Hog Blog

For some, the Stock Show's in their blood

Walk into Barn 4 and the first thing you'll see is the face of a veteran Stock Show worker, smiling behind the window of the accounting office.

His name is Guy Sheppard. And he has been here for 30 years.

Sheppard, 87, sells grounds passes and car passes, collects feed bills and distributes catalogs of the different breeds being shown at the Stock Show.

"I've been here nearly all my conscious life," he said.

Q: What do you do when you're not at the Stock Show?
A: Oh, I'm retired. I play golf a lot. But before I was retired I was in the automobile parts rebuilding business. Before that I was in the grocery business.

Q: What has changed at the Stock Show since you started working here?
A: From our point of view down here, it hasn't changed a whole lot. I guess it's more modern. But our duties are about the same. Now, we used to have dormitories upstairs. That ended about 10 years ago, I think. The FFA kids and the 4-H club kids used to stay here. They'd come with their groups. Now all the moms and dads come so they started just staying at hotels.

Q: What is your best Stock Show memory?
A: Oh, I don't know if I really have a best memory. I was raised on the north side of Fort Worth. Prior to 1944, they held the Stock Show in the Stockyards. And that was part of my heritage down there. So when it moved, well I wanted to still be a part of it. And my wife works here, too. She does the underground parking over at the exhibits hall.

Q: Are you ready for the Stock Show to be over?
A: Oh, we're always ready for it to be over. You always say you're not going to come back, but you always do. Even though you get tired as heck, it's in your blood.

Q: Are you going to work again next year.
A: Probably will. I'll either be here or at the cemetery.

- Lindsey Bever

Signs say it all at the Stock Show

There are many ways to tell you're at the Stock Show. There's the friendly "good mornin" that gate workers issue to strangers, the distinct aroma, and sounds usually heard on farms and ranches.

Then there are the signs.

Like "Caution Rednecks at Play."

And "Do not wash horses on sidewalks."

At one stall in the horse barn housed by Poco Vista Performance Horses, a sign read: "If the Lord is in your heart then there will be two in the saddle and you'll never ride alone."

Poco Vista's slogan? "Ridin for Jesus. He's Our Judge."

Over in the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall, some of the signs for sale by vendors were a leaned toward irreverent.

"We don't skinny dip, we chunky dunk."

Another offered sound advice: "Don't squat with yer spurs on."

The most fitting sign on the final day of the Stock Show? The one held by a wooden cowboy who is waving goodbye as you exit the grounds: "It's been mighty nice having you here. Come back again!"

- Lee Williams 

A rabbit's life

More than 30 breeds of caged rabbits are lined up in the Poultry Building at the Stock Show. Some as big as a 2-year-old.

They were all waiting to be judged.

Body type, color, fur and flesh condition were the criteria.

Tom Barker, superintendent of the Rabbit Show, has been doing this for 26 years. And he said the most interesting breed is the Harlequin.

The Harlequin is a marked breed. For instance, Barker said, if one ear is black, the other has to be white. And if one side of the nose is one color, the other side is different color.

"All of the colors have to be in the right spot," he said. "It's very difficult."

A little castor Mini Rex from Alvarado took first place.

- Lindsey Bever

Milking the Stock Show for all it's worth

Elsie became the milk icon at the New York World Fair in 1939.

More importantly, she's a veteran of the Fort Worth Stock Show.

This morning toddlers were poking their heads in Elsie's and Beauregard's pens, which are in the exhibits hall. And one toddler just didn't want to leave.

Becky Shires, of Calera, Okla., brought her grandson Kreed, 2, to the Stock Show this year.

"Kiss! Kiss!" Kreed yelled as he reached his hand through the bars to pet Elise's eye lid.

But Shires pulled him back a bit.

"We've been coming here since his daddy was this age," she said. "We couldn't not come."

- Lindsey Bever

Over-eating takes talent

Word of the day: gluttony.

The Stock Show grounds are flooded with food. Reata. Diego's Cantina. Stockman's Cafe.

But for those festival foods, grab the antacids and stomp over to the Round Up Inn Food Court.

What you'll find in the food court:

Subway
Catfish Shack
Coburn's Bar-B-Q
Home Cookin -- offering jambalaya, red beans and rice and gumbo
Burger & Chili Shack
Granny's Cheesecake & More

Recommendations:

The Coburn's Bar-B-Q chopped beef sandwich is dependable and a solid selection for lunch. 

The Burger & Chili Shack usually has the longest line. It's the typical carnival stuff -- hot dogs, burgers, turkey legs, chili and Frito pie. The all-American hot dog is good for what it is. But the bowl of chili with cheese and onions is fantastic.

Granny's Cheesecake & More is selling the evil foods -- cheesecake, caramel apples, chocolate-covered strawberries and bananas. Go for the strawberries.

Just don't make the mistake of eating the barbecue, hot dog, bowl of chili and chocolate-covered strawberries in one sitting.

- Lindsey Bever

Unusual finds

The exhibits hall at the Stock Show is full of shoppers -- a beer in one hand and a shopping bag in the other.

Most are looking at cowboy hats and boots, Western paintings and jewelry. But for those who have a need for knives that can shave an orange peel or want a sketch of a horny toad, they've got 'em covered.

Anita Poynor, of Keller, was shopping with her kids Cody Griffin, 16, and Lisa Poynor, 13.

Lisa said the weirdest thing she has seen was The Bull Pen -- a booth where kids can sit on a stuffed bull and get their picture taken.

"That just shows what a city girl you are if you think that's the most unusual thing here," Poynor said to her daughter.

But Griffin's idea of the most unusual item was pretty accurate. The Texas Sandal Boots.

Diane Fritsch, owner and inventor of the Texas Sandal Boots models her footwear at the Stock Show.

The sandal boots are a new product this year. It's a custom-made boot top that can be worn with "sandals, high heels, low heels, mules or barefoot on the beach," said Diane Fritsch, owner of the boot top.

The boot tops are going for $89 for the 8-inch and $99 for the 11-inch at the Stock Show. Prices on the Web site are a bit more.

But Fritsch said the Texas Sandal Boots is making three to four sales a day.

Not bad for a boot top.

- Lindsey Bever

Home grown

Spectators could hardly get into the crowded West Arena during the first hour of the Stock Show's junior sale of champion animals.

But you could hear the auctioneer yodeling all the way outside.

Inside, kids were showing their animals, which went for thousands of dollars each.

But one young man turned some heads.

No taller than his steer, the boy stood poking his animal and patiently waiting to hear how much it was worth.

He hadn't bought the steer. He didn't even pick the steer. He' picked its mother and raised it from a calf.

Patricia Lyons, of Arlington, said these kids are a testimony to what Fort Worth is all about.

"He was one of the youngest and showed the most charisma of any kid here," she said. "This is the best event of the whole Stock Show. You can't watch this and not get excited for all these kids."

The steer's price tag: $20,000
Buyer: Ed Bass

- Lindsey Bever

I'll have another, please

They started drinking beer early at the Stock Show Friday. Bartender Camille Hudson, working in the Justin Arena, said she sold her first beer  at about 9:30 a.m.

"It's usually not that early, but this is a busy day," said Camille, a 23-year-old graduate student at Oklahoma City University. She commutes to the Stock Show when's she not in class.

The grounds were overrun with teens Friday - the big steer and barrow shows were going on - but Hudson reports that she hasn't seen any youngsters trying to buy a beer.

"I haven't had anyone with a fake ID," she said. "They're pretty well behaved, so far."

Camille sells Coors Light and Blue Moon beer on tap, and also offers wine.

Beer, however, is clearly the best seller.

"Coors Light is No. 1," she said.

That'll change Saturday morning for the Sale of Champions, when bloody marys become the drink of choice.

- Lee Williams

All work and no play

It's a ghost town in Cowtown -- at least at the carnival midway it is.

A few rides appear to be moving, but the seats are empty.

Mary Jarvis, a native of Fort Worth, rode the ferris wheel with her fiance and her two boys, ages 3 and 7. But they didn't have much company.

"I think it's because it's a school day," she said. "But it's nice we don't have to wait in line."

Ironically, it's kids' day at the carnival, said Richard Daley, who runs the water race game.

"But as you can see, there aren't many kids here," he said.

And Daley said today's crowd is pretty typical.

"It's been like this the whole Stock Show," he said. "It's terrible. I'm very disappointed."

- Lindsey Bever

Swine time

Ah, the smell of urine-soaked pine in the morning.

The pig pens at the Stock Show are full and their young owners are getting them ready for the Junior Barrow Show today.

Soon, judges will be grading these kids on the muscle tone, posture, walk and shine of their barrows.

Haley Buckley, 11, was loading her barrow onto the scale a little while ago. More than 260 pounds.

And Josh Auvenshine, also 11, said his needed to be washed, brushed and sprayed with a little swine shine before the show.

"The hardest thing is trying to keep him off the ground," he said, brushing pine shavings off his pig, which was lying down.

It seems these kids aren't at all attached to these animals. It's all business.

"Did I name him? No, it doesn't have a name," Josh said. "It's just a pig."

- Lindsey Bever