For the past five summers, my family and I have entered each show season with one goal: winning the Indiana State Fair. This year, Roxy helped make that goal a reality when she was named Supreme Champion Breeding Heifer. I am Cohen Kober, a 13-year-old eighth grader from Liberty Center, Indiana. My parents grew up showing cattle and taught my brothers and me that success is built during the hours no one sees and through the small details repeated every day. That goal has shaped much of our life, from practices and games to family plans. Not every season ended as we hoped, but each taught us something that prepared us for this year. Roxy is a Maine-Angus heifer that I showed as a Mainetainer. She was raised by Kathy Lehman of Ohio, and we purchased her from Tim Schaeffer and Schaeffer Show Cattle. We thought Roxy was unique because she had the potential to become an outstanding donor cow while also competing at a high level in the show ring. Finding a female capable of both is rare. Roxy was enjoyable to work with, but at one point she developed a habit of getting away from us. After trying nearly everything, we put a ring in her nose. Thankfully, it worked and she settled back into a consistent routine. The countless hours I spent working with her strengthened our bond, and I believe that connection helped her show so well when it mattered most. During the Grand Drive, the nearby hogs unsettled Roxy, and she wasn’t presenting herself as well as usual. I worried the judge might not see her at her best. When he began walking toward us, I honestly couldn’t believe it. After all our hours together, being selected was a moment I will never forget.
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