MERCEDES — Explosions of clapping, cheering and whistling rushed across the barn as Diego Calderon led his champion lamb from the arena.
“This is my first time ever making it to sale with a lamb,” said Diego, 15, a freshman in Weslaco High School’s FFA program. His lamb, Oreo, fitting for the sharp contrasting black and white coat, had won grand champion for his hair sheep.
The judging of market lambs Tuesday afternoon at the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show filled the bleachers with relatives, friends and livestock aficionados who cheered students bringing their lamb projects before the judges. Their animals struggled and were calmed as their owners set them up; their quick obedience showing months of training while their individual personalities created annoying disturbances.
Diego’s “Oreo” had exhibited a rather feisty temperament to which Diego responded with an obviously practiced process. And their teamwork paid off with a bright blue ribbon.
“This is my third year,” he said. “I just fed him better. Spent two to three hours a day with him.”
The secret to nailing it on the third try?
“Just don’t give up,” he said.
Mike Risica, director of the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show, said he was pleased with the success of it all.
“Everything has been really, really well,” he said. “We’ve had good weather, record crowds.”
The only snag had been the blast pass, a new element at the show in which people put money on a card and use that to purchase food and carnival rides. Several had complained about the money remaining on the card. Risica suggested they manage the funding of the card and make sure they purchase as many cokes, funnel cakes and other treats as possible before they leave.
Lambs had a visible presence throughout the livestock show grounds, as did the goats, which exhibited a sort of bounce in their steps as their owners led them to their stalls. The bellowing of the steers morphed into a sort of howling as it bounced through their cavernous barn, perhaps berating the fact they’d have to wait until Friday to present themselves to the judges.
Across the grounds the carnival rides with their flashing lights rolled, turned and spun to the delight of their riders, and people used their blast passes for funnel cakes, pizza slices and awesome blossoms.
A young girl urged her younger siblings to move faster. A man with an imposing moustache negotiated with his daughter their next destination, and a lanky teenage boy engaged is some smart monologue with his female companions who reacted with a practiced silence.
A lingering chill of winter’s fading breath hung on before it gave way to spring’s promise. And it all seemed to announce in a fresh way the anticipation of the coming day: Simbrah, red Brangus and Brahman cattle would be judged on Wednesday, as would the market hogs.
Jacob Gonzalez, 15, looked forward to showing his Cornish cross chickens on Wednesday. He would show three, but he brought four in the event one of them died.
“I have been feeding them 30 percent game turkey starter and chicken grit and cracked corn,” said Jacob, a sophomore in the Weslaco High School East FFA. He would also be showing his Simbrah heifer.
“I did the chickens last year, and only one other person did it,” he said. “I just want to get the feel of it.”
The market rabbit competition won Harlingen High School FFA senior Evelyn Quezada, 17, reserve champion for her three California market rabbits “Salt,” “Pepper,” and “Cajun.”
“I have been showing since my freshman year,” she said with a smile. “This feels good. I never got reserve champion. It feels good to be able to go out with a bang for my senior year.”
Meanwhile, Savannah Rodriguez, 14, and her brother were out on the grounds with their two lambs.
Savannah, a freshman at PSJA North, seemed to have a good relationship with her lamb “Lilo.”
“I work with him and walk him everyday,” Savannah said. “I try and brush him everyday and spend as much time with him so I can get that bond. This is my first year.”
Sarahi Flores, 14, had high hopes for her lamb “Max.” She’d just showered him and walked him air-dried in preparation for an audience with the judge.
“I feed him everyday, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. I walk him and exercise him by running up and down the hills,” she said.
Back at the arena, the lambs waited behind the gate for their turn with the judge, a somewhat bewildered demeanor settling over them. They seemed to wonder about the sudden changing of things, the cacophony, the bleating, the people watching and the rasp of the judge’s voice.
Inside the arena, the judge looked over the lambs that braced well, the lambs that struggled and the students who kept bracing them. The judge rubbed his hands over the hindquarters of a lamb that reacted with a jump into the arms of its owner.
It could be said the students were all winners for their dedication to a work ethic and their courage to attempt a challenge that demanded long hours, early mornings and late evenings. And all the hard work will extend beyond the labor, the ribbons and the losses into lasting memories.
To see more, view Brownsville Herald photojournalist Denise Cathey’s full photo gallery here:
