I remember going to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo when I was younger and thinking about the day that I could be a calf scrambler. I wasn’t sure how it worked but I hoped that one day I would be able to do it. As my Ag teacher talked to a group of us at school about the different opportunities to scramble, I knew that if I could only scramble one place, I wanted it to be Houston. I filled out all the paperwork, convinced my parents that I really wanted to do this and waited to see where, when or if I would get the opportunity to scramble. I had applied to scramble at Fort Worth, Houston, and Henderson County. To my surprise I was chosen to scramble at all three events, but I was the most excited about Houston. As the day came closer for me to head to Houston, I was starting to get nervous. My dad had showed and he told me about his experience scrambling and that after he caught he got sick. That is when it hit me that I was going to be scrambling in front of thousands of people and the nerves really set in because I did not want to embarrass myself in front of all those people! If I am honest, I really did not expect to catch that night. I just did not want to get sick or trampled. When that gate opened and then the hat dropped, I just decided to run and give it everything I had. I was close to catching a couple of times and the calf slipped through my hands. As the number of calves left got lower, I think I became more determined. I saw a calf out of the corner of my eye and decided at that moment that was the one that I was going to catch. I am not sure how it happened because that part is a blur, but I grabbed its tail and quickly worked to the head and after a couple of calming breaths I moved to the head and got the halter on the calf. As I stood and raced across the finish line all I could think of was how I couldn’t believe what I had just done. I had caught in Houston!
That night was one of the most amazing nights of my life. I did something I really did not think was possible but knew from experience that the work had just begun. I have raised and showed cattle before so I knew what I was in for but that does not mean it all came easy. The first task was to pick a calf. I knew I wanted something that could handle the heat, would be a good producer, had good structure and was gentle. I looked at several places but when I saw Bugsy I knew he was the one. He had a good frame, great temperament and would be easy to keep in the heat because of his breed. Since this was not my first calf, I knew what to expect when we got him home. The first thing we did was find a name. We decided on Bugsy because he followed me around the pen wanting me to pet him the entire time, we were looking at calves. The name just fit. The next thing we did was work on tying him up. This would get him used to standing tied and holding his head up. Since he was so gentle teaching him to lead was not hard. As Bugsy and I got to know each other I learned his favorite places for scratches, he is not a fan of the show stick and he absolutely hates water and baths. That just meant we were going to work on these things to make sure he became comfortable with them. The first few months this was our focus as we were preparing to go to our first show. I had signed up for the East Texas State Fair and I was really excited to get him out away from home. The morning of the show he was spunky because of cooler weather, and I was worried it would affect him in the ring. He was a little antsy but nothing to bad and we ended up placing second in our class. I was proud of how he did but now I knew what we needed to work on. I had plans to take him to several more jackpots but soon after we got home that plan changed. One morning when I went to feed I noticed Bugsy looked a lot bigger on one side. I called my dad out and he thought that Bugsy was bloating. We called the breeder and asked for some advice and after a few days Bugsy seemed to be better. We soon started to prepare for the HLSR Progress Show. We traveled to Brenham and Bugsy stopped eating again. The night before the show we finally got him to eat and drink a little, but he was not looking his best. The next morning, he ate and was in good spirits even doing his normal fit throwing during his bath. As we entered the ring that afternoon Bugsy knew just what to do and while I would have liked him to stand a little more still he did really well. We placed eighth in the class. After arriving back home we got back to work tying him up, walking into his stance, working with the show stick, and taking baths. We brushed hair and trimmed hair and got hooves trimmed to get ready for jackpot shows that were coming up, but Bugsy started to bloat again. Unfortunately, this meant we were not going to be able to make the jackpots. I really started to get discouraged but the most important thing is that Bugsy is ok and stays healthy. The last few weeks it seems like we finally have the bloating under control and Bugsy is really eating well. We still have time to get to where we want to be and that is what I am staying focused on.
I had a plan for how I thought this project was going to go. I thought that catching a calf on the biggest stage was going to be the hardest part because I have raised and showed calves before. This project has taught me so many life lessons. The first being that just because you have done something before does not mean it is going to be easy. I also learned that it does not matter how prepared you are, things can still go wrong. It’s how you adjust to challenges and the attitude that you keep that is the real measure of success. Finally and most importantly I have learned that putting the well-being of your animal comes before anything else. Have I found myself disappointed at times? Yes, but the lessons I have learned have made me grateful for all the small accomplishments we have made along the way. Bugsy is happy, healthy, and thriving now and I am excited to see what happens in a couple of months when we step on the green shavings. I am so grateful for the opportunity that the Houston Livestock Scramble Program has given me, and I could not have done it without the support of my donor Cowboys 4 Heroes either. I hope to one day be able to give back like others have given to me.
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