Illinois State Fair

Zadok and Theo getting Theo’s cow/calf pair ready for the state fair.  Most people do not understand how much work that has to be done to win at a major show.  The kids and Judi started with over 10 head that they worked with just to show 5 animals at the state fair.  They also started with 4 steers that was whittled down to 2 that they showed at their county fair.  That show finished less than 2 weeks before the state fair.  Lots of cattle to be worked to then just “turn them out” to pasture if we decide they then are not “good enough” to go on to the show.  They also get ready the spring born calves for the state fair and the county fair, which means  not only breaking them to lead, but just getting the calves over weaning and getting them to eat well and making sure they are just “show ready”.

Going to the Open % Simmental show at 7:45 a.m. on Friday morning.  We were up, out of bed and heading to retrieve the cattle from the tie-outs by 4:45 a.m.  to show in the first class of the day for the second day in a row.  Pressure was off Theo, since the day before he was successful in having the Champion Performance Cow/Calf pair in the junior show which means he was awarded the “Governor’s Punch Bowl”.  He was sweating it since both Zadok, and Isabella had already won the “Punch Bowl”.  The Graff kids have now won it three out of the last five years.  And by the way, this was a good morning.  Grand Champion % Simmental Cow/Calf, Theo was second in his class and Z was third in a big class, not bad when we were done by 8:17 a.m. in the morning.  And if you ever hear us say look at the a$$ on her we are talking about a cow or heifer not a person.  But, man that cow does have a nice, well just look at the picture.  Our bulls would agree with that also.

Isabella had a good State Fair.  This is her with a calf she raised that was calf champion in the Mainetainer show.  We are really excited about this girl’s future.  We think this heifer has what it takes to be a big time show heifer next year.  Everybody else thought she was good too.  We had numerous people try and buy her from us while we were at the fair.

Here is the picture of the Junior Show Grand Champion cow/calf pair.  The two boys, me, the husband/wife judges and Larry Wilson Junior Show superintendent holding the silver bowl.  In the Junior show once a cow wins and once a kid wins the “bowl” they are “retired” from winning it again.  So we have 3 cows that are retired and 3 kids retired from winning the Aged Performance Cow/Calf award.  They could go for the “young” cow which is a cow that has only had 1 or 2 calves.  The aged cows have to of had at least 3 calves.  The older one is harder, since the cow has to have had a calf every year of it’s production life and then has to have good performance records with each calf and then has to have a good calf by her side the year you show her, and last but not least she has to look good.  So Duchess, Ellyon, and now Padmay are “out to pasture for good”.

Here is the open show cow/calf picture.  Isabella was also the 2013 Illinois Junior Simmental Association Queen.  The kids Grandfather really likes this cow.  She is better than her calf.  She is a half blood Simmental whose sire is Dr. Who.  She has about as good as you can ever have performance numbers for a club calf type cow.  Last thing about this cow, she never lost a class when Theo showed her as a heifer, and she never lost a class this year as a cow.  She won 13 classes in her life and retired a champion in 2013.  That’s a very good show career.

We relaxed the second week of the state fair at the horse races.

Like I said Theo was happy.  He was counting down the years before we headed to this years fair.  He was saying “I only have 5 more years left after this one”.  He was wondering if he did not win if he would stay with this cow or try with another one.  In the end it did not matter, he won the “bowl”.

Posted by a very proud father, pictures by a very proud mother.