Teens Prepare For Fair

Among the McDonald County teens preparing to show animals at the county fair are Callie Thacker and Kristin Penn.

Callie, a ninth-grader, is showing sheep, and has been doing so for about five years.

"My papa used to own sheep, and I decided it would be fun," she said.

She said caring for them involves feeding them separately so each one gets the same amount of grain, putting them on stands to help them brace and walking them a lot.

"I just like showing them. I like showing any kind of animal. It's really fun," she said.

Callie has shown bucket calves, goats and horses. This year in addition to sheep she is also showing a red Angus-cross heifer.

She has won several awards as well. At Barry County in June she won Grand Champion with her breeding ewe and won Supreme Showman. She has also won buckles for horses, bucket calves and herdsman.

"There's a lot of trophies, but I don't remember them all," she said.

Asked what the judges will be looking for on her sheep, she said, "I think they look for how much muscle they have on their rear end, and the loin, how long it is, and how big their brisket is."

Callie's mother, Heather Thacker, said that after the fairs Callie will sell the male sheep and keep the females for breeding stock. Callie has five ewes -- breeding females -- and four wethers -- castrated males, Heather said.

Heather also said taking care of animals is a lot of work.

"Callie has grown a lot. She's become a lot more responsible. She knows what needs to be done with her animals, so she'll get out there and do it for the most part," she said.

Callie's father, Jimmy Thacker, agreed.

"She's learned a lot the last couple years," he said. "I'm impressed how she gets up and takes care of them. Whatever money she earns she spends on them."

Kristin, also a ninth-grader, is showing Shorthorn and Holstein cows. The Shorthorns are beef cows, and the Holsteins are dairy. Kristin said she started showing animals when she was in the fifth grade. She has shown dairy cows for three years, and this is her first year to show beef cows.

Asked why she enjoys showing animals, Kristin said, "I do it for fun and I do it for earning a little extra money."

Her father, Rick Penn, said, "You've got to get up early in the morning every day. You've got to work with them on a schedule every day. She does really well. In the case with what she does now, they have to be bathed, water rinsed daily and soaped twice per week."

Rick said they have traveled since March doing weekend shows. They took the beef cattle to Sedalia, Mo., and won Grand Champion overall with Kristin's Shorthorn-plus heifer. At Newton County she won Grand Champion Shorthorn heifer and Reserve Champion heifer along with Junior Showmanship in both beef and dairy categories, he said. She finished with winning Round Robin Junior Showmanship.

"She had a really good Newton County Fair," Rick said.

He added, "She's been very fortunate. We've met a lot of people that have been willing to help her if she's had questions. Then she's put the work into learning."

Asked what the judges will be looking for with her animals, Kristin said, "The Shorthorns, they look for big structured animals, the depth of them. The Holsteins they look for a dairy look, which is the Holsteins are known for being very tall and long and make quite a bit of milk."