RBC | The RBC livestock judging team spent spring break in Cortez and Loveland, Colo., competing and winning. Two past members of the RBC livestock judging team, Ty Dunham and Madi Shults, came from competing in Houston on the South Plains Junior College livestock judging team to assist Clint Shults coaching their 4-H team to a win.
Macy Collins, Jilly Bumguardner, Marryn Shults and Tatumn Kennedy won the senior team title at the Four States Ag Expo in Cortez. They beat 28 4-H and/or FFA senior teams from Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. Ninety-six senior judges entered the 2018 Four States contest. The La Plata County 4-H Judging Club coaches, members, parents and sponsors have developed the Four States Livestock Judging Contest into the best livestock contest in Colorado. They handed out more than $5,000 in prizes this year that included boots, buckles, iPads, iTunes gift cards, boot bags, garment bags, Champion Team Carhartt sweatshirts and, of course, ribbons. For the fifth time since 2010 the RBC team hauled home their share of the champion team loot.
It’s going to be an exciting year for this senior team.
The junior team had a good day as well. Brooke and Emily Archuleta, Matthew Willey, Hayden Shults and Eva Scritchfield competed against nine other junior teams from Utah and Colorado. The Archuleta sisters and Willey judged in their first contest and decided not to quit after the long day was over. They had a great introductory contest. No one mismarked a card and each rookie gave three sets of reasons. That’s a big hill to climb and they are ready to get to another show. It has been more than 10 years since RBC has had three fresh judges start the season and it will be fun to watch these kids improve their livestock evaluating skills.
Scritchfield and Shults started their fourth season by finishing in the top 10 overall for the first time in their judging careers. Shults was seventh overall and Scritchfield placed 10th overall, earning some iTunes prizes and many individual ribbons, as well.
The full results can be found on winjudge.com.
Hayden and Marryn Shults and Kennedy jumped back in the truck last Friday to enter the BlackOut/Green and Gold Jackpot Cattle Judging contest in Loveland. This contest offered six challenging cattle classes with two sets of questions in lieu of reasons. Marryn Shults and Tatum Kennedy combined with Jake Juul and Travis Hamilton of Otero County 4-H and finished as the fourth high senior team. No small accomplishment considering more than 80 senior judges entered, including three freshman junior college teams in the senior division.
Hayden Shults ran as a junior individual and picked up some valuable experience. It was a tough contest with some big pair cuts from officials John Bauman, Hampton Cornelius and Dustin Frank. More than 100 juniors competed.
Reportedly, judges from at least 13 states entered this contest. Teams from Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Texas and California just to mention a few places, came to judge and show their prospect calves at this prestigious show.
Next up is the ADCO Judging Extravaganza, in Brighton.