Judge impressed with Dairy Show entrants
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NEW ULM-- A total of twelve entrants had thirty-four entries at the New Ulm Free Fair 4-H Dairy Show Friday.
Awards were given out for Champion Senior and Junior Dairy, Top Production, Best Udder, and Champion Senior, Intermediate, and Junior Showperson's. Judge Tanner Morrison presided over the show and made the final rulings in each category. Morrison has been professionally judging for only two years, but he judged in high school and grew up with livestock. He explained the different events in the Dairy Show.
"They started off with Cloverbuds, that’s one of my favorite classes," Morrison said. "It’s all the younger generation coming in. It’s very important for the kids to come out here and show off their exhibits. It gets them in tune with growing up and developing their characters. It’s fun to see what they have to answer with. Then we go into our actual competition of the classes individually. [Finally,] we follow that up with showmanship, showing off their individual skills and how they can present the animals to the best of their abilities."
Morrison said there are several qualities he looks for in a cow he's judging. They need to be structurally sound and move well around the ring. In showmanship, he said the kids need to be able to show off their animals. Controlling the head and interacting well with the cow are key parts of being able to display a cow's attributes. In all these aspects, Morrison was impressed with what Brown County had to offer.
"There’s some high quality stuff," Morrison said. "It wasn’t a very big show, but that always depends on the county. You got kids moving out and you got your next generation that sometimes takes a little bit to get them involved. Certainly a lot of high quality cattle came through here. I would rate it pretty well."
Gracie Sellner of the Stark Happy Hustlers 4-H Club was the most prolific competitor of the show; winning Champion Senior Dairy and Showperson, Top Production, and Best Udder. At 18 years old and as a 13-year competitor, Sellner said the feeling was bittersweet.
"It has its ups and downs," she said. "I’m glad to be done because it’s a lot of work. But I’m also sad because it’s my final year then I’m done. It feels amazing to go out and win it all my last year."
Sellner said the hardest part of getting the cows in shape to perform was having patience when working with them. For one of her cows, it took four weeks to get them trained to the level Sellner was looking for. Now, she has one last show to compete in.
"It’s up at State Fair," Sellner said. "I’ve been there six years. I’m not totally sure who I’m gonna take. I am expecting a lot of really good looking cows. And it’ll be, really hard [for the judges] to decide."
But for right now, Sellner said she and her cows are looking to relax and unwind from the stresses of show preparation and performance. For the rest of the fair, Sellner is looking forward to hanging out with all her friends in the different livestock barns.