their steers, Lemon Drop left for CA, and we are getting ready to put another embryo in a cow. We are officially done Aiing both cows and horses, and we are not accepting anymore outside mares. With this hot weather coming on, it is time to get the breeding done before the pasture is gone. Looking forward to Summer weather and these last few foals we are still waiting on.

This morning we had a CUTE blue roan colt out of Izzy and by Bishop, this is OUR first Bishop foal, we bred a few outside mares to him and one of those has already foaled.

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