Youth Expo gives kids a chance to show off
Standing inside the busy, noisy barns at State Fair Park on Wednesday, you would never guess Cade Karcher Charmasson, 9, gets nervous when he works with Ace, one of his family's sheep.
“He gets pretty nervous, but he doesn't really let it show,” Cade's mother, Amy Charmasson, said. “He's come a long way. He probably started showing when he was 5 around the house and on the farm. He's been around it all his life.”
Cade, of Hennessey, is participating in his first year at the Oklahoma Youth Expo, touted as the largest youth event in the state. More than 7,000 exhibitors gathered for the expo, in its 105th year, including representation from all 77 counties in the state. More than 13,000 head of livestock were entered this year.
Cade eventually admitted he gets a little nervous, but with a little music to pump him up and his friends around him, he gets ready to show. Charmasson, 37, said she and her husband raise sheep in Hennessey and
they both showed livestock at the Oklahoma Youth Expo when they were younger.
“I didn't have as much success as he has had,” Charmasson said with a smile when talking about her son's good fortune.
“He gets a little nervous, but the thing about him is his heart and he never gives up,” she said, adding that she told her son to work his “butt off” and to be his best.
Cade's hard work paid off Wednesday as his sheep was named champion white face cross lamb. Cade also placed fourth Wednesday when showing Ace.
“He was super pumped because he gets to ride in a limo now. That was one of his goals all year, so we worked hard for that,” Charmasson said.
A competitor at the expo for more than a decade, Parker Holt, 18, of Hobart, said the nerves get better but never completely go away.
“The first time I went out there, very nerve-racking. You're in this big arena, and you have all these people watching you. You know what you're doing, you're just scared that you're going to mess up,” Holt said of his first time showing at the state event.
Holt said he started out showing pigs from when he was 6 to 9 years old, then he switched over to showing steers and has been showing them every year since.
“I get the butterflies each year, but they haven't been as common. When I was 9, going out there, they were going absolutely nuts. But this year, not hardly at all,” Holt said.
One of the common things heard from almost all exhibitors is the number of friends they make at the show each year. “A lot of friends, actually," Holt said.
With his steer, simply called “the Charolais” after the breed, getting prepped to show, Holt said it was his last year at the expo because he's aging out.
Describing the experience of knowing he won't again show at the competition as “bittersweet,” Holt said he's loved every minute of it for the last decade and all he's hoping for is to make it to the sale.
“In the end, it's very exhilarating,” Holt said of the showing experience.
The Oklahoma Youth Expo continues at the fair park on Thursday, with gates opening at 7 a.m. and barrow, goat, lamb and steer shows scheduled throughout the day. The Grand Drive is at 6 p.m. and the Sale of Champions is set for 4 p.m. Friday. For more information, go online to okyouthexpo.com.