It's Her Time

4 Wiley Clover was to be our next show champion, but honestly she spent most of the year being overshadowed by 22 Finding Treasure.  

​But it was finally her time!

Looking back at this year, Clover did well...she won several reserve division titles and was the Reserve Grand Champion in the junior show at the Ohio State Fair...but she was kind of like the younger sibling that was just there in the shadows.  

We had a lot of fun with Treasure this year, but she got put out to pasture to just be a cow after Louisville.  

We didn't have any new calves to add to our show string, so it was just Clover going to Denver.  

Our show string looks a lot different this year...because it's not just the 4 Wiley Farm show cows.  
We have been very blessed to meet some amazing people in the show ring, and this year we have teamed up with Cow Swamp Creek Farms and LOV Mini Herefords to show all of our cattle together.  It has been a blast showing with this crew and watching the partnership develop.  

We are able to pull from different genetics and ages to combine the best of three farms.  We have the new barn that is perfect for breaking, working and washing cows, and we have the young strong men who have the knowledge and strength for the behind-the-scenes work.  We generally have to bring in some additional fitting help at the shows, but we have all developed our own jobs and place on the team.  

And as some like to say..."It all begins in the wash rack!"

The old man with bad knees even has a place!  

He sat out in the cold holding a spot in line so we could get the trailer loaded.  

He is also our comic relief and always keeps us laughing.

And don't ever underestimate the power of chocolate chip and molasses cookies!  

As we were planning our trip to Denver for the National Western Stock Show, things kind of took on a life of their own.  It was a big (and sometimes confusing) job of getting lodging, driving, airline tickets, car rentals, meals, hotel rooms, places for the cows to stay, and luggage coordinated for twelve people from six different locations...but we got it done.  

We did buy a bunch of rodeo tickets...but we missed the rodeo.  The show went long and I rushed back to the barn to hand off the tickets so that at least some of them could go.  Bobby looked at me and said, "we aren't going to the rodeo...we still have cows to wash and we are all here together in the barn.  We just want to be together tonight, so we will all stay right here together."  

Daniel, Isaac and Bobby left a day earlier than planned to beat the polar vortex and foot of snow that was going to hit the midwest.  They put in a long first day of travel to get ahead of the storm.  They hit some ice on day two, but the main highway stayed clear.  

They were on an adventure and having the time of their lives.

Everyone was so excited for this trip.  Partly because it was the first time that all twelve of us had been together, our families would all be together, and we were just going to have a great time and didn't have the pressure and stress of trying to win.  Treasure's career was over and while we had some good cattle on the trailer, we didn't think they were the caliber of many that we would be showing against.  

Denver is the World Miniature Hereford Show after all...

So that is why we were so shocked (and not really paying attention) when Walker won Grand Champion Female in the junior show with 4 Wiley Clover.  

Denver is the one place we didn't have a title from...that we really wanted a buckle from.

And they did it!

At the backdrop, the judge couldn't quit talking about Clover and how good she was.  He also commented on how Walker showed her and "just stuck her!".

Sometimes we have to fight with Walker to get him to compete in showmanship.  After fitting all day and then dragging a tired cow through the show ring, most times Walker and the cows are just about done.  It is frustrating when your cow is too tired to work with you, so sometimes Walker will just scratch and not join the fight for showmanship.  

However, after the comments from the judge, there was no way we were going to let Walker bail out on showmanship (and he didn't try this time).  

Which is good...because he ended up winning Reserve Senior Showman and claimed his second buckle of the event.  

Open show day...our stomach's were in knots.  

It was finally starting to sink in that Clover really was all that, but I still don't think we believed she had a chance to win the open show.  However, we also didn't want her to get buried, because then it would feel like her junior show win was just a fluke and not really deserved.  

Clover won her class...I started to breath a little bit.

She won her division...we started to relax a little bit.  She was going to be in the final drive, and even if she didn't win, she was lining up with the best of the best.  

And then it happened...

Walker got the Grand Champion handshake!

And momma fell apart...and ugly cried.

4 Wiley Clover won Grand Champion Heifer...twice...

At the National Western Stock Show...

At the Miniature Hereford World Show...

Born, bred and raised right here on our farm....

It is a dream come true...but a dream none of us really ever thought would come true.  

We are still in awe, but so proud of the work we have done.  It has taken years of building our herd, experimenting with genetics, and day after day of hard work to get to this point.  

The work doesn't end here.  There is a new group of calves being weaned today and moving into the show barn to begin their new careers.  

Calves will start hitting the ground in about three weeks, and then the cycle will start all over again.  

​But for now...we are enjoying the victory.  We are so thankful for the crew that helped us get where we are today and we can't wait until we are all together again at the next show.  

And one more buckle to add to the buckle cabinet...

4 Wiley Farm received the 2024 Ranch of Distinction I title.  This award recognizes farms and ranches that have competed throughout the show season and is awarded to the farm with the most show season points for the year.  Both Clover and Treasure helped us achieve this title with their sucesses throughout the year.  

We are very honored to be recognized for the collective work of our farm and the consisent success of our animals.