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MERCEDES — She set her face solid and tight as she tapped her stick against a willful hog which outweighed her easily by three or four times.
It was all about heart and soul and the courage of a tiny girl named Emma Ybarra who showed the mental dexterity to keep her dark cross animal in line Thursday. The dark cross judging at the 85th annual Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show and Rodeo caught the attention of onlookers who packed the bleachers.
The class into which 10-year-old Emma showed her animal was class 22 and the biggest class with 37 entries. Emma, a fifth grader at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Mercedes, might have been invisible in an arena surrounded by older contestants and grunting hogs, but the fire and bravery of this young girl made her quite visible. In fact, it would have been impossible not to have noticed her energy and focus as she moved around the arena.
All the students showed passion and purpose in the arena and were duly awarded for their efforts. Helena Solis competed in the same class as Emma and took the first place blue ribbon.
“I spent a lot of time at the ag barn,” said Helena, 16, a sophomore at McAllen Memorial High School.
“I walked her twice a day and gave her supplements and electrolytes and conditioned her skin with moist spray after washing her,” said Helena, revealing a mind of precision as she detailed the care of her animal through many months.
“I have been in FFA for seven years, but this is my fourth year showing hogs,” she said. “Last year I got third place.”
So with each year she is climbing the ladder of her experience and the application of that experience in the implementation of new routines and tactics and procedures.
“I think I’m gaining more knowledge about pigs,” she said. “I walked her a lot more this year than last year.”
Thursday’s shows also included the judging of breeding cattle: Red Brangus, Simbrah and red and grey Brahman.
Jess Pool, 16, had just one in his division for his Simbrah heifer.
“It makes me feel proud,” said Jess, of Mt. Enterprise, Texas where his family owns Pool Farms. His Simbrah heifer was born and raised on his family’s farm.
“I have been feeding her and working with her every morning,” he said.
His family focuses strictly on the Simbrah breed, which is a cross between Simmental and Brahmans.
“We do Simbrahs for their functionality in Texas, their heat tolerance,” he said. “They get their heat tolerance and their insect and disease tolerance from the Brahmans.”
Jess had taken quite a long journey to the Valley from Mt. Enterprise northeast of Houston near Shreveport, Louisiana.
Emma’s journey with her hog “Nala” created special challenges from the very beginning of that journey. This was her first year, and the hog was sick as soon as she the took possession of her. Then the hog developed a problem with her leg and she was limping and Emma and her family had to help the hog heal.
And still…
“I wanted to at least try,” she said after leaving the ring.
The coveted ribbons and the awarding of first place and second place and third place of show projects for the barbecue pits and the horticulture entries and the heifers and the bulls really tell only a small part of a much bigger story. We see the ribbons, the blue and the red and the pink ribbons and we say the student has done a fine job. But the ribbons don’t tell us of the long hours of work, the feeding and exercising of animals and the welding of shop projects, the sweat and the early mornings waking up to get projects ready for the big day.
In like manner, the absence of ribbons can be deceptive as well. We see someone with a blue ribbon and a red ribbon and a pink ribbon and then we see someone with no ribbon and we give those individuals little recognition. That’s where we err, because in some cases like that of Emma the real triumph is the challenges that had to be overcome to even enter the ring.
This truth is revealed many times to those who watch closely, who not only watch but observe and consider and reflect.
Early this week Trace Vaughan, 16, took third place for his goat in its class.
Third place.
Well…
But when you consider that his goat broke it’s leg in November and couldn’t be worked with again until two weeks ago, you realize his third place would easily be champion if measured for the challenge and the work that followed that challenge.
Likewise, little Emma and her huge hog could easily rank high for the challenge and the courage of that challenge. Her hog was sick when it first arrived and became ill again, and yet there was no stopping this little girl with the big spirit.
Will she take on that challenge again next year?
“I’d like to!”
On Friday, the market steers and their owners will present themselves before the judges, with the Sale of Champions taking place on Saturday.
