Teen enjoys exhibiting livestock

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

Lorin Willliams with her Brown Swiss cow “Rebecca.” -Staff photo by Taylor

Feb. 9, 2006 - Lorin Williams of the Swiss Alp 4-H Club may only be 13-years-old, but she’s in her fifth year showing animals. She has shown a total of nine cows, several pigs and a few chickens over the years, but she’s definitely partial to “Rebecca,” her Brown Swiss dairy cow.

Not only is Rebecca gentle, she just helped Lorin win the junior showmanship class in the Brown Swiss Junior Dairy Cattle Show at the 2006 Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show. The contest was on Jan. 17 in Fort Worth.

Lorin credits a relative of her dad’s with introducing her to the breed of cattle when she was in the fourth grade, and it’s been nothing but good experiences … for the most part. She did admit to an occasional squashed foot from a cow accidentally stepping on her, or a sore leg from a cow kicking her, but “nothing serious,” she laughed.

She credits her older sister, Brooke, 18, with being a good role model for herself, and the members of their 4-H club. Lorin serves as secretary of the Swiss Alp Club, and she is on the 4-H dairy judging team.

Through 4-H activities, Lorin, a junior 4-H member, and Brooke, a senior 4-H member, have gained leadership skills and learned how to act in different social settings. Plus, Lorin said she, like many other 4-H’ers, has learned to be responsible. One example is she has to feed her animals before school, each day!

While Lorin plans to attend the San Antonio livestock show this month, she is hopeful of going on to Houston a few weeks later. She said that while she is a “mostly ‘A’” student, English is her favorite academic subject and she loves art. One of her drawings was in the finals at the Houston show.

Lorin is always patient when her friends from town come out to the country and ask questions about her animals. She said she enjoys talking and helping educate others with information she’s learned from 4-H, school and her parents. 

Once Lorin graduates from high school, she plans to go on to Texas A&M University and major in “something to do with animals.”