Kingston, Silo co-host cattle show
By Jon Dohrer
Kingston Public Schools
KINGSTON — Students, faculty and parents of the Kingston FFA program recently co-hosted one of the larger cattle shows in Oklahoma — despite the fact that the Kingston agriculture program currently does not include show cattle.
Kingston joined forces with neighbor Silo FFA to organize and carry out the Texoma Winter Bonanza Steer & Heifer Show Jan 4-6 at Ada.
The event featured 170 animals from as far away as Cordell and Idabel. Kingston agriculture educator Chris McGowan said the show also saw some of the top steers and heifers in the state.
"There's no telling how many thousands of dollars were represented there," he said. "I wouldn't be shocked if we had $200,000 walking around in that ring."
The show was conducted at the Pontotoc County Agri-Plex, because it is the closest facility to Kingston that is large enough to house an event of that magnitude. Several students from the Chickasaw Children's Village showed cattle, and about 20 students and parents worked the show. McGowan said hosting the show was good experience for a program that will soon get back into showing cattle.
"Oh, it's great for the kids. They learn the ins and the outs of ag shows in Oklahoma. They get to see first-hand what goes into preparing, grooming and getting animals ready. Plus the organizational skills are a big benefit," McGowan said.
He said the idea for the show was born last summer at an ag conference. McGowan and Jason Bern of Silo talked with several people who were "almost begging" for a show at that time of the year. After numerous man-hours of planning, entries for the meet began to pour in from participants who, as predicted, were anxious to find a show in early January to help them prepare for the spring competition season.
Another reason the show caught fire is that it is an Oklahoma Club Calf Association sanctioned event, meaning entrants can earn points to apply to their running totals.
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