Grooming at an early age |
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By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition |
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Nov. 4, 2004 - Cute as a button and wearing a pink shirt, big belt buckle, jeans and a pink bow in her hair, Haley Herzog, who turned 9 on Nov. 3, recently began showing cattle. Haley, who is a third grader at Robinson, began showing cattle last April and since then she has entered 30 shows and won many awards; her belt buckle one of them. Haley shows three Brahman heifers and two steers. She has won nine reserve heifer breed championships and 17 grand breed championships with her Brahmans. With her steers (an Angus and a Chianina), she has won four grand breed championships and one reserve breed championship. Both of Haley's parents, Natalie and Kevin, showed cattle when they were younger, from 3rd-12th grade. "My mom and dad started showing when they were 8. They asked me if I was ready to show, and I was," Haley explained. "My parents taught me how to feed them and take care of them." Haley's mother said, "She's been around cattle since she was born. When she was two-weeks-old we took her to her first show. We aren't going to force her to do this but we wanted to give her the opportunity." The Herzog's built a barn for the cattle last winter. Natalie's parents and sisters raise Brahmans in Chilton, "so that is where the Brahman come into effect," Natalie said. With all of Haley's awards, the Herzog's hope to build a trophy room to house all of her winning prizes. At the National Junior Brahman Association Show in Kender, LA last summer, Haley won Reserve Champion Gray Heifer and Reserve Junior Showmanship. "That is really good for an 8-year-old," said Natalie. "She competed against 8, 9, 10 and 11-year-olds." Most recently, Haley won Grand Champion Open Red Brahman female at the H.O.T. Fair and Rodeo in Waco. Her favorite award is a clock she won at this year's State Fair in Dallas, where she placed 2nd in showmanship. Haley's favorite animal, that is great for competitions, is her steer that she named Champ. "He's won mostly first place or champion or reserve," she said. Haley stays extremely busy, traveling to different competitions and staying involved with many clubs. She plays baseball, basketball and is involved with Robinson 4-H. She is also a member of the Texas Junior Brahman Association (TJBA), the American Junior Brahman Association (AJBA) which hosts a national show each summer, and the Texas Junior Livestock Association (TJLA) which Haley has been competing in many shows recently. "This is a hobby," explained Natalie. "We're not in this for the money. I tell her if she ever needs to slow down because she's too tired, then she just needs to let me know." The Herzog's attend at least one show every month, where Haley enjoys meeting new friends and gets excited about traveling, "unless it's 3 a.m. on a Saturday morning," said Natalie. "We do have lots of early mornings, because we try to do most of our traveling on the weekends." Not only is Haley involved in many activities and programs but she also has to tend to her three heifers and steers in the barn. "She's out there at 6 a.m. and we get most of the work done before she goes to school," explained Natalie. "She works on showing them and we wash the steers every evening because we're trying to grow their hair." Haley recently became involved with livestock judging where "I won the junior division last summer, and it was my first show," Haley said. She wants to become more active in livestock judging. And, since Haley is only beginning her career in showing cattle, she is bound to grow and mature, only winning more awards in her future. |
