MEEKER I Macy Collins of Meeker attended the Junior National Shorthorn Show and Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, the week of June 24-29, and she came away with a couple of ribbons.
While there, Collins competed against 413 juniors with her heifers and also in several contests.
There were four juniors from Colorado in attendance, and Collins was one of the voting delegates and attended youth conference meetings, participated in the mentor/apprentice program and attended the stock show university fitting clinic.
Each day consisted of contests and activities. Monday night opening ceremonies consisted of a parade of states, state pictures and an inspirational speech by an Iowa U.S. senator. The evening rounded off with entertainment by a drum ensemble, during which Macy was pulled from the stands to participate in the drumming.
At the beginning of the week was the speech contest, in which Macy spoke about why she shows shorthorns and how she encourages others to do the same. She placed third in her age division and received a bag with a leather emblem.
Next, the four-member team from Colorado and Indiana competed in the quiz bowl. They made it to the second round before being eliminated.
On Thursday, Macy teamed up with two sisters from Michigan to compete in the team fitting competition. The girls had 20 minutes to prepare their calf for show. The team placed third in the highly competitive contest and received a tub full of fitting products donated by Sullivan Show Supply.
Friday evening was the awards ceremony, where the Colorado group was awarded third in the State herdsmanship contest for their display, teamwork and appearance of their cattle and tack area.
On Saturday, Macy got to show her heifers, Blossom and Bubbles. There were more than 750 head of cattle competing in the show. Bubbles placed sixth in her class and Blossom won first in her class. Macy received a garment bag with a leather emblem and also a bag of Showmaster feed donated by Cargill.
For Macy, it was a great week of learning, seeing old friends, making new friends and bonding with family and animals. She is already making plans to attend next year’s Junior National Show in Louisville, Ken.