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Steer Project Gives Student, Animal A Chance To Grow

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 17, 2008

Meet: Angel Baynard

Pasco High School student, 15, Wesley Chapel.

The first time I saw my steer he was head-butting a tree. ... He was a little bit smaller than the ones that were waiting to be picked up, but I agreed to buy him anyway. That night, I called my agriculture teacher, Mr. Dillard, to see if he could haul my steer to the Pasco High School agriculture barn. He agreed. So, on that Monday, I officially had a steer project.

The first day I weighed my steer was on Aug. 24. He weighed 517 pounds. ... When the official weigh-in for the Pasco County Fair came around, I was a little bit worried that I would have the smallest steer. I was wrong. My steer weighed 570 pounds. He wasn't the smallest steer at the barn anymore! I was excited.

By weigh-in, I had only been working my steer with a halter for about a week. I remember the first time trying to get a halter on my steer, Benji. I had to run him into a squeeze chute to put it on. He wasn't very happy. After the halter went on, I would tie him up and brush him every day for about two weeks. Then, I would let him walk around a little pen in the arena, so that he would walk on the lead rope and get a feel for the chain on the halter. I did that for a week, and by the time I was ready to lead him, he walked fairly well. So, I had my steer halter-broken. I could even touch his legs and feet without him kicking at me.

I found out about the Purina Mills ... steer show in Kissimmee. So, I took the opportunity. ... My steer weighed 725 pounds and qualified for Class 2. Showmanship was quite the learning experience. I found out that night how to properly use my show stick and show halter. It was really fun. However, I didn't place. The next day was confirmation class. I got my steer all ready and was walking up to get in line, when all of a sudden my steer got spooked. He reared up, knocked me down and landed on my hand. It was swollen and black and blue. ... I was faced with the decision to either show my steer or have someone else do it. I decided to show my own steer. Ends up, he wasn't so bad: He took fourth place.

He has well exceeded my expectations, and I cannot be more proud of my steer project!

EDITOR'S NOTE

The Pasco County Fair starts Monday. The youth steer show is at 6 p.m. Wednesday, and the steer sale is at 7 p.m. Thursday.

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