TITLE? Growing up I always loved raising animals for stock shows and fairs around south Texas. I placed every year and I was grateful for that. Since the third grade, blackface lambs and goats were practically my life. I started raising them when I turned nine years old and stopped when I turned fourteen. When I became a freshman in high school I wanted to raise something different. Something bigger that had more competition and would make me work harder than I had already worked with lambs and goats. I asked my parents if I could raise hogs my freshman year instead of lambs and goats. I knew nothing about them, but I was willing to dedicate my time raising hogs. My parents freaked a little bit because I caught them off guard and …show more content…
He looked at me with a big smile on his face that made him look excited because I asked, and said “You are looking at about four hundred to six hundred dollars per hog, which we get in exactly one month from today, plus where you are going to keep it, and the feed it will need along with supplies.” My face went numb and my mouth dropped open. “Thank you,” is all I said in shocked as I texted my parents right away. I mean money wasn’t a big issue because I had money saved from the past fairs I could use. What scared me was where was I going to keep them, since with my past lambs and goats I was able to keep them in my backyard and hogs were unacceptable within city …show more content…
My father picked them up at school and later I would see them when I go to the ranch. As time passed, my daily routine was waking up at five in the morning to feed them and walk them, and after school do the same thing. I worked hard every morning and watched videos showing me the proper way to show hogs. I cleaned the pens every evening before going home and made sure they were okay. The bond I created them is something I will forever cherish. Bailey and Diva became my best friends for five months before the fair came around. Time flew by and it was already the day to show. I kissed my hogs and got them ready as I entered the show ring. My brother showed Diva since she was a smaller hog and I showed Bailey since she was in the heavyweight class. My heart was racing so fast, and I could see my mother with the corner of my eye saying to relax and smile. As twenty minutes passed by the judge announced on the microphone, “Good afternoon folks, in this heavy weight class it is kind of hard to place since they all look good. I want to congratulate every single of these twenty-two individuals for their hard work and dedication. At this time, I will place the top ten. Thank you.” The judge passed by me twice and I panicked as he started placing hogs from tenth place to first place. I still was not chosen as he already picked tenth place to fourth place, which means only three spots were left. It was down to
welcomed explanation and a shock to my parents. On the one hand, my mother and father had
There is a current issue in the United States regarding the country’s population of wild horses on public lands. There is simply too many of these horses and they undoubtedly need a place to go. The issues regarding over populated herds, which results to them being placed in holding pens, and then waiting in these pens to be removed and adopted will be discussed in detail in the following report. These unique creatures are wild, which is part of the problem on why they are not being adopted right after they get relocated to the holding pens once taken from the range. As a horse lover, I can understand why ranchers or other horse loving people would rather buy a horse that isn’t wild, but they should be considered for adoption based on the fact that there is documented proof showing that these wild horses can be trained and can perform at the same caliber as bred horses. Ben Masters proved this on his iconic film, Unbranded, by riding only wild horses through the west.
Singer, Peter. "Animal Interests." The New York Review of Books, March 28, 1985, Vol. 32, No. 5.
Cutting weight is a common practice in the sport of wrestling. In fact, wrestlers have been shedding pounds to qualify for lower weight classes since the NCAA made wrestling a sport in 1928. Prior to any match, disciplined wrestlers will subject themselves to grueling workouts in rubber suits and overheated rooms. The wrestlers try to sweat the weight off, risking severe dehydration all for the sake of winning. Unfortunately, 21-year-old Jeff Reese, and two other wrestlers, died before he reached the wrestling mat. Doctors reported that Reese died from a heart malfunction and kidney failure (Younge, 1998).
On January 19,1992, in Des Moines, Iowa a future Olympic gymnast was born by the name of Shawn Machel Johnson (Shawn Johnson Biography). The first score Shawn ever received was given to her on the day she was born and she scored terrible. She scored “0” on her Apgar test, which stands for appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration (Johnson, Chapter 1). Shawn is an only child of Terri and Doug Johnson. When Shawn was nine months old, her parents looked up one day to see her toddling into their room, after that she never slowed down. One time she climbed up the kitchen counter and tried skydiving off of it, when Shawn landed, her teeth went through her bottom lip and there was blood everywhere (Johnson, Chapter 1)! Since Shawn was physically active her mom had to find an outlet for all of her energy. At about three years old Shawn was enrolled into her first gymnastics class. She loved it and so did her mom because it was a large, open, and soft area for her daughter to play. For three years, even though the coaches were strict Shawn enjoyed running and tumbling in the little gym and she always had a smile on her face.
"Livestock Show." San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, 2013. Web. Nov. 2013. .
When we first arrived I’d thought we’d taken a wrong turn and went to a traveling gypsy convention by mistake. The whole field outside the school was filled with tents of various sizes and colors. 200 wrestlers, about thirty of which were girls, filtered about the area. As my soon-to-be teammates and I headed to the first practice, anxiety gnawed at my stomach like a dog with a bone (FL). I wanted to impress everybody, and prove that I could make it in this sport. Before we started, the coach patted me on the shoulder. “I’ve got your back all right.” he told me. I smiled and nodded. At least one person was looking out for me.
Raising and showing pigs will teach you so many valuable lessons that you cannot get anywhere else, so following a few steps to ensure that the pig is properly taken care of is well worth it in the end! Although raising livestock does take a lot of time, money, and equipment, it will all pay off well in the end! You should always consider what to look for in a show pig, how to properly care for it throughout the year, and how to show it at your local county fair or jackpot show!
He, of course loved trying, but was not that great of a milker. After having enough milk to feel accomplished, they returned inside for breakfast. I climbed out of my barbed wire fenced field, once again ready to go talk to my fellow farm animals, but mainly I went to see my new acquaintances, the cows. As I went to them, I didn’t care if they would understand me. I started boasting about how nice and groomed and handsome I looked. I claimed how I was more ready compared to usual to go to my next show and how I have not looked better in a very long time. However, before I could finish with my conversation, I heard the house’s front door open, then close. From my current position, I could not see the house, but I still ran back to my area, beginning to climb over the fence. As I was climbing, Jeff jumped out and shot his cap gun at me, scaring me. Before I go on, this is sad and the reason I wrote this short story to explain why I cannot compete in the next llama show. Ok, as he shot, I jumped into the air. When I returned to the ramp I was on, I slipped off and got stuck in the barbed wire fence. From there I waited as Jeff ran inside and told his mom and dad about the accident. Tom ran to see what Jeff told him to see me stuck. He ran back and when came Carol and Jeff were with him and Tom having scissors. From that point, I realized I had made a mistake because my fur was gone. After about 45 minutes, I was tired, scratched up, and cold without my fur, but I was free. It took about 3 months to grow back my fur and by that point, Tom didn’t need to take me to shows for money because the cows were making enough money for him, Carol, and Jeff. Since they didn’t need the money and since my winning streak was over, due to my lack of participation, they didn’t take me as often. I became sad and depressed because I liked going.
So, I got ready for my next match, which was against Jeff Petro from Wray, CO. As we warmed up in the same corner, I looked at him with some fear to tell you the truth. This guy was ripped, ...
Last but certainly not least, these wild animals are likely to leaving trails behind. In general, you can find them in bushes and muddy paths with foot of these animals can easily lead you to these beasts to hunt some. 2.Rifle and Ammo A rifle with .243 calibre and up will certainly work to your advantage when it comes to the right wild hog hunting adventure. When you shoot a hog or boar, ensure that you hit their important parts like the heart, pelvis, lungs, and other vital organs.
CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, echoes through my head as I walk to the middle of the mat. "At 160lbs Aidan Conner of La Junta vs. Rodney Jones of Hotchkiss." All I can think of is every bead of sweat, every drip of blood, every mile, every push up, every tear. Why? All of this: just to be victorious. All in preparation for one match, six minutes. For some these six minutes may only be a glimpse, and then again for some it may be the biggest six minutes of their life. Many get the chance to experience it more than once. Some may work harder and want it more than others, but they may never get the chance. All they get is a moral victory. Every kid, every man comes into the tournament with a goal. For some is to win, for some is to place, others are just happy to qualify. These six minutes come on a cold frigid night in February at a place called the Pepsi Center. Once a year this gathering takes place when the small and the large, the best of the best, come to compete in front thousands of people. I am at the Colorado State Wrestling Championships.
The start of the 2002 track season found me concerned with how I would perform. After a disastrous bout with mononucleosis ended my freshmen track season, the fear of failure weighed heavily on my mind. I set a goal for myself in order to maintain focus and to push myself like nothing else would. My goal for my sophomore track season was to become a state champion in the 100 meter hurdles. I worked hard everyday at practice and went the extra mile, like running every Sunday, to be just that much closer to reaching my goal. The thought of standing highest on the podium in the center of the field, surrounded by hundreds of spectators, overcame my thoughts of complaining every time we had a hard workout. When I closed my eyes, I pictured myself waiting in anticipation as other competitors names were called out, one by one, until finally, the booming voice announced over the loudspeaker, "...and in first place, your 2002 100 meter hurdle champion, from Hotchkiss, Connie Dawson." It was visions like these that drove me to work harder everyday.
After those two years we have had rabbits, chickens, beef, baby pigs, sows, boars, and turkeys. I have learn how to take care of these animals and there mostly the same way except with different feed but you do learn things about these animals that help you with others such as with the turkeys and chickens we had some males that weren’t the nicest and would attack you when you turned your back on them which helped me with my feeders and steers because I learned to always keep an eye on them. The biggest experience though comes with raising pigs because people do not know how hard it actually is and how difficult it can become when you don’t have the best equipment. The dedication is probably the hardest part about the pig business because you have to go outside everyday and make sure everything is taken care of which when you're not feeling good then it really becomes a real pain. This has been a great experience that has made me who I am and why I am so laid back compared to some
My opponent’s name was John Doe. There were other competitors at the tournament, but they had never posed any threat to my title. For as long as I had competed in this tournament, I had easily taken the black belt championship in my division. John, however, was the most phenomenal martial artist I had ever had the honor of witnessing at my young age of thirteen. And he was in my division. Although he was the same rank, age, size, and weight as I, he surpassed me in almost every aspect of our training. His feet were lightning, and his hands were virtually invisible in their agile swiftness. He wielded the power of a bear while appearing no larger than I. His form and techniques were executed with near perfection. Although I had never defeated his flawlessness before, victory did not seem unattainable. For even though he was extraordinary, he was not much more talented than I. I am not saying that he was not skilled or even that he was not more skilled than I, for he most certainly was, but just not much more than I. I still had one hope, however little, of vanquishing this incredible adversary, for John had one weakness: he was lazy. He didn’t enjoy practicing long hours or working hard. He didn’t have to. Nevertheless, I had found my passage to triumph.