Saturday proved to be a very successful day for Calleigh and Raider. Remember, I told you that she had a bucket calf that she had raised since he was 3 days old. She put in lots of hard work for the past 5 months getting ready for this competition. The project consisted of more than what took place at the stockshow on Saturday. She kept a record book of what she fed Raider, meds, and any other information you could think of pertaining to Raider. This was 25% of her score. Then, she had to meet with a panel of judges for an interview regarding the raising of Raider. Being that her daddy runs his own business and hires employees frequently, he was pretty passionate about her interview skills. The interview was another 50% of her score. The last 25% was her ability to show at the stockshow. In the showmanship she placed 1st in the junior division. When all the scores are totaled up, the highest score receives the trophy for Grand Champion. Calleigh is the proud owner of this Grand Champion trophy. And I...am one proud mommy!!!
Robby and I coached and led her through many areas of this project getting ready for each part. But in the end, Calleigh had to do the work her self...all by herself. And she did IT!!! I have to admit, watching her show that calf in the show ring made my heart swell. All the do this, and do thats that we had spewed...she really listened. And she did them all...VERY WELL!!! No matter what the judges opinion of her abilities had been, I knew I was super proud of her performance. As it turned out...the judge was too!!!
The stockshow was a very exciting weekend for Cydney too. She has really loved Raider since the beginning of the project, but she mostly kept a fair distance between the two. Saturday was different...she was right in the thick things...combing, touching, and lovin' every minute of it.