PUEBLO — Hadli Gabel, the 12-year-old who raised the Colorado State Fair, Grand Champion Market Beef walked away from the Junior Livestock Auction with $50,000 from the winning bid.
Auction day is an exciting day for all the young people who spent most of the year raising livestock to show and then sell at the State Fair.
“We want them to look the best for show day. That's how you get into the sale, which kind of makes them look good to sell good,” said Kolby Morris who was getting his steer ready for the auction.
While shampooing his sheep using dish soap, Preston Pettinger readily said that grooming animals is a lot of work.
He said, “You have to [groom] like every time we show him, we have to do that, wash him.”
The animal’s build is the foundation for competition, grooming of the coat enhances what is underneath.
“We want their hair to grow so that someone can come clip them and that helps clip shape into them to make them look nice for the show,” said Gabel.
It is interesting that Gabel’s win in 2023 follows a win by her brother Stetson a year earlier.
“Our whole goal is come here, try our best, try to win--and it'll happen.”
There is also life lesson in agriculture learned during the auction.
A winning bid one day means the animal you have worked with for months is gone the next day.
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