Local livestock judgers compete internationally, bring home big win

Four local students from Natrona County High School’s Casper FFA Chapter recently returned from an unforgettable international trip, where they not only represented Wyoming on the global stage, they also brought home a win. 

The team, made up of Emmy Hornecker, Garrett Burkett, Carter Cox and Madi Dickinson and coached by Heath Hornecker and Jeremy Burkett qualified for a two-week trip to Scotland and Ireland after performing exceptionally well at both the national FFA and 4-H contests.

International contests

Heath notes the team set out for Edinburgh, Scotland on June 17, where they first competed in the Royal Highland Show.

Unlike competitions in the states where teams judge beef, sheep, swine and goats and individual team member scores are compiled into a single team score, the Royal Highland Show required the Casper FFA Chapter to predetermine if they would judge cattle or sheep and split their team into two pairs. 

Individually, Emmy finished the competition fourth overall and Cox placed sixth overall, but had they been paired together, they might have taken the win, Heath notes. 

The Charleville Agricultural Show in Cork, Ireland was also different than the students were used to. In this competition, all four team members worked together to submit one set of placings. 

Their tight-knit team dynamic and hard work paid off as they secured a first-place finish, tying with a team from North Dakota.  

“The Ireland contest was extra special,” said Heath. “It was the first time all four of them judged together as one team. They had to talk through their decisions and agree on placings. To see them come together and win like that was a highlight of their careers.” 

In addition to the different contest set up, Heath notes international livestock are a lot different as well, and they are selected under different criteria than those in the U.S. 

“For example, we are used to cattle that go out and survive on big open range,” he explained. “In Scotland and Ireland, cattle run on pastures around 50 acres, so there are just some different selection criteria we had to focus on.” 

To prepare for this, the team spent some time before the contest in Scotland talking to local producers.

Cox comments, “The animals we judged looked very different than the animals back home, so we had to tweak our placing factors to fit what the officials were looking for. At the Royal Highland Show, we went around talking to several of the breeders, asking them questions about what we should look for in the contest. This helped us gain a lot of knowledge about the cattle in these countries.”

Unique opportunity 

The two-week trip wasn’t all business however. 

The group, which included the four-man team, two FFA advisors, several parents and a grandmother, also took time to explore Scotland and Ireland’s rich culture and vibrant scenery.

Heath shares they had the opportunity to visit iconic landmarks like the Edinburgh Castle, the Ring of Kerry and the Blarney Castle, where the students kissed the famous Blarney Stone. 

They also toured several farms throughout both countries, one of the most notable was a water buffalo dairy. 

“The milk from water buffalo is used to make mozzarella cheese. It’s higher in protein and other minerals which makes it ideal for making specialty cheeses, and that was something none of us had seen before,” he said. 

Heath also credited the generous community for making the trip possible. 

“I want to compliment our community,” he stated. “We had to fundraise to get our kids there, and all of the money was either contributed by the families or fundraised. We held several events, and we were able to fundraise for the kids completely so they didn’t have any out-of-pocket expense. I think this speaks so highly of our community.” 

The team returned home from their once-in-a-lifetime trip on July 1, just in time for the Central Wyoming Fair, where all four students and their families are once again back in the show ring. 

Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.