ILLINOIS STATE FAIR
Beckmier. I’m looking forward to showing our goats, sheep and a gilt at the American Royal in Kansas City this fall. As I think about the summer of 2023, I’m thankful for the self-discipline and motivation that showing livestock helps you develop at an early age. If you want to be successful in the show ring, the work starts at home in the barn – where no one is watching. It reminds me a lot of my favorite sport, wrestling. If you want to excel on the mat, you’ve got to put the time in. It just doesn’t happen without a lot of work. And
we stood at the backdrop with all our family after the show, I was reminded it takes a lot of people to help you reach your goals. I’m fortunate to have a family who believes in the value of showing livestock and is willing to step up and help in any way that they can. I need to give a big thanks to my uncle David for helping me keep my barrow cool before we went into the ring and for running all over the fairgrounds to help me out that day as our family was showing in multiple rings. My sisters deserve a lot of credit, too. Olivia is in charge of skin and hair and does a great job with it. Harper did a lot of heavy lifting in the spring when Olivia and I were balancing sports and the barn. Of course, we couldn’t do anything without our parents who sacrifice a lot to help us get down the road. It’s truly a family effort. Winning is awesome – I won’t deny that. But I can’t imagine moments like this meaning as much without friends and family being there, too. That’s what makes the livestock industry something I want to be a part of for the rest of my life. ■
sometimes, even when you do put all the work in, the wins don’t follow. But for me,
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that’s just motivation to keep working hard. I never expected to win the state fair, although it’s always something we have strived to do. When
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