Just a Note on Houston

Houston is as solid a stock show as you are going to find in the nation.  Nobody outside Texas has anywhere near as many entries.  Even in Texas, just the gap between Houston and the next two is bigger than just about any other steer show around.

Even with the huge scale of it they manage it like a well oiled machine.  From the modern facilities, the excellent ventilation we as spectators take for granted, to the way they take care of the kids while they’re there they leave no stone unturned in trying to make sure it’s a great experience for all involved.

Their lower placing steer payments only seem low because they place such a huge number of steers.  Once you throw in the $1,500+ bonuses they give, they’re right there with anybody and far ahead of anything outside of Texas.

It would be nice if they included archival of their classes but the broadcast they are doing in house this year is a high quality broadcast with cameramen that are following the action closely and keeping the shots relevant.

On the judging, Mark Hoge is being thoughtful, patient, and deliberate in his selection of calves.  In the first breed he mentioned several times that he realizes the work that goes into the animals and he’s going to give them the time they deserve.  Nobody is going to question his dedication to making sure he gives every kid a fair shot.

You midwestern boys need to go watch the show.  It will be worth the trip.

I'm saying all of this because I want to make sure those that read my griping about some classifiers throwing a bunch of our work in the trash know I wasn’t trying to condemn anything outside the three guys with those chips and their misguided and erroneous interpretation of the classification guidelines.