I feel like I'm on a theme this week and yes, this is another story of me selling a market animal. You might want to grab your tissues for this one.
I was either a sixth or seventh grader, and one of the best times of year for me was October because we loaded up the trailer, packed the suitcase and headed to Rapid City for the Western Junior Livestock Show (WJLS), which was a fall show for just select counties (think the Western Ak-Sar-Ben). Any way, this particular year, I had a big string - several breeding sheep, a heifer and my prized steer, Snuggles. I had got Snuggles the winter before and he was the perfect companion for me. And yes, he was named after the dryer sheet teddy bear. I tied him up all, worked what hair I could and his target was WJLS. Except, I didn't quite understand the target would be so abrupt.
The steer show was an evening show, and as soon as we walked out of the ring, there was a semi ready - yep we were expected to lead our steers right out of the ring to "meat" their fate. WHAT?!?! No one had told me this! And they wouldn't let parents do it for us. So I led my beloved Snuggles up that ramp and onto the trailer. And I stayed there. If he was going, so was I. I was a sobbing messing - maybe beyond sobbing. Eventually, my dad had to come in the trailer, and take me and the halter off. According to my dad, I eventually cried myself to sleep about 3 o'clock that next morning.
Let's fast forward two more days. We'd shown heifers and ewes and eaten good meals and went swimming at the hotel pool. But we had one more stop before we left Rapid. The. Packing. Plant. WHAT?!?! No one told me that the steer show was a combined on-hoof and carcass contest. So there we were looking at Snuggles on the rail. This was my first experience at a packing plant, and not on the most pleasant of circumstances. We saw all the steers that had loaded out that night. And when we got to Snuggles, there was a blue ribbon attached to his carcass. And that made the trip all ok.
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