Essays From West of 98: The Local Livestock Show
Livestock shows are a massive industry, but the roots are inherently local
The development of the modern livestock show is a fascinating bit of history. To Americans, that history dates to March 1896, when a small exhibition of animals was held under shade trees in Fort Worth, Texas. That event spawned interest and other similar events. Within a decade, the event now known as the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo would be joined by the American Royal in Kansas City, the National Western Stock Show in Denver, and the International Livestock Exposition in Chicago. In each case, ranchers and stockmen came from afar to the “City” to exhibit their animals in competition with one another.
My first livestock show was the State Fair of Texas in the fall of 1993. My hog and I quickly got the gate. In the interim between 1896 and 1993, the concept of the livestock show grew and changed wildly. Competition between ranchers and stockmen still exists, but the livestock show also grew into an industry in itself, with animal breeders and feed and supply companies rising up to serve the market of 4-H and FFA members who competed with one another in cattle, hog, sheep, goat, poultry, rabbit, and other shows. Other shows rose up, like the massive competitions held each year in San Antonio and Houston and state fairs across the land.
It warrants mentioning, though, that the roots of the livestock show are much older and much more locally oriented. Agricultural shows in England and Scotland date back to the 18th century and still exist today, as opportunities for a region’s stockmen, farmers, and food makers to show their wares and compete for supremacy in everything from cattle breeding to cheese making to woodchopping.
The forerunner to the Tri Area Livestock Show was first held in 1955, when Stamford FFA students competed with their animal projects on the downtown square in Stamford. Over the years, students from Lueders-Avoca and Paint Creek were added to the show. Today, the show is open to 4-H and FFA members, whether attending public school or home school, in those school districts. In the 1970s, a barn was built on land supplied by the Texas Cowboy Reunion. Over the years, that barn has been greatly improved and expanded thanks to the hard work of the show’s volunteers and the generosity of the local community.
Tri Area has an informal motto that we will give as many students as possible the opportunity to compete, which came from the show’s founder, longtime Stamford vocational agriculture teacher Weldon Holbrooks. Over the years, Mr. Holbrooks opened up a variety of livestock classifications for his students. Today, we strive to do the same. Several years ago, we launched an agricultural mechanics competition for students to display welding and carpentry projects. This year’s agricultural mechanics division was the biggest to date, with projects ranging from simple crosses made of horseshoes to flatbed trailers. This year, we started a photography contest to give a low-impact avenue for children to enter into the competition and we received over 40 entries.
My first Tri Area show was January 1994. This past week, my five-year-old daughter Miriam had her first Tri Area show, competing in the photography contest some thirty years later. She also came home from the show with a rabbit, which marks the first time that I returned from a livestock show with more livestock than I left with. But it doesn’t look like we’ll be leaving the local livestock show world anytime soon. Our adventure may look different than my show experience or my wife’s show experience, but we are excited to see what the path holds.
James Decker is the Mayor of Stamford, Texas and the creator of the West of 98 website and the Rural Church and State and West of 98 podcasts. Contact James and subscribe to these essays at westof98.substack.com and subscribe to him wherever podcasts are found.
I always enjoy your writings, and especially when our dad is mentioned in association with the livestock show. He loved Jesus, he loved Stamford, he loved FFA and he loved the livestock shows. Thank you for keeping his memory alive with the mention of his name and what he did for the FFA program.