CALHAN– One of the biggest attractions at the El Paso County Fair is the livestock showcase and auction. Two young girls from Southern Colorado have been working hard for months to prepare their animals for this week's show.
9-year-olds Adalyn Lee and Ansley Gresham are a part of the El Paso County 4-H and Youth Development Programs. Through the 4-H programs, children get experience taking care of animals, learning how to leather craft, cake decorating, livestock judging, public speaking and more.
Ansley Grasham has been taking care of her family's livestock her whole life. Ansley began preparing the two family steers for showing, nearly 18 months ago. This spring, her parents and grandparents surprised Ansley with two new sheep of her own.
“I'm like, oh my gosh, there is something in there and then I saw them and
I was like, there sheep! I thought I was going to do it next year,” Ansley Grasham said.
Every morning at 5:30 am Ansley Grasham gets up to take care of her animals. She feeds, brushes, rinses, and cleans them.
“My favorite thing is to rinse them in the middle of the day because I get hot too,” Ansley Grasham said.
Taking care of livestock is a job not many children her age are up for, but a trade she learned from her mom. Showing livestock is a tradition in her family, Ansley Grasham is fourth generation. Shelby Grasham is Ansley's mother and grew up showing animals. Shelby Grasham says it's nice to see her kids grow and turn this into their own project.
“I'm just blessed that she enjoys it as much as I did and her ancestors,” Shelby Grasham said. “We let her kind of take control of what she wants to do. If she wants to be super competitive, or not, it's really up to her,” Shelby Grasham said.
Showing livestock is hard work, but like Ansley, 9 year old Adalyn Lee is up for the task.
“This is my second year. So last year I also had a market Heifer and she did really well. I got the grand champion carcass and she was really sweet,” Adalyn Lee.
The Grand Champion Carcass is awarded to the cow with the best meat. Heifer’s are female cows, steers are cows that can’t breed and a bull is a male cow that breeds.
Adalyn Lee likes competing in the fair because it gives her lots of experience with cows.
“I think I learned a lot in my first year, but I wanted to know more. So I just did cows again and I think I might do cows again next year, but I can change it up and do some other animals if I want to,” Adalyn Lee said.
Adalyn Lee said when you get attached to your cow it can be hard to say goodbye.
“I think that since I have an experience from last year, I think it'll be a little easier but. It'll still be hard to let it go,” Adalyn Lee said.
This year Adalyn Lee is returning with a new cow named Nelly.
“I got her in October and then I started working with her, washing her, walking her, clipping her, making her look the best for the fair,” Adalyn Lee said.
Adalyn Lee grew up on a farm on the west side of Monument. It is called the FamiLee Farm.
“We have chickens, we have a duck, we have a mini donkey, a mini horse, and two horses. I have one other cow at home and then we have three pigs,” Adalyn Lee said.
Bridget Lee is mom to Adalyn Lee and two younger boys. She says farming and showcasing livestock has been passed down for generations.
“So I actually come from a large family of farmers, and I'm probably a third generation 4-H member. And so she's the 4th generation and it's just kind of in our blood. So it's very natural to us,” Bridget Lee said.
Working hard is a part of what the Lee’s do.
“My kids, they all have responsibilities to do around the farm, even down to the one year old. I mean, he helps collect chicken eggs. It's just part of our family unit. It's part of our work ethic that we teach them,” Bridget Lee said.
Bridget Lee sees the hard work her daughter Adalyn does to take care of animals.
“We love the animals, we love the farm. It's just awesome to do it and to see her love and passion for it and catching on to it has been a really exciting time for us these last two years,” Bridget Lee said.
The fair is still very exciting for Bridget Lee and brings back memories of when she participated in the fair throughout her whole childhood.
“I think my best childhood memories came from the fair. So I just love watching the kids kind of finish their showcase here at the fair. A Lot of these kids have been working since the fall or even longer on some of their projects and to be able to see them showcase that and put all their hard work into this last week, that's exciting for me. I love it,” Bridget Lee said.
Both Adalyn Lee and Ansley Gresham are excited for the festivities to begin.
“I'm excited to see everyone show and compete with me,” Ansley Gresham said.
“I'm really excited I get to see my friends and show her and I think that might be the funniest part,” Adalyn Lee said.
According to Shelby Gresham, some champion cattle could auction off for nearly $10,000 dollars and sheep could go for $5,000.
The sheep showing will happen on Tuesday, followed by the steer showing on Wednesday.
The auction will be next Saturday. The El Paso County Fair will be in Calhan from July 15-22.
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