Oh, No, It Can't Really Be September

August disappeared in a fog and September isn't faring much better.....  We have a bit of a break now before our final show of the year (the N.I.L.E. in Billings, Montana) in October.  At this point, we are so far behind, we are going to need every minute to catch up on summer chores and begin getting ready for winter.  Two years ago, we had planned to drive to Billings to watch the Dexter show.  We ended up staying home due to a minor blizzard.  Oh yes, winter can arrive pretty darn early.

It was hotter than heck in Nebraska, but we sure do love the beef barn there.  It's spacious, well designed, and connected to the air-conditioned show arena (my favorite place this year!).  We earned our share of bling there and had a great time with all of the other Dexter folk. 

 

 

 

One of the things that stood out most in Nebraska was that the judge took time out during our show to complement the Dexter breeders on the camaraderie among our group.  The spirit of cooperation and helping each other is one of the aspects of Dexterdom that isn't often commented about, but it is always evident when we meet up with folks who enjoy Dexters!  The judge also commented on the absolute quality that Dexter breeders bring to the show ring.  Apparently that isn't always the norm within other breeds.

 

We were also thrilled that Rick Seydel choose to take his championship cow/calf pair to the Parade of Champions.  They were excellent representatives of our breed and deserved every minute of the spotlight!

 

 



In Utah, not quite so much bling (although Alan was the Reserve Champion Bull), but we sure like the traffic in the barn.  There's nothing more fun than watching a child pet a "cow" for the very first time.  Calli spends lots of our barn time introducing various members of the show team to the hundreds of children who walk through the barn.

Chris and Calli getting Alan ready to go for his bull calf class.  She worked non-stop with him to keep him properly set up in the ring (and they looked just perfect together).  He's still wearing his rope halter over his show halter in this picture.  Alan is a wondeful little carrier bull who drew every child into his circle of "special" this year.

This week has been one of cleaning up, cleaning out, a ranch afternoon with the vet and convincing our dogs that we won't be away so long next time!  As Dorothy says "there's no place like home!"  Glad to be here again!