4 Wiley Farm
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Our Winners
  • For Sale
    • Cows
    • Semen
  • Why Minis?
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • In Motion
  • Shop Our Farm
    • Merchandise
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Our Winners
  • For Sale
    • Cows
    • Semen
  • Why Minis?
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • In Motion
  • Shop Our Farm
    • Merchandise

This is Us​ - our life, our story, our farm

The Ohio Beef Expo...2018 Edition

3/26/2018

0 Comments

 
Well...we made it through last week.  

​I am pretty sure I looked like a zombie walking around the office on Monday...but I was there.

​We are pretty much caught up on sleep and even had the rare opportunity to not wake up to an alarm on Saturday morning.  

​The laundry is all done, the trailer is unpacked, the cows have been released from quarantine and are enjoying the beautiful sunshine out in the pastures.  

​I think life is back to normal.  
Picture
photo courtesy of Linde's Livestock Photography
I may sound like a broken record, but the Ohio Beef Expo really is our favorite show of the year.  We pack a lot of activities into a few short days, but we always come home with a lot of great memories.

This year was no different.
After 6 years (can you believe it?) we pretty much have the same routine. 

But, for everything that is the same, there is always so much that is different.  

​Since we only live an hour away, Daniel always brings the tack down to set up on Wednesday night.  He picks up the boys at Grandma's house, just a few miles from the fairgrounds, and then I usually join up with all of them after work. 

​I was lucky this year...I had to work late getting some last minute things done before my vacation days, so by the time I got there, everything was done!  

We made it home pretty early Wednesday night, ate a quick dinner, packed the cooler and made sure everyone's clothes were clean, ironed and ready to go for the rest of the week.  Then it was off to bed because we knew it was the last good night of sleep we would have for a while.  ​​
Picture
photo courtesy of Walker Wiley
We were up bright and early Thursday morning to load the cows onto the trailer and make our way down to the fairgrounds.  ​
Picture
​We spent the day washing the cows and getting them ready for a final clipping.  

​We perused the trade show and Daniel finally bought the new double blower cart he has been wanting all year.  
Picture
All the other breeders rolled in and we had some down time to catch up and spend some quality time together.  

​It was a relaxed and enjoyable day.  

​And then there was Friday.

Picture
The alarm went off a 3:00 a.m.  

​Yep...the middle of the night.  ​
Picture
They got everyone fed, washed, dried and ready for the fitters.  

​They had to have everyone lined up and ready for the show ring by 7:45 a.m.

​This is why we pay fitters...there is much less early morning yelling.
​
Picture
It was a very cold morning...the day was supposed to warm up pretty nice...but none of us were prepared for the early cold. 

We may not be able to make a lot of friends on our own...but we sure made a lot of friends when we pulled out the heater...
Picture
It's show time!
Picture
A friend of ours was a first time Ohio Beef Expo exhibitor.  He wasn't comfortable taking his cow into the ring, so Isaac helped him out with showing his heifer.  

​This little heifer ended up winning her division.  
Picture
Next up was Jewel and Ribbon in the same class.
Picture
Ribbon was feeling her Wheaties that morning, but he finally got her to set up.  

​She is normally so calm...it must have been too early in the morning for her too.

​Ribbon placed first in the class and Jewel placed 2nd.
Picture
Ribbon ended up with Reserve Division Champion.  

​***spoiler alert...the heifer that won this division went on to win Grand Champion Heifer***

​The other heifer is really nice.  We competed against her in Louisville, and her mom is the one that beat Rain in Louisville several years ago.  

​We will meet again in November at Louisville...maybe we will beat her next time.
Picture
Next up was Apollo in the bull classes.  

​Nick showed Apollo for us.  
Picture
Apollo placed third in his class. 

​It was a tough class, but he is still young. 
Picture
Saturday afternoon Walker participated in junior showmanship. 

He went into Expo in 14th place and the top 10 receive awards at the banquet.  If he placed in the top 10 at Expo, he would have a good chance of being in the top 10 for the season.

​As much as we didn't want to tear ourselves away from the sale barn to get him ready for showmanship, we knew that Walker had to try and give it his all.  

​Walker did a great job, especially when there were 3 loose cows just across that white fence, but he didn't get pulled.

​He was a little disappointed, but he was done for the day and I think he was relieved that he could relax and go find his friends again.  
Picture
Sunday was all about waiting.

​There were 950 cows in the junior show.  They run one ring for heifers and one ring for steers.  They do an amazing job keeping everything running quickly and smoothly.

​However, I don't care what you do...it takes FOREVER to get 950 cows through the show ring.

​We waited...and waited...and waited....

​We started to get the cows ready....

​And then the judge sped up.​
Picture
We made it to the ring just in time.
Picture
This was the final show of the season and it was great to see the numbers of Miniature Herefords grow this year.  The boys in this ring have become true friends.  
Picture
Isaac won the miniature division and secured his place at the top for the season's points.  
Picture
Ribbon also won first place in Best of the Buckeye.  

​It was a good week and a good season.  

​By the middle of February we are always burnt out and extremely tired from the winter show season, but finishing the season on a high note always makes it worthwhile.  
Picture
We had to wait about another hour and half for the final drive. 

​We were tired and Ribbon was just DONE!

​But, it is a great honor to be in the final drive, and we are always proud to represent the Miniature Hereford breed and showcase them to the cattle world. 
Picture
Isaac and Walker love to show.  

​They love this cattle life and the show circuit.

They are good at what they do.  

​Even if their cows don't succeed in the ring, they are great showmen and make our family and our farm proud.  
Picture
Show day is the culmination of day after day of hard work, doing the tough stuff when no one is looking, and never giving up.  

​This year we were proud to show animals that were all born on our farm.  
​
​Now we are home and calving has begun.  

​We are anxious to see what new calves we will have for the next show season.  

You might also like...
The Ohio Beef Expo 2018 Edition
Proud and Proud of It
The End of Another BEST Season
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Let's Connect

    Picture

    Author

    Hello!  I am Heather... the city girl turned mom to manure loving country boys. My husband and I both grew up in the city, but spent weekends visiting grandparents in the country.  We are first generation farmers who learn best by almost always doing things the hard way.  I hope you enjoy following along with our adventures down on the farm.

    Shop Our Farm

    Archives

    November 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Categories

    All
    10 On The 10th
    Books
    Calving
    Character
    Everything Else
    Food
    Hay
    How To
    Photography
    Showing
    Things We Love

    RSS Feed

    Popular Posts

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

The Cows

​Why Minis?
Our Winners
For Sale

The Family

Home
About Us
Contact Us
Disclosure

Follow Us

Blog - Down on the Farm
Instagram
You Tube
Facebook

Associations

​Miniature Hereford Breeders Association
American Hereford Association
Ohio Cattlemen's Association