The National Western Stock Show (NWSS) in Denver, CO, is off and running with positive feedback on the new Yards. The number of entries are up significantly in the Yards and up slightly on the Hill. It is interesting to look back and analyze how the purpose of showing livestock has evolved over the years. In the beginning, they were the primary means used to better the nation’s cowherd, and now their focus is juniors and being the face of agriculture to the public.
Most of the major shows, including Denver, were originally associated with large terminal stockyards, which conglomerates of railroad companies generally owned. These shows included the International Livestock Exposition (1900) at the Union Stockyards in Chicago, the American Royal (1899) at the Kansas City Stockyards, Fort Worth Livestock Show and Rodeo (1896) associated with the Fort Worth Stockyards, and of course, the NWSS (1906) at the Denver Stockyards.
The premise of the stockyards was to utilize these shows to promote a better product being marketed through their stockyards and being processed at the adjoining packing plants. Above all, through these shows, they wanted to promote the improved purebred sires to upgrade the “scrub” cow herds that dominated the beef industry.
Improving the product they produced was so important to these stockyards that Chicago’s Union Stockyards built the Purebred Record Building for breed associations to locate their headquarters rent-free. This strategy of promoting the use of improved pedigreed bulls was so successful that, for practical purposes, the Longhorn strain of cattle had become virtually extinct.
They were only saved because the USDA Forest Service felt it was important that they be preserved, so in 1927, U.S. Forest Service rangers scoured southern Texas and northern Mexico looking for cattle that exhibited Longhorn characteristics.
Although the exact numbers vary slightly depending on the source, they gathered approximately 20 cows, four calves and four bulls, which were shipped to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. It was this humble beginning that saved the breed. Amazing to think 60 years earlier, an estimated 26 million Longhorns were running feral in the Southwest U.S. The shows had certainly done the job they were intended to do.
Commercial seedstock markets
Developing a commercial market for high-quality seedstock remained a priority up through World War II; however, the show ring was becoming increasingly important in advertising an operation’s breeding program to other seedstock breeders. In the 1910s, this led to what was called “riding the rail,” where an operation might have a show string out for eight months of the year. Times were different then, as breeds earmarked a large portion of their budget to premiums.
At one point, the American Shorthorn Association boasted it supported 100 shows with premium money that would be worth approximately $1 million in today’s dollars. During this era, the American Hereford Association held a show at the American Royal with a breathtaking $75,000 in premium money. There were also numerous group classes—far more than today—that added to an operation’s ability to earn even more premium money showing cattle.
The bottom line is that an outfit with a competitive show string that kept its expenses low could actually make some money showing cattle, unlike today, where showing is a very expensive sport. During the “riding the rail” era, the herdsmen generally slept in the railcar, which had an upper deck, or in the tie-outs with the cattle. Some showgrounds had dorms where they could also stay. However you looked at it, they led a spartan lifestyle. Unlike today, they also had to stay for the duration of the show, but they kept busy trading labor with people from other breeds or species. This was critical because it was the only way they would have enough handlers to show in the group classes.
Riding the rail lasted into the 1950s and was generally broken down into three seasons. They might start the show season at a place like the Arizona National Livestock Show, which used to start at the first of the year. They would then go to the NWSS and, from there, cover the Texas and southern shows, returning home in late spring. Later in the summer, they would cover the state fairs and then go back out for the fall show season.
The fall would often cover shows that ranged from the Eastern States Exposition in Massachusetts to the Pacific International Livestock Show in Oregon. The show year would culminate at the International in Chicago held after Thanksgiving, which was considered the most prestigious show in all of the U.S.
Along the way, they generally did not market cattle from the show strings, as they were designed to take maximum advantage of the group classes. Instead, the goal of showing was to drive a national audience to their production and private treaty sales from the home operation. Among some breeds, managers would also import large numbers of cattle from the United Kingdom, which they would resell in their production sale at a handsome profit.
Show ring eras
The next show ring eras were ones of extremes and fads. There were the “belt buckle” cattle of the ’50s and early ’60s, where an ideal animal would not be taller than the average person’s waist. Then came the exotics and a rush to cash in on the next hot breed imported from continental Europe. The 1980s brought the frame race, where the primary criteria in selection were how tall they were.
Unlike the belt buckle era, where you could see all of a person’s upper body in the champion pictures, during the frame race, you could only see the legs of people standing behind the animal in champion pictures. Because of their simplicity, these fads worked well in marketing seedstock to novices who would invest in cattle as a tax shelter. That all ended in 1986 when Reagan changed the tax laws.
Today, the show ring is mainly centered around youth and the breeders who specialize in breeding cattle for the juniors to show. The various breeds’ junior shows in the summer have become huge events, with many juniors participating in more than one breed’s national junior show. The adults that sell the show cattle use the show ring to advertise their breeding program.
It has all become somewhat self-contained, with few people in the stands compared to previous eras. However, the people showing cattle have an awesome responsibility, as for many urban people—which is the majority of our population—people showing cattle are the face of agriculture. Denver alone will have approximately 700,000 visitors to the exposition. It is critical that those showing are informed, eager to answer questions and, overall, represent the industry in the best possible light.
The show ring has had an important purpose over the years. Today, it is largely raising youth and being the interface with non-agricultural people. The role of those currently showing is very important—being the face of animal agriculture—just as it was important using the show ring to help get rid of the “scrub” cattle well over 100 years ago. — Dr. Bob Hough, WLJ correspondent
