FORT WORTH - Cars pulled into the stock show grounds in droves. Cold weather and chill winds wouldn’t stop attendees from having a good day. From the midway’s flashing lights and thrilling rides to barns full of animals, there was no lack of activities offered to the public.
The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo’s 128th edition opened to guests Friday. Lasting through Feb. 8, it’s the city’s largest public event.
Matt Brockman, Stock Show and Rodeo communications director, said the first stock show was held in 1896 and has been tightly woven into the fabric of Fort Worth ever since.
“It’s an opportunity for people to come out and have some fun, to maybe learn a little bit about the livestock industry and our Western way of life,” Brockman said.
The Western lifestyle was on full display in the animal barns. People gathered from all across the country to show off their livestock. From chickens to cattle, there are a variety of species to observe.
Shallowater, Texas, resident Dylan Hoes, 16, has been showing animals for seven years. He started with rabbits and is currently showing LaMancha goats. His mom showed when she was a kid and Hoes said he got into it because of his love for animals.
Hoes said he brought two goats, Ragin’ Cajun and Dippin Dot, to the stock show. Since they’re not meat goats, they’re eligible to compete again next year.
Cheraw, Colorado, resident Timmery Foster, 26, said she made the drive to show her goats. The first step to getting to the stock show was getting her animals checked up to ensure they were disease-free to cross state lines.
She brought five goats to show, including a great-granddaughter and her great-grandmother. Alder Grove Cowboy Latte is a milking Toggenburg goat and has been shown each year Foster has competed at the Fort Worth Stock Show.
“Latte has come all three years,” she said. “Last year she was best udder in show, so we’re hoping to do that again.”
Foster said livestock is important to her as a part of her career at the Farm Service Agency.
“[The goats] teach you respect for the animals. They teach you integrity and they teach you a hard work ethic,” she said.
Foster said that she was accompanied by her mother, a family friend and her daughter, who has begun to show animals in tiny tots. She said she hopes her child will spend a long life with livestock and love it just as much as she does.
“She’s allowed to chase whatever passion she has, but right now, she loves all types of animals,” Foster said. “I don’t see that going away.”
Blue Creek, Ohio, resident Bryan Hazelbaker, 50, made a 14.5-hour trip to transport around 12 goats in partnership with two other farms to Texas.
“We tried to stop about every four hours to offer water. We had feed in each one of their individual pens so that they could eat if they got hungry on the road, but we drove all night to get here,” Hazelbaker said.
He prepped a Boer goat named Halo for the upcoming competition. Boer goats are a meat goat breed. Hazelbaker said judges look for structure, to make sure the goats can handle themselves, and breed character, or traits that are specific to the kinds of goats being shown.
He and his son started showing goats after they were bored waiting for their cattle to arrive at a 4-H show, Hazelbaker said. He asked his son if he wanted to try another project the next year. Since then, the two have been showing them for around 14 years now.
“It’s great,” he said. “It’s a nice family event, so we’re hoping that the grandkids will want to do it as well.”
This is the third time they are competing in the Fort Worth Stock Show and their second year in a row.
“The competition is very tough,” Hazelbaker said. “There are a lot of breeders here that have had national champions and the competition is going to be very stiff at the show. It’s one of the premiere shows in the United States for the Boer goat.”
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