Blush Out West hit the Stock Show circuit. Well...kind of!
We made the rounds from Denver's National Western Stock Show in January, then headed south to the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo in February. I guess you could say we were there as groupies....or I prefer, supporters!
We have been going to The National Western Stock Show in Denver since we moved to Colorado in 2009. Well, actually I was there multiple times as a teenager because of my brother Frank's early involvement in showing cattle. I remember his first catch a calf that set him on his path leading to where we'll end this blog post, the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo!
Blush Out West was actually approved as a vendor for the first time this year at the National Western, after trying a couple of times in the past, but decided to sit this one out, which was a hard decision. But with the baby and the long days that come with being a vendor for a multi week event, it just seemed un-doable...Maybe it will be our time in a couple of years!
Not wanting to miss it entirely though, Wren came home to Colorado for a long weekend of fashion, furs and steers. If you follow Wren on Instagram, you are well aware of her Double D Ranch clothing addiction. And wouldn't you know it; they were hosting an event in the new Legacy Building at the National Western complex. We purchased tickets and headed straight there from the airport. It was an entertaining night of Double D outfits on parade throughout the night. We even made the IG reel of Cowboys & Indians Magazine. The appetizers were delicious, the candied bacon...Yum. The Legacy building is absolutely beautiful and worth a trip just to see it. There is a hair on hide wall that is stunning, permanent Western Art Collections and the huge stone fireplace is beautiful. The event was interesting and we weren't quite sure of the purpose. Other than looking at outfits of all of the women in attendance, snacking, shopping their new collection, and checking out a few vendors, there were no speeches about western heritage and no one from Double D spoke (or was even there). I guess it was just to mingle and they certainly had no trouble drawing a huge crowd with little to no advertising. There were even hair tinsel and feathers being done by none other than Savannah, Wren's high school friend! Would we go again, yes. It's local and we loved seeing everyone's outfits.
Next up over the weekend was watching my nephew Chance, part of Ward Cattle Company, try his luck in the Prospect Steer Show. He hauled his gorgeous steer all the way from California to give it a go. Despite all of the sadness and melancholy around the demolition of the old stock yards and no longer stalling in the old building, the new show facility is state of the art. I'm not sure how many steers were in the show, but there were definitely less people watching around the ring than in prior years, which I found interesting. Chance gave it good run and did get to make an appearance in the Champion Drive, but to no avail. No buckle for him at the National Western this year. They started their long drive back home to California,
Early February came the chance to watch my brother Frank, judge the Fort Worth Stock Show Steer Show. Being invited to judge that show is definitely a notch in the belt, as it is known as the most prestigious and well-known steer show and has been around since 1896. Texas does everything big and WOW, this steer show was something! His judging has taken him all over the country, from coast to coast, but I had never really gone to watch him judge. So, this was a fun thing to do!
Shawn and I flew into Fort Worth for a long weekend. We missed the first day of the show but were there bright and early on Friday for the start of the second day. I was in complete shock at the size of the classes. We were counting more that 60 steer PER CLASS! Because of the sheer volume of steers that entered that arena for 2 days, most had lost their class within 10 feet of entering the ring. My brother had to quickly filter out the top contenders in the class and quickly move them to the middle and let the others continue the loop around and right out the other side. These kids prep for most of a year getting these steers ready and their steers' show career is over in 5 minutes if they don't make the first cut of about 20 steers per class! I guess if you are showing there, you already know your chances are so slim with 1500 steers showing. The vast majority of those steers could win a county fair throughout the country too, so these are VERY good cattle that don't even make the initial cut! It was a sight to behold and as the judge, he did a really good job for two long days.
The Grand Champion Steer brought $550,000!!!
If you'd like to give a listen to a couple of Podcasts interviews he did after the show, here are the links:
324: Fort Worth Steer Show Post Game Podcast with Judge Frank Ward, California
EmpowerU - Minute Differences & Deep Waters... The Post Game Sort Featuring Frank Ward
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