State Fair Cattle Style

As an 8 year old, it was terrifying to be gifted a giant animal from my parents but I had seen my sister do it so I knew I could do it and I could do it better. My name is Breelynn Frank and I am in my second year at Colorado State University where I study Sociology and Communication Studies. I am a third generation showman and I have been involved in showing cattle for (almost) 12 years now. My excursions within the realm of showing cattle has taken me across the country and back a dozen times and each time I am thankful for the life I’ve been given. My family and I have been exhibiting steers and the occasional breeding heifer on the local, state and national level for three generations, starting with my grandpa. We are based out of Northeastern Colorado with our family farm, two feedlots, and a cow/calf operation. My parents started my sister and I on showing cattle when my sister was 8. When I was younger, we did everything possible to learn more about taking care of our steers and what we could do to improve on showmanship. I’ll never forget when I was 8 and at one of my first shows when Mr. Ben Cooley worked me so hard in showmanship that I left in tears because I had never been tested to that extreme as a showman. But what that judge did, pushed me to become the showman that I currently am. A few months later, Cooley showed up as our county fair showmanship judge and I begged and pleaded to not have to do showmanship but my parents talked me into it and I was rewarded for my months of work and ended up on top of the junior showmanship division. It sounds like a small feat but as an 8 year old and the youngest in my age division, it was a big deal. I can’t remember what I was asked or if I actually showed well but that is what set me to be determined for the next 10+ years. I spent 11 years in 4-H and 5 in FFA. I held countless offices in both organizations and competed in more competitions than I can name. My favorite competitions being when I could be in the show ring.

We traveled as a family to find show steers and then later to each show. My fondest memories are sitting in the pickup with the trailer behind us and going from show to show or from place to place to look for steers. It was weird to the kids in my class that my family and I devoted so much time to showing cattle but it’s what we did and we loved it. Like with any other family, there’s ups and downs but we worked through it. My little brother was diagnosed with Autism when he was in second grade but a few years later, he also began to show cattle. Shortly after my older sister aged out of showing steers, my younger brother took her place. For the next six years, Pason and I spent everyday after school in the barn so he would be able to show steers with me. It wasn’t easy for him because of his Autism, but he eventually managed to show on his own. Beginning at 5 a.m., we rinsed, dried and brushed calves until we physically couldn’t anymore. It paid off with banners we hung and showmanship divisions won. While I am now too old to show through 4-H and FFA, I’ll never forget the impact showing cattle has made on me or my family. After 11 years of learning all I could about showing, I’m moving into a new era of having my new job being pulling legs and putting show halters on. It’s a strange feeling to not be able to show in the junior shows but as I prepare to be at the beckon call of my little brother, I’m grateful to have had my last junior show at the Colorado State Fair. The day before the deadline for the Arizona National Livestock Show, I bought a shorthorn steer from a family friend because after state fair, I decided I needed one last time in the ring.