The showgirl with a buttoned-up shirt, pulled-back hair and starched jeans keeps a big bright smile on her face while her mind stays focused on the animal she is showing as well as the judge making his rounds. She knows she has to keep her animal on point any time the judge glances her way.
It’s time to show what he’s been trained to do.
Showing animals hasn’t been an easy job, but senior Emma Reeder enjoys spending her time preparing and competing with her animals. Reeder traveled to Fort Worth last month to compete with her goat and ended up placing high and making the sale.
“The trip was really fun and it made all the feeding and prepping worth it when I got to show,” Reeder said. “I love it.”
Reeder’s event was a four-day competition where she had to check in, prep her animal, show, and finally participate in the grand drive. She showed a goat in the lightweight division, where a goat weighs 50-80 pounds and made the sale.
“I saw Emma working really hard to make sure she had everything,” freshman Alexis Bell said. “I was really excited when we heard Emma made a sale and we were all very proud of her.”
Two days before the competition, Emma spent every three hours weighing and drenching her goat to be ready for showtime. Reeder’s goat placed second grand reserved out of 70 other goats along with a few other items: a buckle, ribbon, trophy and $12,000.
“She honestly deserved it because of how hard she worked,” freshman Evana Lane said. “I was so interested when she was showing, and I’m glad I was able to go and watch her succeed.”
Reeder isn’t done showing for the year, but already has future shows on her horizon: she will continue showing animals at Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) on the livestock show team with a full ride for two years and is planning to transfer to Tarleton State University to finish out her degree plan. She plans on becoming an Ag teacher or a county extension agent.
“I plan on showing a steer next in college, and I’m really excited to compete at more major shows,” Reeder said. “I feel like showing and prepping animals would be easier for me because it will give me something to do and I’ll have people there to help me improve. The experience that I have will definitely help me with showing a steer.”
