March 2007

FORMER CARTHAGE STUDENT PROPELS KILGORE COLLEGE CATTLE SHOW TEAM TO VICTORY AT HOUSTON

HOUSTON   --   Clayton Hicks, a Kilgore College freshman from Carthage, knew it was going to take a super effort for his livestock show team to perform well here during the 75th anniversary of the nation’s largest stock show. 

But as the team captain, he was prepared to set the example.  He did just that and the four-woman, two-man Kilgore College Livestock Show Team bested 24 Angus breeders from six states and three universities to claim the coveted Angus Herdsman Award.  In the process, they showed the Reserve Division Champion Angus Senior Female and her two-week-old calf.

The team arose at three a.m. the morning of the show, a highly unlikely time for freshman and sophomore college students to arise from a deep, much-needed sleep to dress and head for the show barn.  But when your four Angus heifers have an 8 a.m. show ring date with the cattle judge at this big venue, you hit the ground running.  Hicks knew that food could wait and there was no time to lose sipping coffee.  Washing, fitting, and grooming cattle came first.

“I think we did well in keeping our focus and presenting the animals as best we could to the show judge,” Hicks said.  “This show represents a lot of long hours and hard work, but it is an excellent experience that each of can build on.  Our team coordinated our efforts well and we worked together.  Cooperation is essential at a show like Houston, he noted.”

The group’s combined work ethic and team coordination made their sponsor Bob Young feel very good about his young team.  “I couldn’t be more proud of the way these students worked together and the efforts they put forth,” said Young, agriculture teacher and manager of the College’s 450-acre farm near Overton.  Ironically, Young is an alumnus of Sam Houston State University, the school Kilgore College had to beat to capture top herdsman honors.  It was the first time for Kilgore College to outpoint the four-year school in this category.

Members of the Kilgore College team in addition to Hicks include: Dayla Ragsdale, Sulphur Bluff, sophomore; Ricky Martin, Carlisle, sophomore; Lucy Smith, Henderson, sophomore; Kendall Koch, Henderson, freshman; and Jennifer Hill, Rusk, freshman.

Good Herdsman encompasses keeping the exhibitor’s area walkways swept clean and tidy at all times, maintaining the animal area free from manure and foreign material, brushing the animals frequently to remove shavings or straw as they stand, and keeping the promotional booth space clean, organized, and uncluttered.  The judges prefer to see exhibitors constructively busy around their exhibit area at all times as good working representatives of their ranch or institution.  Stock show visitors tend to form a lasting impression of the exhibitor’s area, depending on how well it is kept.

The Kilgore College agriculture program can be viewed in detail by keying in www.KilgoreCollegeAgFarm.org .  Kilgore College is the current Texas Junior College Agriculture Association “Chapter of the Year,” a distinction the school has attained for 12 of the past 15 years.

(Article locally published and provided by writer, Ralph Ward Jr.)