Childress County Livestock Show succeeds despite COVID-19
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These kids are all smiles as they show their animals at the 2021 Childress County Livestock Show.
Courtesy Photo
By Whitney Wyatt/The Red River Sun—
CHILDRESS – Despite many hurdles during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Childress County Livestock Show was a success when other shows have been cancelled.
“It’s crazy how well it went,” said Lori Rabe, who is secretary of the Childress County Livestock Show committee. “It was a little more stressful because of COVID and all the obstacles it put in our way. Everything we did for the show was a gamble this year. It could have been cancelled at the last minute.”
But it wasn’t, and 45 kids were able to show their 101 animals. This meant a lot to Rabe, both as a committee member and as a mom.
“The kids were ready and eager to show their animals,” Rabe said. “Other shows have been cancelled, limiting the number of times the kids can show. Fort Worth cancelled its major show. The kids have had their animals for a long time, and they got a chance to show.”
Getting to see her ag students show made Childress High School teacher Victoria Parker proud.
“We have some great kids here in Childress County,” Parker explained. “I was glad to have the numbers we had in all species, and I was proud of all the exhibitors. All their hard work they put in showed Friday and Saturday.”
Childress County Livestock Show committee president Matt Stone said the last 10 months have been uncertain for the kids. There was no guarantee the show would even happen.
“I’m extremely proud of the kids for sticking with their projects and not giving up even when they weren’t sure if we would have a county show,” Stone said. “I was very happy with the amount of support our community showed our kids during these trying times.”
Hundreds were able to attend the show, which was Friday, Jan. 15 and Saturday, Jan. 16 at the Mashburn Event Center. Rabe said the center provided plenty of room for attendees to spread out for safety.
“We’re blessed to have that super nice facility that allowed us to spread out,” Rabe said. “The community supported us. Turnout for the sale was good.”
Ryan Martin, who is a committee member and the Childress County extension agent, ag and natural resources, said the show went great.
“The kids did an excellent job showing,” Martin added. “Everyone followed the guidelines for COVID as requested.”
Because of COVID-19, the kids learned more than they usually do when showing. Rabe said they didn’t want to cancel the show because of fear, but they also wanted everything to be safe.
“As a parent, it was important to finish the show,” she explained. “Perseverance and adversity are some good things for the kids to see.”
While the kids were able to feel some sort of normalcy, Rabe said she and the other Childress County Livestock Show committee members Stone, Martin, Justin Cabler, Larissa Detwiler, Justin Pierce, Ronnie Jenkins, Robbie Jones, Victoria Parker and Jonathan Wise felt thankful.
“We’re very thankful for the continued support from our community,” Rabe explained.
With the death of Joe Jouett, they lost one of the charter members of the Childress County Youth Project Show. They renamed their scholarship for seniors the Joe Jouett Memorial Livestock Show Scholarship.
“No one can remember a show without him since the 1980s,” Rabe said. “He was a supporter even after his kids graduated from CHS.”
A list of exhibitors is on page A7, Showmanship pictures are on page B2 and Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion pictures are on page B7.
