THIS IS WHY I JUDGE… When I first started I would’ve said the reason I judge and want to be involved with collegiate judging is because I love livestock and I love competition and judging brings both of those things together. Now I would say my reason for what I do is to see the impact this program makes on young people in preparing them for whatever they decide to do. It’s so rewarding for me to see our “kids” go on to make an impact and to see them have success means more than winning any contest. ● livestock judging team and I’m so thankful for the great support and leadership from our administration, who are truly invested in our kids and go above and beyond to ensure they have success here and when they transfer onto the next level. TELL US ABOUT YOUR TEAM AND JUDGING PROGRAM Our program at Redlands Community College is located in El Reno, Oklahoma. I’ve been here since the summer of 2019, so currently I’m finishing up year 7 here. Between the freshmen and sophomore groups we generally have from 30-40 students that participate on our judging team, which is made up of about half in-state students and half out of state students, and in a typical year we will compete in close to 20 contests, starting in August and wrapping up in April. Also, my wife Macey is HUGE part of our team, she helps me coach but also is the advisor for most of our judgers and keeps them on the right path academically. There’s no way we could do what we do without her. I always like to brag on our program and our students that make it special, we are so lucky to have such great young people that are part of our team and make this place what it is. I always get asked what I think is the best part of our school and without hesitation I always say it’s the people. Within our ag department every person that teaches an ag class has competed on a collegiate
could get it turned around. I’ve been really grateful to have some great teams and unbelievable kids come through our program but there’s nothing that makes you appreciate having success like getting your teeth kicked in, so to win the Houston contest back to back years has been really sweet when I look back to where I started.
WHAT WOULD YOU TELL YOUR 8-YEAR-OLD SELF ABOUT WHERE YOU ARE TODAY? The best advice I could give my 8-year old self is to always believe in yourself and you don’t have to be perfect and have immediate results in everything you do. It’s ok to not be good at something when you start off and anything worth being good at takes so much repeated effort, and sometimes takes years to get where you hope to be. We live in a time where if you don’t have
instant gratification, most people give up and listen to thenegativity and outside noise of other people. You’ve got to stay true to who you are and block out the outside voices, whether it be good or bad, and stay consistent in your effort put forth, if you’re winning- keep working hard to stay ahead because there’s others that are going to be coming for you, if you’re losing- keep working hard to get better and eventually you’ll have your day.
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HOW HAS YOUR BROTHER INFLUENCED YOU OVER THE YEARS? It seems like no matter what I was involved in growing up my brother was right there with me. From showing, to raising livestock, to judging, to coaching, we were always in the fight together and when one of us had success it was like both of us having success. There isn’t a day that goes by that we aren’t talking about livestock and livestock judging and I’m thankful we are able to be in this industry together and I’m thankful that we get to bounce ideas off of each other and it is nice to have each other to celebrate the good days and grind through the bad days together.
WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND IN THE INDUSTRY? I guess my involvement in the livestock industry started when I was born, my family was in the livestock auction business when my dad was growing up where they owned and
operated the sale barn in Nevada for forty years. My dad was always involved in showing livestock and instilled that passion in us from a young age and when we sold the sale barn when I was 8, our family started raising club calves
full time. Since then raising show stock has been our sole income and I’m really proud and thankful to have grown up in the business and I’m also proud of my dad for being able to rely on raising cattle to provide for our family. I have a lot
of respect for families who rely on selling show stock, regardless of the species, for their sole income because I promise it’s not easy to depend on a crop of livestock to make or break you.
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