Special to the HT
MEEKER | Blake Smith, a 12-year-old from Meeker, Colorado, recently competed in the Cowboy Meat Judging virtual contest hosted by Oklahoma State University Meat Science Extension.
The contest drew 281 participants from 20 states across the country, including Florida, California, Texas, Montana, Tennessee, and Kentucky, bringing together competitors from coast to coast—many of them senior-level judges.
Competing in the intermediate division, Blake placed ninth overall out of 56 contestants, earning a Top 10 banner. He also ranked in the top 20 percent overall across all 281 competitors and was the highest-placing participant from Colorado.
During the contest, Blake evaluated eight classes of meat, including three carcass classes, working with both beef and pork. Participants were judged on their ability to assess quality traits such as marbling, muscling, fat cover, and overall value, while applying industry grading standards.
In addition to placing classes, competitors completed a set of 40 questions testing their knowledge of meat science. In his placing classes, Blake earned an impressive average score of 48.5 out of 50, including five perfect scores.
His results reflect strong attention to detail and a growing understanding of meat evaluation. Blake has been involved in meat judging for the past three years and has attended multiple judging camps through Texas Tech University. He has also toured meat science labs at Colorado State University and the University of Wyoming, further expanding his knowledge of the field.
“I really enjoy the challenge of meat judging, it’s helped me learn a lot,” Blake said.
Meat judging contests help youth develop critical thinking skills and provide insight into the agricultural industry, particularly how meat quality is evaluated from production through processing.
Blake is a student at Liberty Online Academy and is actively involved in 4-H, baseball, and football. In addition to judging, he is currently raising pigs and chickens for the upcoming fair and plans to show rabbits and a horse. He also enjoys wool and horse judging and plans to continue building his skills in future competitions. Blake has a strong interest in aeronautical engineering and hopes to one day work for NASA. Local youth interested in meat, wool, or horse judging are encouraged to get involved in 4-H opportunities in the Meeker area.
Blake Smith, 12, of Meeker, Colorado, earned a Top 10 finish in the intermediate division at the 2026 Cowboy Meat Judging Virtual Contest, placing ninth overall out of 56 contestants.