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A steer expert recently helped steer kids who are showing steers at the upcoming Sanders County Fair.

Jon Bouma of Lucky U Cattle Company in Stevensville spent five hours with youth from Sanders County 4-H clubs and Future Farmers of America at the fairgrounds June 17.

Bouma's beef showmanship lessons were part of the final stretch in the kids' preparation for the Sanders County Fair. The time between now and the Sanders County Fair - Sept. 1-4 - is closing fast, and the 4-H kids with animals are hard at work rehearsing for show time. "It's what they've been working for all year," said Juli Thurston, the Montana State University Extension Agent in Thompson Falls. Other than feeding and caring for their animals, Thurston said they are now concentrating on practicing their showmanship skills with the animals.

She said the clinic wasn't mandatory but encouraged. Of the 43 kids that will be showing beef at the fair this year, 12 showed up for the free lesson. Represented were members from the South Side Sparks, Whitepine Happy Workers, Trout Creek Mavericks, Hot Springs Wranglers and the Hot Springs Future Farmers of America. Hot Springs resident Richard Jackson, who serves as the 4-H beef superintendent, was also on hand to help with the event. His daughter, Brooke, was there with her steer "Pickle."

Bouma, who has three children in the Lucky Horseshoe 4-H club, routinely volunteers his time for 4-H clubs, but this was his first time helping the Sanders County kids. He went over how to feed, groom, wash, and present their animals. He gave them information on managing and leading a steer, watching the judge, and keeping a proper spacing between animals.

"The day was very productive. Members stated they all learned something new related to feeding, showmanship, clipping and fitting," said Thurston. "We'd love to have him back. He did a fantastic job," she said. Thurston's sons, John and Matthew, both show pigs.

The information Bouma presented was geared toward steers, but Trace Browning of the South Side Sparks picked up some useful tips for when he shows "Daisy," a dairy cow. This will be the first time for 9-year-old Trace to be showing an animal larger than swine, though he's no stranger to cows. Daisy, a Dexter/mini Jersey, is an offspring of "Dixie," which they've had for two years. Daisy was born last April, and since then Trace has spent much time with her. "I was the first thing she saw when she was born," said Trace, who brushes Daisy daily and spends 20-30 minutes halter training her and getting her used to him leading her around a mobile pen. He and his twin brother, Colt, showed swine last year and will again this year. The boys will once again market their pigs, but Trace won't be putting Daisy up for sale.

"I was very impressed with the cow," said Trace. "And I want to keep it so I can sell the milk."

"Trace was the only one of my kids to come help me milk Dixie daily, and he really grew an interest on his own. We are both new to showing cattle, so it's an adjustment and learning process for all of us," said his mother, Tara. Trace bought the calf from his mother with the money he got from selling his swine at the 4-H stock market sale last year. "He's doing great at home. He's just nervous with her at the fair, but I plan to take him down a couple of times to get them both used to it," Tara said.

Trout Creek resident Pat Wilson felt Bouma did a nice job with the kids. Wilson is the 4-H livestock chairman for Sanders County. He noted that one of the best parts of the seminar was the individual instruction Bouma gave to the kids. He critiqued each of them on showing their animal and gave them pointers on how to improve on their showmanship techniques, according to Wilson, whose daughters, Savana, 14, and Sydnee, 16, are members of the Trout Creek Mavericks and participate in steer and horse competitions. This will be Sydnee's fifth year to show steers. This will be Savana's first time to show steers.

The only other scheduled event for the 4-Hers prior to fair time will be a hoof trimming session by Justin Griffin of J&R Hoof Trimming on July 22 for steers, beef heifers, and dairy cows. Wilson said the trimming will help the animal walk better during the showmanship performance. He also said Griffin can look over the animal's weight and tell the kids if they're on target or not. Thurston said that there will be time for the kids to practice their showmanship, and Griffin will be available to answer questions on fitting or feeding.

There are 172 animals - beef, swine, sheep, goats, poultry, horses, cats, and pocket pets - registered for this year's fair with some types of animals that have not been shown in a long time, said Thurston. "I have not seen a dairy cow since I've been here and I don't think we've had turkeys," said Thurston, who's been the extension agent for six years. She also hasn't seen anyone with snakes, the pocket pet project of John McNamara of the South Side Sparks, who will also show a horse, cat, sheep, and a 3-year-old Lady Amherst pheasants named "George."

"I'm getting a lot better at holding him; he's not scratching me as much," said the 9-year-old John of George, the bird he'll be handling for the poultry show. "He gets better everyday and he has been hand holding the baby chicks he raised, so when they are older they will hopefully be more docile," said John's mother, Carissa, the honey bee project leader for Sanders County. John is one of two signed up for the cat competition. The other is 8-year-old Kendall Spurr, also of the South Side Sparks.

There will be two turkeys at the fair this year. It'll be the first time for Kendall and her sister, Cooper, 11, to show turkeys in the poultry division. The girls got their turkeys in April; both are showing males. Their father, Steve, said they had the choice between turkeys and Cornish cross hens, but they will also be entering breeding chickens, Scottish Highlanders and rabbits in the open class. This is Cooper's second year in 4-H; Kendall was a cloverbud last year. The girls have been picking the turkeys up everyday in an effort to get the birds accustomed to being handled for fair time.

Swine will once again have the biggest show with 58 kids from four clubs bringing pigs to the fair. The Whitepine Happy Workers will have 23 swine and South Side Sparks will have 22, followed by the Trout Creek Mavericks with 10 and the Hot Springs Wranglers with three. Thirty-six 4-H and FFA members showed up with their pigs at the fairgrounds on June 5 to get their swine weighed and the ears tagged, which identifies the animal and puts it into the fair system. The required tagging was done by Wilson and Ryan Burk of Thompson Falls.

The two men marked the pigs with a plastic numbered tag on one ear and on the other ear they marked the animal with a tattoo in case the tag comes off. Joanne Burk, the club leader for Whitepine Happy Workers and Ryan's wife, helped with the event by weighing each animal. Presley Cox, 19, tagged the two registered sheep belonging to 4-H'ers Ayla Rehbein and Isabella Hanson, both of the South Side Sparks. It was the first year for both girls to enter their sheep, "Patch" and "June." The 19-year-old Cox was a member of the Trout Creek Mavericks for 13 years, competing mostly with goats and poultry.

There are presently 29 4-H'ers signed up for horse projects, which has one of the biggest showmanship categories. Michele McGuigan of Plains is again the horse barn superintendent, assisted by Shannon Chojnacky of Trout Creek. The 4-H kids have been practicing at the arena at the fairgrounds for about three weeks, but they've also been training at their homes, said McGuigan, who's been the horse barn superintendent on and off for about 20 years. She said the kids are mostly working on patterns, proper equitation and general horse knowledge. She said the kids are already making progress.

Ed Moreth

GET IN THERE – Eleven-year-old Grayson Stevens of the Trout Creek Mavericks corrals his swine "Rex" in preparation for tagging.

The South Side Sparks have 14 horse entries, followed by the Happy Workers and Mavericks with seven apiece, and the Wranglers with one. In the beef class, there are 20 South Side Sparks entries, followed by Hot Springs with 13, Whitepine with eight, and Trout Creek with two. There are presently only six clubs. The Little Bitterroot club folded last year because it was down to a handful of members.

There will be only eight sheep entries this year, six from the South Side Sparks and two from the Happy Workers. The five goat entries are all Whitepine Happy Workers. There are also only eight participants in the poultry division. Six are from the South Side Sparks and the other two are from Trout Creek and Thompson Falls clubs.

There are four pocket pets this year. "The kids are getting excited and anxious preparing for the fair," said Thurston. "It will be here before we know it. Lots of new showers to be excited about."