The daily Astorian., August 03, 2018, WEEKEND EDITION, Page 1C, Image 19

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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUG. 3, 2018 • 1C
THE STRENGTH
OF COWGIRLS
Ed Hunt photos
Grace Hunt attempts to motivate a stubborn heifer at the Wahkiakum County Fair.
Nothing builds confidence like
training, showing livestock
By ED HUNT
For The Daily Astorian
I
Lindsay Hunt goes airborne to get the advantage.
There is a lot of time in the barn with heifers at the fair.
f you are lucky, you’ll have a moment
when you realize your child is becom-
ing strong and independent and confi-
dent in the best possible way.
I have that moment captured in a series
of pictures.
Taken a few years ago in the haze of
100-degree heat and wildfire smoke mixed
with the dust of an eastern Washington
show arena, the pictures show my balleri-
na-slim daughter Lindsay facing off with a
1,100-pound show cow
that has had enough.
The cow is trying
to yank the halter rope
out of her hands and
run out of the arena, but
Lindsay sets the heels
of her boots in the dirt
and tightens her grip.
In one photo, you can
see Lindsay flying up
off the ground while the
cow tries to get the bet-
ter of her, but in the final
photo, you see the cow
following obediently,
while Lindsay wears a
big smile.
If you are outweighed
by an animal 10 to one,
your only advantages
are confidence, courage
and determination.
I have cow shows to
thank for that.
Around the coun-
try, kids are getting their
animals ready for fair.
4H and Future Farmers
of America are youth
programs that help
guide and grow young
minds through dedication to community
service and innovation through hands-on
learning.
More than 100 years ago, 4H started as
a way to introduce reluctant farmers to new
agriculture techniques through youth proj-
ects that showed real-world results. For
generations, these programs have formed
core experiences not only for future farm-
ers but future community leaders as well.
Lindsay started at the tiny Wahkiakum
County Fair when she was 10 with a bot-
tle-fed polled Hereford bull calf named
Bozo. He was a handful, but she learned
quickly how to not let him push her around.
Since then, she has shown heifers,
female cows that haven’t had their first
calf. These are older and bigger than that
first bull-calf, usually a little short of 2
years old, pregnant and more than 1,000
pounds. Quite a bit bigger than the kids
showing them.
Summer Sizzle
Since Nelson Polled Herefords is
focused on improving the bloodlines of
the breed, showing off heifers promotes
the health and quality of the animals. For
Lindsay’s second-year
showing, we were
invited over to eastern
Washington to a show
called the Summer Siz-
zle in Connell.
It was a little taste
of big-time livestock
shows where farm kids
from around the state
compete with their ani-
mals to earn money
for college. It was hot
and dusty, a lot of sit-
ting around in the barn
waiting,
punctuated
by a crescendo of the
behind-the-scenes con-
trolled chaos leading up
to tense moments in the
show arena.
Despite the hours of
training to get here, you
never know if your ani-
mal is going to act up
in the ring in a way it
never did back home.
Nervous trauma-nurse
dad paced the ringside
those first few years,
picturing
worst-case
scenarios.
However, the girls — first Lindsay,
then her younger sister, Grace — loved it.
They loved being in the barn with other
farm girls, taking care of their animals’
feed and water as well as washing and
blow-dry. They loved learning from Les-
lie Bennett, the Connell 4H leader, as well
as the older kids who show them what to
do and what the judges want to see. Some-
how, while this is fierce competition with
big money on the line, everyone was help-
ful, supportive and kind.
AFTER
THE FAIR,
THE BOND
BETWEEN
THE GIRLS
AND THEIR
ANIMALS
REMAINS
SUCH THAT
THEY CAN
WALK UP
TO THE OLD
SHOW COWS IN
THE FIELD AND
PET THEM.
See COWS, Page 2C