BY JANE BLOODWORTH ROWE
BACK BAY — Raising and training large animals isn’t easy, and showing them can be particularly challenging, but the youth who participated in the Virginia Beach 4-H Livestock Show & Sale on Friday, June 3, rose to that challenge.
Fifty-four contestants successfully showed their livestock in front of an eager audience of friends, parents, loved ones and southern Virginia Beach residents gathered at the Creeds Ruritan Community Complex in the rural section of the city. The young people participating in the event ranged in age from third graders to high school seniors.
Most were from Virginia Beach, but a few North Carolina and Chesapeake residents also participated.
The daylong event included an auction and shows in both market class and showmanship. Market competition judges the animals on their weight, muscle to fat ratio and general condition. Showmanship measures the animal’s performance in the ring.
“This is where the youth get to showcase their specific breed of livestock,” said Jonette Mungo, Virginia Beach’s 4-H youth extension agent. “It takes months of work and dedication, with feeding, healthcare and training.”
The young participants were judged on their ability to lead their animals around the ring and to position them. Some showed only one species, while others showed all four.
Some competitors had years of experience working with animals. Others were there for their first show and sale.
Kolby Snow, 18, was among the most experienced young people at the event. She serves as president of the 4-H Equestrian Club, and she raises lambs, sheep, goats and hogs. Julia Boyett, 8, a third grader at Creeds Elementary School, was the youngest contestant. She showed a goat.
Snow, a senior at Kellam High School, keeps large animals at her Blackwater home, and she plans to attend Ferrum College in the fall and major in agriculture business. Lambs, she said, are her favorite breed of livestock because they’re so challenging.
“They can be so good one day and bad the next,” she said.
She enjoys working with all four species of livestock, though, as well as with horses.
Boyett, a Strawbridge resident, showed this year for the first time. She and her goat, Cocoa, were recognized as grand champions in their division. She raised a goat because her brother, Tripp Boyett, 10, has also raised goats, she said.
“They have more personality,” said Brickhouse, an eighth-grade student at Hickory Middle School.
The show animals were, in general, well-behaved, but there were some challenges. The hogs could be a little lazy while the steers sometimes wanted to balk, and goats tended to be playful and mischievous. Sometimes, the young people had to encourage the hogs and steers to keep moving, while the goats wanted to scamper and rear.
He wanted to see the kids keep the hogs and sheep moving in a circle in front of him. Hoof and leg placement was particularly important for the goats. All the kids “did incredibly well and worked very hard,” he said.
More than 30 volunteers, including 4-H leaders, parents and community members helped with the event, Mungo said.
“You can’t beat this group of people,” she added. “This is a real orchestrated effort.”
VIRGINIA BEACH 4-H LIVESTOCK SHOW & SALE 2022 RESULTS
Overall Showmanship Champions
- Novice Hog: Colleen Simpkins, grand; Hayden Putz, reserve
- Junior Hog: Emily Dawley, grand; Conor Whalen, reserve
- Intermediate Hog: Leah Gentry, grand; Eli Schratwieser, reserve
- Senior Hog: Austin Cox, grand; Grace Schratwieser, reserve
- Intermediate Steer: Sophie Shepherd, grand; Jack Shepherd, reserve
- Senior Steer: Kolby Snow, grand; Logan Gentry, reserve
- Novice Sheep: Sawyer Phillips, grand
- Junior Sheep: Emily Dawley, grand; Harper Williams, reserve
- Intermediate Sheep: Sophie Shepherd, grand; Selena Perez, reserve
- Senior Sheep: Kimberly Brickhouse, grand; Grace Schratwieser, reserve
- Novice Goat: Julia Boyett, grand; Gracelyn Phillips, reserve
- Junior Goat: Luke Brickhouse, grand; Tripp Boyett, reserve
- Intermediate Goat: Eli Schratwieser, grand; Selena Perez, reserve
- Senior Goat: Kimberly Brickhouse, grand; Anna Somerindyke, reserve
Senior Showman
- Kimberly Brickhouse
Market & Breeding Class Results
- Market Hog: Austin Cox, grand; Austin Cox, reserve; Kolby Snow, 3rd overall
- Market Goat: Anna Somerindyke, grand; Selena Perez, reserve; Selena Perez, 3rd overall
- Market Steer: Kolby Snow, grand; Lily Dawley, reserve; Logan Gentry, 3rd overall
- Market Lamb: Kolby Snow, grand; Desiree Ziegler, reserve; Kimberly Brickhouse, 3rd overall
- Breeding Doe: Anna Somerindyke, grand; Kimberly Brickhouse, reserve; Wyatt Lowe, 3rd overall
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