I can’t say I knew a thing about steers. I can’t say I knew a thing about ranching. AND I can’t say I knew a thing about how to do a fair steer showcase session. Jessie knew that, I knew that, and she guided me the whole way. I remember thinking that Presleigh was too small to be directing and leading a steer that weighed 20x more than she did (and probably still does!). This was back in 2019.
It seems like four short years ago until I start comparing the pictures from that very first time, up to now. I’m grateful to say my shooting style hasn’t changed much, but you know what has changed? Miss Presleigh. She’s no longer that little girl that I have engrained in my memory. No, she’s becoming a beautiful young woman, and gosh I’m so proud of her! She competed in all things rodeo this past year, and even traveled out of state a handful of times to compete. When she’s not on a horse, she’s on a court with a basketball in hand. I would think her life would slow down in the summer, but no, she keeps the yearly tradition alive of 4-H steers. This girl. I hate that she has to grow up, but I love watching her grow at the same time!
We talk about growing up, and that had me thinking about the first picture I took of this spunky lil thing! Miss Hayzen, is a spit-fire ball of energy, joy, and grit. She tagged along on that first steer photo shoot, and the grass was taller than she was. It seems like Jess had to carry her at one point and now look at her. Her first year showing a steer, and while you’d think that big animal would just drag her around, she has a surprising amount of determination that seems to speak for itself when she’s in charge. Her oversized teddy bear seems to know who’s boss, and I’d say 8/10 times she pushed him around, he followed her lead.
These two are showing steers again this year if you haven’t picked up on that up to this point. I’m always amazed at these kids that raise and baby such large animals. If it were up to me, I’d probably pick a chicken. I had a bunny once though! My parents bought it so I’d have a pet. My dad said all his bunnies lived less than a year (probably because his neighbor’s dogs seemed to enjoy rabbit meat…), so that should be a great low-key pet. Well, 6 years later we still had that bunny with pink eyes. I thought she was quite happy, but when my sister let her out of her hutch one day, she never came back. That was the end of my bunny career. Here I am twenty years later (at least) and now I have kids asking to raise bunnies for the fair. I think we will have to stick to chickens and kittens.
These girls have been hard at work for months to get to this point. I’m excited for them to be able to share and show their steers with the community at the Caribou County Fair! If you’d like to show them your support for their time and efforts, they’d love to have you! A few dates to keep in mind:
Beef Show held at the Caribou County Fairgrounds • Thursday, August 3rd, @ 8-10 am
Buyers Brunch • Friday, August 4th, @ 9:30 am • Livestock Auction @ 10 am
In the meantime, I’m proud of you girls! Love you both!
-Mikenna
XOXOXOXO
