Students bond with animals, classmates amid competition
IMPERIAL — Caring for livestock is work yet the rewards go far beyond blue ribbons as life lessons help a young person mature into a productive adult at the California Mid-Winter Fair & Fiesta on Saturday.
Blake Pearson, Corfman School eighth-grader explained it simply as, it is just fun to show a Hampshire hog to an audience. “It’s something you’ve raised yourself so you feel proud,” he said, “Some are really stubborn so you need to learn to use your whip.”
Pearson won the purple ribbon, first place in the market show for Hampshires and will compete in another for all breeds. Finishing first in her cohort was Jessica Acosta with Luna, a 274-pound hog. “Their temperament is very different from other animals and the only one you don’t have a handle (lead) on,” she said. Added competitor Alejandro Carrillo, “It’s all about the joy of taking care of the pig and the responsibility you’ve committed to.”
Also winning first for her cohort in the market show for sheep was Breauna Rebollar who had not expected a ribbon. “I did it for the fun of it, and my mom raised an animal but it was a pig,” she said.
Growing up in a family that showed dogs, Jasmine Velasquez is well acquainted with the process and was busy vacuuming dry her crossbreed lamb, Ruth. “I hope I win, but what matters is that she does well in the ring,” she said. “She’s quite easy because she listens, but they have their moments.”
Busy washing his ewe, Lambycash, Jacob Saiza was told how much fun raising livestock can be from parents, he thought he would give it a try. “She’s a good girl but I get her used to a lead or holding her underneath the jaw to guide her. It’s a lot of fun, but work.”
Holtville High School junior Brenna Stewart has raised animals since she was 5 and formerly raised steers and sheep but focused on sheep once she began a crossbreeding project. She earlier had won first place for market show and will return for showmanship.
“The judges can tell how much time you spend with your animal when you touch him, if he gets fidgety,” she explained. “They also test your knowledge about the lamb’s body parts and things affecting the lamb, like organic raising, or about the grains in their feed and the things you need to put on fat or muscle.”
Raising a feeder calf that took third, Isabella Dickerson remarked a student can get attached to them and at first are bottle-fed so they are almost like babies. “Calvin is 3 months old and very loving,” she said.
Winning first in the same cohort, Dylan Carpio noted he likes participating to get to know where his food comes from. “Grooming is a lot of work,” he said. “A lot of it is just experience but I enjoy taking the responsibility.”
It was a first time raising a Himalaya rabbit for Mia Acevedo, who was just curious as to what it was like, and took second place in the market show. “You’ve got to be very calm and show affection and especially during showmanship, you got to be calm yourself,” she said.
Ericka Navarr, won first place in the market show against 42 other rabbits, required more attention than her dogs. “The Holland lop is a calm rabbit, but around loud noises they can get nervous,” she noted.