A Visit to the Stock Show

I love the National Western Stock Show and try to get there at least once during its 16-day run. I usually go the final weekend to see the stock dog trials, and this year was no different. I lucked out, too, because a neighbor gave me a pair of general admission tickets.

It's hard to get good photos in the Stadium Arena because the light is a little dim, and the dogs and sheep are moving pretty fast most of the time.

Look at 'em go!


(I was using the Hyperlapse app on my iPhone for this.)

Then we wandered into the barns to see some of the few animals remaining on the last day, including this lovely bovine, No. 4:

And her friend, Dolly, who wanted to slip us some tongue:


We met some nice mules ...

... who won lots of ribbons and had very tidy owners

Then we headed upstairs to the "Hall of Education," which is a giant marketplace of all things ranching, plus anything else that might interest the typical National Western visitor.

(This little notice in the stairway struck me as very good advice. Not only for general hygiene but because of bird flu and swine flu concerns.)


I didn't really have a need for saddles, cattle confinement systems or parasite control, so I headed directly to my favorite vendor:


Lakeside Scissor Sales is based in Sacramento, California, and they've had a booth at the Stock Show for 30 years. They sell not just every kind of scissors, but also all kinds of pliers, tweezers, manicure tools, dental picks, magnifying glasses, keychains and accessories, jewelry making tools, eyeglass repair kits, you name it.

I have purchased all kinds of useful items there over the years, my favorites being really good tweezers, including a foot-long set; miniature clamps that I use in the kitchen mostly as bag clips; a stiletto; and a pointy manicure tool. This time I got thread snips and more mini clamps.

Finally, we headed to the Western art gallery, where a friend of mine had some paintings being shown. Only we discovered that her paintings were actually on display in the private National Western Club. No worries! A volunteer took us down there and led us around to see the art in the dining room and bar.

I just love Mai Wyn's oil paintings on aluminum and stainless steel. And her Colorado work is so interesting and different from her Wisconsin pieces (of which I have a couple). I'll have to do a post about those sometime.

So it was a nice, somewhat quick visit to the Stock Show. Next year I'll try to go earlier in the show's run as well. Time just got away from me this year.

Moo

It's Stock Show time again, which means we've survived the holidays and can think about eating again. The Stock Show is mostly about meat, after all. We went to the rodeo on Friday, then wandered around the barns looking at cattle and sheep. That's a Hereford bull above, and a Jacob ram below. They're an heirloom breed (even biblical – hence the name) and can have up to six horns.
The sheep is standing on a grooming table with his head secured on a chin rest. Dog groomers use something similar, and I was tempted to tell the sheep groomers that I'd be back with poodles in tow.
I bathed both dogs and shaved Jackson's face a couple of weeks ago. He's cute with a fuzzy face, but it gets grungy-looking fast. He's much easier to clip than Sophie was and doesn't struggle or stick his tongue out.

Lucy gets a pass on the face-shaving because the dirt doesn't show on her. And she's super-cute with a curly snoot.

Here they are at the dog park yesterday. It was 65 degrees and sunny. The dogs got a good romp in.
When we got home, the Sergeant worked on garage projects and I filled the garden cart twice with detritus from the front garden. In another month the crocuses will be up!

It's all a blur

Thanks to Groupon, we got $7 tickets to the Draft Horse and Mule Show Saturday night, which was a darn good deal, since it included grounds admission. We went in the afternoon and watched the sheepdog trials. I love, love, love the sheepdog trials and try to go every year.

I took a lot of blurry photos, none worth posting.

Then we went to the draft horse and mule show and I took more blurry photos. I'm pretending the one above, of Percherons in a six-horse hitch, is artsy.

I had more success shooting video. Here's a mule-rider "pole bending." She outrode all the others by a wide margin.

I got a few better shots after the show, when we wandered through the horse barn. This sweet mule was in his zebra jammies, ready to bed down for the night.
The National Western Stock Show is now over. Be sure to make plans to go next year if you can!

Mmmm. Tongue.

If you haven't been to the National Western Stock Show, there's still more than a week left! We wandered around today, looking at all the animals. We'll go back next week to watch the stock dog trials.

Werner Mill Iron Rachel 7300

That's the name of this lovely grand champion Angus from Cordova, Ill. She was born in March 2007.

The Stock Show is long gone, alas, but this photo has been sitting on my desktop for a while, waiting for me to do something with it. I have restaurant reviews going back months that I haven't posted yet, either. My blogging mojo is on the wane.

I'm not quitting, though.

And also, I've finally managed to respond to all previous comments, I think!

Bucking the rules

I got there late, so I didn't hear the injunction against videotaping. I got told off (nicely, though) right after I shot this, so it was my last one. I had a feeling it was going to be the best.

Yeah, we got front-row seats! Strictly speaking we should have been a few rows back, but the crowds aren't very big on a Thursday morning.

I wish I could tell you who this rider and horse are, but I flubbed on the note-taking, sorry. It might be Colin Stalley of Riverton, Wyo., on Bad Eye or maybe it's Ben Londo of Pendleton, Ore., on Strawberry Alley.

Nothing like a little rodeo in your face ...

... to wake you up!

Fun times at the Stock Show this morning. More photos later.

Kid stuff at the Stock Show

I like to check out Children's Ranchland up on the second floor at the Stock Show because that's where all the smaller critters are, many of whom you get to pet.
Look at the teeth on that little guy! Did you know that cows don't have upper teeth in the front? Instead there's a "dental plate" with gaps on either side. Cows use their tongues to select grasses to eat, then cut the grass using their lower incisors and the dental plate. They have molars in the back for chewing.

There were some 4-H volunteers with a 5-week-old piglet.
All that petting seemed to make the animals really sleepy. There was a sleepy chicken there last year, too.
And the same sleepy angora bunny, named Velcro.
It's a great educational opportunity, so naturally there are many school groups, along with parents and their kids.
There are even pony rides! Seemed like mostly the under-6 crowd partaking. They're strapped on with pony seat belts. I wonder what the ponies think of the ride up in the freight elevator.
I chatted with the gal running the bee display for couple of minutes.
In her display hive the queen bee is marked with a yellow dot. There's not a huge difference between the queen and the workers. The queen has a longer abdomen, is all. You can also sometimes spot the queen on a frame by looking for a "rosette" of bees, which is her court. She'll be the one in the center.
Next to the bees was T-Bone, the talking steer. Check him out!
One last opportunity for your spawn, if you're so inclined, is not to be found in Children's Ranchland.
Blam! Blam blam blam! Nice shot, Tammy!

Here be Herefords

I spent a couple of hours at the National Western Stock Show yesterday morning, keeping a promise to myself that I wouldn't wait until the last weekend to go. It runs through Sunday, Jan. 25, so you still have time!
Throughout the Stock Show, different animals are rotated through the barns as they come up for judging. Yesterday it was all Hereford and Angus cattle. Later it may be be shaggy Highlands or humpy Brahmans. Or Texas Longhorns. The equine stalls were empty, but soon will be filled with riding horses, draft horses, mules or donkeys.

Most of the animals get gussied up inside, but a few stanchions outside allow for open-air beautifying.
The cattle are generally pretty mellow, not that they have any say in the matter. But most of them have spent their lives being prepped for this kind of thing. They get washed and brushed and trimmed. Their hooves are shined up. They get the cattle equivalent of mousse, gel or hairspray to keep their tails and fur fluffed.

(If you don't believe me, check out Ohio Valley Show Supply, purveyors of such fine products as Tail Adhesive and Swine Shine. Not to mention scrotal tape – for measuring, of course!)

Here's one video of the scene inside the barn:

And here's another:
The second video is of a Hereford bull from Pennsylvania named John Wayne, who was a grand champion at last year's Stock Show. Having a prize-winning bull is not just a source of pride for a ranch or dairy, it translates into higher stud fees.

I have some photos of Angus cattle, too, but I'll post them later. It's hard to narrow down all the photos I took!

If you're in the Denver area, do go check out the show. Here's the website. Take the kids!

Nervous sheep

You'll note that the sheared ones are staying well back. You'd be leery of people, too, if this had just happened to you:
Shaved nekkid in front of a crowd!

Stock Show Parade 2009

It was a lot nicer out for the parade this year! Despite yesterday's snow, we were up to 50 today. The parade was much like last year's, so I just picked out a few shots I liked. You can click them to see them bigger.