I'm glad I went to Ardmore because it is
there that I saw the true potential of the
ABBI.
My daughter Kassidy had a calf entered in
the Junior Futurity and I realized there that
the future isn't in the Futurity, Classic or
Derby systems. It is all about the Junior
Futurities—that is the real future of the
ABBI. If we do our part in getting the word
out, the big entry numbers in the future will
come from the youth futurities as many
young people will use their futurity bulls as
4-H and FFA projects.
While in Ardmore it dawned on me how
much fun not only my 9-year-old daughter
was having, but how much fun my wife and
I were having. We all have interests and
hobbies outside of bucking bulls. But even
the first time Kassidy bucked her futurity calf
in the practice pen and he fell down and
didn't do so good, it was still better than
baseball or showing steers or junior rodeo
or fishing or any of the things we do out
here in the country. We had grandmas and
grandpas, aunts and uncles, and neighbors
all there to support her. Anything people do
around here, this has it beat 10 to 1 in terms
of excitement.
And when we get down there to the
Junior Futurity in Ardmore, it was even more
exciting. I've been on TV for years now, and
the first time I was on NBC doing the PBR I
was pretty nervous. And most recently,
watching Ty Murray on Dancing with the
Stars made me real nervous. But I've never
been so nervous as I was watching my
daughter's futurity calf buck—that just
added to the excitement.
We had to check in two days early. We
had to check in on Thursday and the Junior
Futurity wasn't until Saturday. Now we have
a million things to do at the ranch, and every
day at home counts when I have to take off
down the road again soon (with the PBR). I
didn't want to check in that early. But it
turned out to be a great thing. It gave us a
chance to catch up with friends of ours and
it turned into a little family vacation.
(ABBI President) Russ Gant did a great job
introducing all the kids and giving everyone
a chance to know each other. I'm sure most
of us left Ardmore with new friends.
Russ told me in Ardmore that this is the
only activity all three of his kids do together.
Outside of bucking bulls, his children all
have different interests, but bucking bulls is
what brings his family all together. It was so
enlightening to me, because this is also
what my family loves to
do together. It may be
the kids who get prizes
at these junior futuri-
ties, but the real win-
ners are the families.
I really think we can
make the junior events
bigger and better. I'm
hoping we can do
something special in
Las Vegas for the top
two Junior Futurity
bulls from each event.
And if we can get those
Junior Futurity bulls on
TV it would be great for
our junior members
and for our sport. We
can all come together
to find ways to help the
Junior Futurities. As we
know, the heifer market
is slow right now. There
is no reason why more
breeders can't donate
a heifer to these junior
breeders who could
use one for their
breeding program. The
investment we make in
our kids now will benefit us all in the long
run.
I spoke to Andee (Lamoreaux), J.W.
(Hart) and Toby (Floyd) in Ardmore and
they all had some really good ideas and
insights as to how we can grow the youth
program. I know there are so many other
ABBI members who also have good ideas
and are also willing to support our kids. If
you want to donate, get more involved or
have a great idea please don't hesitate to
call up the ABBI and lend a hand.
Most of the kids in Ardmore came from
bucking bull families. But if we can reach
out to FFA members and the kids who
show animals, we can grow our sport
immensely. Every purebred animal associa-
tion is driven by the youth association.
From the Angus youth on down the line to
pigs, goat, sheep- that is what drives these
industries, the kids. The future of the ABBI
is also with our kids. |
