Rodeo Empire Agency: Texas

This is a website we are very excited about! The group and their direction, paired with our design techniques, created the perfect look for the Rodeo Empire Agency, Inc. (REA).

Cowboys Logan Medlin and Turtle Powell are just a few of the clients that REA is working with to help them get the most out of their advertising and promotions.

Christi Bland and Kathleen Collier make up the Hereford, Texas based REA, whose motto is "Helping Cowboys Stay Cowboys." They both come from rodeo families and saw a need to keep the Western heritage and way of life alive. Thus, they created the Rodeo Empire Agency.

REA offers cost effective advertising to their clients for their target markets, while promoting them on a regional, state and/or national level.

Check them out, www.reatexas.com! They are ready and willing to take you to the next level.

Taylor Show Cattle: Iowa

Taylor Show Cattle, Bloomfield, Iowa, is one of our newest sites. We are happy to assist this great couple in promoting their cattle breeding, fitting and marketing operation.

The operation, started in 2000, focuses on high quality Simmental, Maine and Angus cross cattle. That allows them to market to all types of operations from purebred seedstock to promotional bulls.

They attend all national shows and offer cattle that are the total package, with a huge presence at the annual Iowa State Fair each August.

Taylor Show Cattle focuses on the maternal side of the business. With that in mind, they are able to create females that will go into donor pens across the nation and that it their difference.

They offer winners via private treaty, off the farm, year round. And, they love to work with people striving to get into the winners circle and into the photo backdrop.

This group is never more than a phone call away for their current and future customers. You can call Randy, 641-208-6653, anytime to purchase cattle, talk marketing tools and get a jump start on your genetic package.

Visit their new site, www.taylorshowcattle.com, live now from us.

Denver Photo A Day Challenge

Join us for a fun way of showcasing what's going on at Denver this year! Post your pics on Instagram and tag @ranchhousedesigns and #rhdphotoaday. Post your photos from ANY of the categories on ANY day. Each day we will choose one favorite photo to win an RHD prize. Prizes will vary each day but will be t-shirts, caps, RHD hoodies, inspirational metal art and more. Then, after Denver, we will post each of our daily winners on our Facebook page and our fans will choose our "Best in Show" Denver photo. That winner will receive a free ticket to our April Livestock Marketing Workshop!

Kohlhaas Cattle Co., Iowa

We are excited to feature one of our recent cattle website designs, Kohlhaas Cattle Co. of Lu Verne, Iowa.

The Kohlhaas family came to us earlier in 2012 because they really liked the work we had done for lots of other Iowa club calf producers, and also the website we had just done for Cyclone Trace.

And, no surprise, when we got the design instructions for KCC, guess what their design preference was....Red and Gold, Iowa State colors.

We love working with customers of all backgrounds, but family farms are always special to us. Kohlhaas Cattle Company is a 3-generation family cattle and grain farm. Their business began in 1989, when they bought their first club calf for a 4-H project at the Kossuth County Fair.

Like many others in the business, once they had that first calf, they were hooked. The Kohlhaas's said that that first calf ignited a passion within their entire family and motivated them to work harder each year to grow their success in the show cattle industry.

I guess if you had to say what is the most unique thing about this family, it would be their niche in market heifers. They are pretty much the experts on market heifers. In fact, they have exhibited FOUR grand champion market heifers at the Iowa State Fair and also two reserve grand champion market heifers at the Iowa State Fair. So yeah, they are the people that when you see them in your class, you are silently bummed because you know they'll be so hard to beat!

Since that first calf in 1989, more than 20 years ago, KCC has developed a respected program with proven consistency in the show ring. They use their experiences from what they learned while showing all those champions to help their clients.

This really was an awesome group to work with -- and I hope you will check them out at http://kohlhaascattleco.com.

And yeah, if you are in the market for a market heifer -- you know where to go!

LivestockJudges.org

Are you a show manager? Or a livestock judge? If so, we invite you to check out a new website we have been working on - www.livestockjudges.org. This is a new site that is sort of like a match.com for shows and judges.

If you are a show manager, this is a great tool for finding judges in your area, or finding some new judges that maybe you have not used before.

If you are a judge, this is another great tool to get your name and qualifications out there, and possibly connect with new shows too.

We are proud to be one of the collaborators on this site, and we hope you will check it out!

Rachel Cutrer & Cari Rincker win Awards at A&M

Earlier this month we were very excited to celebrate two young women winning big awards at Texas A&M!

Rachel Cutrer and Cari Rincker (a client of RHD) were selected as the two winners of the TAMU Outstanding Young Alumni award from the College of Ag.

Here are the 2 videos about the winners, we are really happy for them!
Rachel's Video:

Cari's Video:

2012-2013 RHD Scholars Announced

Twenty-seven young professionals have been selected to participate in the first annual RHD Scholars program! We are so proud to have created this mentorship program designed to recognize and build the brightest aspiring livestock marketing and advertising professionals. We had more than 100 applicants from 35 different universities, and are excited to be working with this group of students.

The 2012-2013 RHD scholars are:

Adelyn Allen, a junior agricultural leadership and development major at Texas A&M University;

Sierra Angell, a junior agriculture major at University of Missouri;

Kali Begalka, a senior animal science and agricultural communications major at Oklahoma State University;

Emily Brinkman, a senior agricultural communications major at Oklahoma State University;

Michaela Buford, a sophomore agribusiness major at Lone Star College;

Sarah Caffey, a sophomore agricultural communications major at Texas A&M University;

Bailey Core, a freshman animal science and agricultural communications major at Iowa State University;

Ashley Culpepper, a senior agricultural communications major at Auburn University;

Carrie Elmore, a senior animal science major at Clemson University;

Chloe Geye, a junior animal science major at Texas A&M University;

Victoria Glaser, a freshman agricultural business major at Louisiana State University;

Kelsey Jones, a junior agricultural communications major at Texas Tech University;

Jordan Kuhn, a freshman agricultural communications major at Purdue University;

Meredith Larson, a junior agribusiness major at Texas A&M University;

Keegan Langford, a junior agricultural communications major at Texas Tech University;

Lynsey Meharg, a sophomore agricultural communications major at Connors State College;

Morgan Meisenheimer, a senior agricultural communications major at Oklahoma State University;

Hannah Miller, a senior agricultural communications major at Tarleton State University;

Stefanie M. Neuhaus, a junior agricultural communications major at Texas Tech University;

Bethany Nolan, a sophomore agricultural communications major at Texas A&M University;

Elizabeth Oliver, a senior agribusiness management major at Michigan State University;

Victoria Pilger, a senior agricultural communications major at Texas A&M University;

Brooke Prather, a junior agricultural communications major at Louisiana State University;

Tana Simmons, a freshman agricultural communications major at Purdue University;

Meagan Stephens, a senior agricultural communications major at Oklahoma State University;

Cally Thomas, a senior animal science major at Kansas State University;

Ashley Vogel, a junior agricultural communications major at Iowa State University;

Additionally, two graduate students were selected to the program:

Chelsey Ahrens, a doctoral candidate studying agricultural communications at Texas Tech University; and

Lyndi Jury, a master’s candidate studying animal and dairy science at Mississippi State University.

The students will begin a 1-year mentorship program with RHD, in which they will focus on building their professional skills in livestock advertising and web design, livestock marketing, photography, video, journalism, and social media. The students will participate in mentorship opportunities at the American Royal, North American, Denver, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Houston Livestock Shows. Additionally, each student will be paired with an industry mentor who will help the students achieve their career goals. 

Flashback 2002: Visit to MSU

This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel back in time so to speak, to visit East Lansing, Michigan, which was my home from August 2001 to December 2002 while I got my master's degree. As with any visit to your old stomping grounds, it is somewhat bittersweet. As I flew in over the Michigan countryside the first thing I remembered was how beautiful Michigan is. The farmlands, the lakes, the homes, the midwest charm. When we arrived in East Lansing, I quickly remembered my surroundings...Jolly Road, Leo's Lodge, Grand River Avenue. Within a few minutes I remembered exactly where things were and was ready to hit the town.

5001 Oakbrook: My MSU Home and Former "Basement office"
of RHD, which was known as "Two Girls Web Design"
at the time.

Though the town hadn't changed that much to the eye, I was quickly saddened to see that things had drastically changed over the past 10 years. The main thing was that all my friends were gone. The people I love like Katie & Mark Hoge, Cassie Abney, the MacFarlanes, Metzgar, Ogle, Sarah Rust, Nick Berry, Andrew McPeake, Mafi, Dave Burns, Brett, Nicole, Lowderman, Robbie Duis....of course these friends have long since moved on just like I did. It made me happy to think of all the fun times we had, but also a little sad because I miss them so much.

Back in the day (2002), my typical day involved going to class of course, then work, then as soon as 5 o'clock hit it was time for the fun. Usually I would head on home and meet up asap with my roommate Cassie, and then we would start making our rounds. Keep in mind this was at a time where cell phone's weren't that popular, so to find out where all the action was happening, we had to get going.

First stop, head on over to the farms and swing by the Hog Shack (official home of Metzgar & Ogle but general meeting place of Nick Berry and the Hoge's.) We'd pick up Katie and start circulating. As we passed by the Hogshack, a normal day would find lots of the students working the MSU hogs for upcoming shows. This was especially a great time of year in the summer when the school would be preparing for the National Barrow Show.

Keep on driving down the road to get to our favorite spot on the whole campus: The MSU Beef Barn, at the intersection of Beaumont & Bennett. As soon as we hit this intersection we began "on the lookout" for any signs of our friends and the action going on at the farm.

"The Bullpen"

Generally our best bet would be to pull up to "The Bull Pen"...the famous home of the beef barn student workers, which at the time I was in school included Cody Lowderman, Robbie Duis, and many other friends. This was the meeting place for our group of friends. From there, we would spend the evenings riding around the farms, looking at Herefords, maybe rinsing calves and working hair, and having a great time which usually ended up swinging back by the Hogshack to pick up the pig people then heading on over to Leo's Lodge of Buffalo Wild Wings for the night. Then we would start it all over again the next day. And we loved every minute of it.

 As I began to visit with friends at the show this summer, I was very saddened to hear of some of the developments going on at MSU currently that involve a dispersal of the MSU Hereford herd. I guess I was out of the loop, because I missed this announcement, and I even missed the ad about this sale that was recently ran in the Hereford World.

While many places at MSU hold a special place in my heart, there is none quite like the MSU Beef Barn, and all of it's tradition, excellence, and memories. While some higher-ups at the university might say 'it's just a barn'...to the students of the MSU animal science program, it's so much more. It's an icon. A symbol of excellence for more than 50 years. A source of pride for both current and former students. That barn represents a spirit of MSU that every person involved in the purebred herd holds dear.
  

The tack room at the MSU Beef Barn

Banners from the 1970s

More nostalgic trophies from the tradition of excellence at MSU

Trophies, banners and pictures fill the trophy room at the MSU Beef Barn

Wonder how many champions passed through these doors through the years.


Since it's taken me 10 years to go back....and who knows when, if ever, I'll get to go back again, I took this time to capture as many memories as I could. The MSU Beef Barn and all that it stands for is one of the most precious icons on the MSU campus to me, and many others. I will always treasure the memories made and the education learned through being involved with the MSU purebred beef herd. And that says a lot, considering I'm a Brahman & Shorthorn girl...and I'm talking so fondly of HEREFORDS! :) 

Matt Lautner Cattle Director of Marketing

Matt Lautner Cattle is now accepting applications for a Director of Marketing position. MLC has been a long-time client of RHD and as part of our friendship Ranch House Designs has agreed to facilitate the search committee on behalf of Matt. We will be accepting applications and reviewing applicants before presenting Matt with a short list of qualified candidates or agencies for his final selection and review. 

The full position announcement is available here. 

The position is open to both qualified individuals as well as agencies or design firms. It is a flex time position working from anywhere in the U.S.

The candidate will maintain and create all marketing materials for both Matt Lautner Cattle as well as country music artist Scott Shelby. 

The firm is looking for a creative thinker, who is going to be proactive in presenting fresh design concepts and ideas for the business. There will be a very heavy load of projects from January to April with seasonal sire promotions. The sky is the limit with this position! It is a great position for someone who is motivated, wants to be part of a fast paced and exciting environment, and who loves thinking outside the box.

Applications are due by July 6th or sooner. To apply, please send a resume and 3 low resolution design samples to rachel@ranchhousedesigns.com. To send a video sample, please email the YouTube link. 

Livestock Motivational Posters

As you have noticed, each Wednesday we post a new livestock motivational graphic on our facebook page, and week after week everyone seems to love them. We have gotten many requests to make these in a poster format. So guess what, we did.

The posters are available for $7.99 each or you can buy a pack of 7 posters for $29.99 each. These posters are 11 x 17, poster weight, and coated in gloss laminate. They would be awesome for room decorations, bulletin boards, classroom decorations for ag chapters, Extension office decorations, and more.

We have made available all of the graphics we have done so far, and will be adding more weekly. So check them out at http://ranchhousedesigns.mybigcommerce.com/categories.php?category=Posters!

Childhood Ranch Labor

As a child, I grew up on the V8 Ranch, where I spent every single day of my life around the ranch.  From as far back as I can remember, my days would be filling doing things with my mom and dad around the ranch. 

I've carried feed sacks.

I've hauled water buckets. 

I've scooped poop, and cleaned out barns.

I've carried hay bales.

I've worked a gate.

I've worked a pipe.

I've worked a headgate. 

I've gentled calves.

I've helped pull calves.

I've penned cattle.

I've been a "human wall" for sorting cattle more times that I'd prefer. 

I've been so hot during those Texas summers that I sweat through my clothes a few times in one day.

I've been hooked by cows.

I've been run over by a bull.

I've been drug (a few times) by a calf.

I've got stepped on, and had broken bones.

And guess what. 

I loved every minute of it!

 

Like most of my friends, I grew up in the agriculture industry and because of that, I'm the successful adult that I am today. Living and working on a ranch taught me the work ethic that I use every single day of my life...whether I'm at home, at work, or anywhere else for that matter. It gave me the foundation to know that I have enough strength and determination to do anything. It helps me as a mother, a friend, a wife, and a businesswoman.

I know right now there are tons of debates about child farm labor, and I won't pretend to know much about the laws being proposed or the reasons why. 

But one thing I do know, is that living and working on a ranch is the best childhood I could ever imagine, and, I thank the Good Lord that my parents made me let me do this. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for the lessons learned - both good and bad - from living and working on V8 Ranch as a child.

Deep in the Heart Movie

This weekend, a new movie is being released here in Texas about Richard "Dick" Wallrath, owner of Champion Ranch and special donor to Texas FFA and 4-H.

The movie will be playing all this weekend (Opening February 17th) at Cinemark Theatres in Texas. Depending on how the movie goes over in Texas this first weekend, it may be released nationwide!

The movie is about a real Texas rancher. Wallrath owns Champion Ranch in Centerville, Texas which raises Brangus cattle. The movie tells the true story of how faith brought Wallrath a second chance. He had hit rock bottom, losing everything - jobs, hope, and his family. Dick found faith, picked himself up and trudged on to eventually earn back the love of his children, build a nationally successful window company and become the leading all-time individual donor to Texas 4-H and Texas FFA Association.



This sounds to me to be a great inspiring movie about a man who has helped so many youth! Make plans to go see it this weekend, or to learn more, visit http://deepintheheartmovie.com. 

EZ On Vinyl

We are always excited when and new or existing client calls and wants us to build their website. EZ On Vinyl has been no exception!

The EZ ON Vinyl hot wire fence clip is a unique, innovative and revolutionary new product that makes for easy and simple installation, use and safety of with wire electric fencing that is applied to vinyl post and rail horse and livestock fencing. This new patented product targets the specific market of horse and livestock vinyl fencing of both existing and new fencing enclosures.

The inventor of EZ ON Vinyl clips understands the advantage and disadvantage of vinyl fence. Though PVC fence is esthetically pleasing and tends to increases the property’s value, its shortcomings are amplified when livestock lean against or dislodge the rails. EZ ON Vinyl clips used in conjunction with electric wire, light cable or tape eliminates this problem and keep your horses and livestock safe.

EZ ON Vinyl clips are designed specifically for the PVC posts and provide an effective long term solution to the issue of livestock and PVC fencing.

The value proposition served by EZ ON Vinyl fence clips can save the owner both time and expenses. This is attributed to minimal cost both of product acquisition, ease and minimal time required for installation, as well as being able to save on veterinary bills since there is less likelihood of the animal coming into contact with the fence and causing injury.

Click here for more information

Dr. Hesby's Book is Now Available!!

Hot off the press! The highly anticipated book "Big Hands, Big Heart" is ready! And how coincidental...just in time for Christmas! The form will soon be available on the A&M Animal Science web site but I went ahead and put it up here for a link in case anyone wanted to do some "pre Black Friday" shopping ha ha

http://www.ranchhousedesigns.com/Hesby/hesby-form.pdf

The book will be available to anyone making a contribution of $25 or more to the Howard Hesby Atrium Fund. All contributions of $25 or more will receive a copy of “Big Hands, Big Heart” a tribute to Dr. Hesby and can be claimed as a charitable contribution on an individual’s itemized tax return less $9.00 for the value of the book received. Additional copies of the book require an additional $25 donation.

Here is a preview of the book.....

On a side note, this is the first BOOK we've ever designed at Ranch House. It was fun and easy to do. So maybe we've found a new service to offer...book publishing :)

Beef On A Budget Blog

Today I got one of those mass e-mail forwards from my good friend Dr. Kim McCuistion at the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, which was a forward from another friend, Todd McCartney of Working Ranch Magazine. The e-mail was featuring a new web site created by two college students from Oklahoma State University, Amy Brown from Texas and Anna-Lisa Giannini from Oklahoma.

The purpose of this blog is to educate the public about affordable recipes that feature beef. I thought it was a very neat web site, and I applaud these young ladies for stepping up and doing something that benefits all of us who are beef producers.

So I encourage you to check out http://www.beefonabudget.com/! Great job ladies!

Ready for NCBA Convention

We'll be honest. We look for any reason to get ourselves over to San Antonio, Texas, and especially the Riverwalk. So naturally, anytime the NCBA Convention comes down to Texas, we sign up right away! ESPECIALLY if the headquarter hotel involves the Marriott River Center.

So in just a few days, we'll be packing up and heading to the Alamo City to spend a few days with many of our clients and fellow beef producers at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Cattle Industry Convention.

I will be representing RHD at the convention on January 28 and 29, and helping with the NCBA Judging Contest on Friday.

Personally, I can't wait to get to the convention to buddy up with my Texas A&M University partners in crime, Cassie Schulte, Tara Hoescher, and Dr. Kim McCuistion. Of course, we'll be eating at Casa Rio, and strolling down the riverwalk.

We are really excited about seeing a lot of our beef industry clients at this event, so if you'll be there, drop us an e-mail so we'll know to be keeping an eye out for you. We'll be taking lots of snapshots for the blog. And if you are a blog reader who has been thinking of doing business with RHD, look for us at the convention. We'd love to hang out and talk business!

The Michigan State Connection

I'll never forget the early morning phone call I got one Friday morning in the fall of 2000. While laying in bed after a late night on the town (Thursday nights in college), my land line rang about 7:00 a.m. in my trailer house bedroom in College Station, TX.

As I sleepily reached over and found my phone, I answered "hello" in the scratchiest, sleepiest voice you could possibly imagine. The voice on the other line said, "Good morning Rachel, this is Harlan Ritchie calling from Michigan State University."

Now seriously, what would YOU do if someone like Harlan Ritchie was calling your house at 7:00 a.m. in the morning. You can imagine how I reacted. I quickly tried to wake up, clear my throat, and maintain some level of professionalism without appearing too overly-awestruck for someone of this caliber to be calling ME, a lowly college student from Texas!!!!  Dr. Ritchie was calling to let me know that they had received my application to grad school at Michigan State, and that I was invited to come up to campus and visit/interview for an assistantship as soon as possible.

After doing my best to appear poised and collected, I graciously thanked him and then immediately called my college best friend, Cassie Abney, who had also applied to MSU. As she picked up her land line, she said, "Dr. Ritchie just called you didn't he?" Because he had just called her too. That weekend, we scheduled a flight to Lansing, interviewed, and made our decision to attend Michigan State University.

After arriving to our sight-unseen apartment at 5001 Oakbrook, I quickly fell in love with everything and anything to do with Michigan State, and made some of the best friends I could have ever hoped for. People like Mark and Katie Hoge, Brett Barber, Andrew McPeake, Sarah Rust, Nick Berry, Brandon Ogle, Bryan Metzgar, Cody Lowderman, Nicole Barber, Jason and Kara Rowntree, B.J. and Melissa McFarlane, Abby Rubley, Courtney Stewart, and Ashley Roseberry are just a few of the special people that made my two years at MSU some of the best years of my life. I also met so many wonderful people from the state of Michigan, namely people like Kathleen Hawkins, Steve and Julie French, and Robin Millsap, who are still close friends today. And, not to mention, I got to directly work with legends in the agriculture industry like Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Dave Hawkins, Dr. Kirk Heinze, and many more.

After I finished up my master's at MSU, I discovered this huge group of fellow Spartans who are leaders in animal science. It seems like every ag event I go to, I find someone who is a MSU alumni. Michigan State has a great presence at stock shows, whether it be through students working at the MSU Purebred Beef Barn stalls or through alumni at the shows. Probably one of the most famous MSU alumni that comes to mind, especially during this time of year, is Bill Angell, who is the livestock director and "king of the yards" at Denver Stock Show.

So, this year, it has been 7 years since I graduated with my M.S. from Michigan State. (With a 4.0 by the way!!!) As my professional career has been so richly blessed, I was able to create two scholarships in the Department of Animal Science at MSU to help give other students these same great opportunities that others gave me.

This year at Denver, I got the opportunity to meet this year's recipients while they were both working at the MSU Beef Barn display in Denver. Our first scholarship winner was Nicole Starr of Manawa, Wisconsin. Nichole is the young lady in the black sweater in this photo. She is a super go-getter who is destined for success. She is a junior animal science major and has worked for 3 years at the MSU Beef Barn. Last year, she interned with the American Hereford Association, and she and her family operate Starr Polled Herefords.

Our second scholarship winner was Lance Schoenbine of Auburn, Michigan, another outstanding young person who works at the MSU Beef Barn. Lance is standing right next to me in the photo. Lance is a Limousin showman who plans on making a career in the production side of the business, either seedstock or commercial.

It was such an honor for me to be able to meet these fine young people at Denver this year. Pictured here in our photo is l-r, Cody Sankey, manager of the MSU Beef Barn. I work with Cody on MSU Fall Fest ads, and have a tremendous amount of respet for this young leader in the beef industry. Next is Ken Geuns, coordinator of the MSU Beef Barn and another MSU faculty member who helped me so much during my two years at MSU through advice, mentoring and friendship. Next is the two scholarship winners - Nicole and Lance, pictured with me and Dad.

And, on the funny side, right after we took this photo Dad made sure to take the opportunity to inform Nicole and Lance how important it is to say "Yes Sir and No Sir" and have manners, since "sometimes folks from up north don't think it's important to say these things." Good reminder, Dad.

Oh, and by the way, at the same time I applied to MSU, Cassie, and another best friend Kim McCuistion, and I all also applied to K State. Kim got accepted instantly, and started getting like daily phone calls from all these professors at K State saying how much they loved her and couldn't wait for her to come. Cassie and I didn't even get a consolation rejection letter, a phone call, an e-mail response or a swift kick in the butt. I was pretty bummed out. So, for all you blog readers out there still in college, don't ever be discouraged. Sometimes rejection can be the best thing in the world!

My fastest Denver trip ever!

Well I have officially completed my fastest trip to the National Western Stock Show in my 21 year history of attending the show. I made a quick trip in on Friday afternoon, spend the day Saturday "In the Yards" and then flew home on Sunday morning, so I could head on up to Ft. Worth for the Open Brahman Show.

Though I was only at the stock show for one day, it was still a great day and as always, Denver is Denver. It's always been and always will be one of my favorite stock shows, because it's a show for real cattleman, and I love it.

Seeing old friends is probably my favorite part of Denver. Being from Texas, the only time I get to see most of my midwest friends is at Denver or Louisville. A quick stroll through the yards or on the hill and I was able to run into tons of my friends that are quick with a smile and a hug! I love catching up with everyone face to face, which is always definitely better than over e-mail or text. Anytime I get to a show I love to get with Brooke Bennett, and this year she was there working for ShowChampions.com.

I also enjoyed watching the Angus show, where I was cheering for our clients Topline Farms, Michigan State University, Sankey 6N Ranch, and Pembrook Cattle. I also stopped by the Topline stalls to see Topline Mackinaw, who is a new bull for 2010 and is owned by Topline and my dear friend Craig Blint. The funniest observation of my entire trip occurred during the Angus heifer champion drive. As the animals entered the ring, "Eye Of The Tiger" started blaring over the loudspeakers. I'm certain NWSS planned this. I kept thinking, if I was out there in the ring and I heard that, there is no way I could keep a straight face. I happened to be standing by Dylan Evans at the time, so we played a game of coming up with some other cheesy songs to play, and We are the Champions was our top pick.

It's always great to see our RHD clients. Of course, we saw our many clients who we did bull banners for. It was great to meet 2 of our new bull clients, Stan & Clark Bixler and Gary Fillmore and Justin Hartman for the first time.  I also loved visiting with Levi Bond at his display for Titanium where his semen give-a-way was a huge hit. I had a great interview with Alisa Neil and Ryan Habeger.

Wherever I go, I always enjoy meeting new friends, or maybe better described as putting a face with a name, since most of my correspondence is done over e-mail or the phone. On my short trip, I got to meet one of our newer clients, Steve Boneso,  who was displaying the Walks on Water bull. I also finally got to meet the great photographer, Chris Rosa, who was responsible for the creative side of the Walks on Water display. I was really happy to meet my Facebook friend, Christina Wernicke of Top Sires. I'm so glad she's married to a Shorthorn guy because she is FUN and hopefully we'll get to hang out at many more Shorthorn shows in the future. And my 4th new person to meet was my blogging friend, Crystal Young, who was videoing stuff for the Angus Association.

Doubletree vs. Embassy
As a loyal Doubletree guest for forever, unfortunately this year I was unable to get a room there so I had to bump down to my second choice, Embassy Suites. I had heard of Embassy Suites after recommendations from Jeff Schroeder at Cattle.com and I was very familiar with the 4444 North Havana address of that hotel because we usually ship a lot of Denver promo items there. So after staying at Embassy, I have to say it's a toss up. Embassy is a little more old school in terms of decor, but their free complimentary breakfast is awesome. Their stock show shuttle wasn't running on Friday, and I had to get a cab, so that was a setback. Of course, I did go to the Doubletree and hang out in the lobby and socialize for a little while on Friday afternoon. It was packed with the judging teams but as always it's a great hot spot for seeing Shorthorn friends and livestock judging friends.

Cattle.com
For the second year in a row, I helped my good friend Jeff Schroeder at Cattle.com with the Denver bull interviews. I think my video interviewing skills have improved since 2009. It was so rewarding to be able to talk with all of the new bull owners and hear first hand about their bulls. Everyone always thinks theirs is the next big thing, and the rest of us will just have to wait for a few years to see how things shake out of who actually IS the best! Jeff and his brother Ryan do the bull videos and owner interviews totally free of charge, as a service to those who can't make it to Denver.  These two guys have a huge dedication to education in the club calf business and it's an honor to work with them.

So, as I'm fixing to head out the door again and go to Fort Worth, I'll share a few photos from Denver.

As I sign off, I'll share my favorite picture on the trip. I only took about 5 photos though. But here are two good friends and fellow ag technology buffs, Jeff Schroeder and Brad Hook, taking videos of each other in the yards.

Farm Bureau Excellence in Agriculture

For the past 6 months of so, I have been highly involved with the Texas Farm Bureau through their Young Farmer and Rancher "Excellence in Agriculture" contest, which I was a state finalist for. I was encouraged to apply for this award through some friends in Texas Farm Bureau. The award is to recognize a young person in agriculture who is involved in production agriculture, but makes the majority of their income from an agricultural business. So I qualified for this award because I do have a herd of cattle, but my main source of income is through Ranch House Designs, Inc., an agricultural advertising agency.

So, after some encouragement, I completed the very ominous application, which ended up being about 20 pages, including several "thought-provoking essays" I had to complete. I was selected as our district winner, and naned one of the top 3 state finalists. As a finalist, I participated next in a face-to-face interview in October at the Texas Farm Bureau headquarters.

Then, over the next month, I got the opportunity to be part of a big publicity program through Texas Farm Bureau to spotlit the 3 Finalists in the Excellence in Ag Contest (myself, County Agent Whit Wheems, and Armstrong Ranch manager Cody Fry) as well as the 3 finalists in the Young Farmer and Rancher Contest. Farm Bureau came and visited Ranch House Designs and V8 Ranch, and spent a day with us filming video and takign pictures of our staff. It was kinda different being filmed on video, but in the end, the video turned out great!! ( You can see my video here!!!)

In December, me and fellow RHD staff member Emily Forgason attended the state Farm Bureau convention in Ft. Worth to find out who the lucky winner of the contest was going to be. I had an awesome time at this convention, even though I didn't end up winning the state contest. I wasn't really expecting to win though, because I knew Cody Fry was an excellent contestant with a lot of Farm Bureau experience and I figured he would win. And....he did!!! Cody and I were friends while we were both at Texas A&M and I was so happy for him.

And, even more exciting, another friend and fellow Aggie was selected as the state winner of the Young Farmer and Rancher Contest.....Courtney and Ernie, excuse me ERNEST, Bailes!! This family operates Repro Select, an ag-business, and they also have cattle. They are a great example of a young ranching family who loves agriculture and shows that you can be a huge success as long as you have work ethic...and a dream! Emily and I were super happy for the Bailes as they won a FREE PICKUP TRUCK! After they won, Courtney informed us that their current vehicle was in the shop, so the new truck would come in real handy!

So, if you're a young person involved in farming or ranching, take a look at the Texas Farm Bureau program for Young Farmers and Ranchers. This was an experience I will never forget.

My video is here: Excellence in Ag Video

Here are some snapshots from the trip!

Me and Texas Farm Bureau President Kenneth Dierschke’s. For being a state finalist I rec'd this DeWalt Cordless Power Tool, which I immediately gave to the V8 Showbarn for their use, and a pair of Justin boots.

Emily at the convention. We had to take this photo to proove to her teacher that she did, in fact, attend the convention.

A sample photo of our fun night in Cowtown! We went to the Stockyards, had dinner, and walked around and looked at all the shops. The Christmas decorations were awesome! Emily got so tired from walking that she saddled up on this Longhorn steer and rode around.

Here is another photo from the Stockyards. It's out of focus but the funny thing is we didn't know this little girl in the photo. We had stopped and asked a random person in the Stockyards to take our picture, and when she did, this little girl ran and got in the photo with us! ha ha

And finally here is me and the BIG winner, Ernest Bailes, who won the Young Farmer and Rancher Contest and won a free pickup truck.

Won't Ride Sidesaddle....

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that one of my all time favorite ladies is Cherie Carrabba of Crockett, Texas. That's why I'm happy to recommend this book to anyone and everyone's who's been involved with showing livestock. This is a great book and I've been saving this blog for a while so I could publish it closer to the Christmas holidays as a gift suggestion.

This book is a collection of short stories written by Cherie Carrabba, a mentor to me and editor of The Showbox Magazine.

Last Christmas, my Dad got this book as a gift for each of us in the family. We even got autographed copies! As soon as we got the books, each of us including me and my mom pretty much just stopped opening our presents and started reading the book. We couldn't put it down! We kept flipping around reading different stories and laughing about all of the great short stories Cherie talks about in the book. The stories are written from a stock show mom's point of view and many of the stories are ones that everyone can relate to. Since we grew up showing with Randy and Ryan Rash, lots of these stories bring back first hand memories of the shows we were at together. It's a GREAT book!

You can purchase the book online at http://cheriecarrabba.com/order.php. Happy Reading!