The Ohio State Saddle and Sirloin club hosted the Little International livestock show on Saturday, giving both novice and experienced animal handlers a chance to show off in the ring. The 95th Little International livestock show, or Little I, took place at the OSU Equine Facility and involved approximately 110 student participants.
Students competed in a range of categories, from sheep showing to corned beef curing. The day started at 8:30 a.m. with the horse and swine show, and ended with the prestigious Steeb Award competition, during which participants showed four different species.
The Saddle and Sirloin club of OSU was established in 1911, and started the Little International show in the fall of the following year. The show has run almost every year since then, with the exception of a two-year break during wartime.
The Little I was originally established to prepare livestock for the International Livestock Show in Chicago the following December. Now its primary purpose is to give students a chance to get closer to the livestock industry.
One unique aspect of the show is the involvement of novice handlers. The show has always been open to all students with an interest in the industry, regardless of area of study or past involvement with agricultural issues.
Students who wish to participate but lack prior experience are paired up with more experienced handlers two months before the show. This gives the novice handler time to learn the format of the show and how to present the animal they’ve chosen.
Lindsay Miller, one of four Little I chairmen this year, says that this show offers a great opportunity for students without a background in agriculture to get involved.
“We usually have several non-agriculture students come out, but not as many as we’d like,” Miller said. “The biggest value to [non-agricultural] students who participate would probably be a greater appreciation for where their meat and animal products come from, and a better respect for the agriculture industry.”
The show covers a number of aspects of the livestock industry. The four animals shown are horses, swine, sheep and heifers, or young female cattle. Though the format for every show is similar, each species presents its own unique challenges.
Because the Little I is more about the handler’s skills than the appearance of the animal, the handler’s actions during the show are paramount. One of the most important skills for a handler is the ability to keep the animal between themselves and the judge. In addition, handlers must keep the animals under control and must position them correctly to allow the judges to examine them.
Sheep present a special challenge, said Jordan Beck, a Little I chairman and former sheep handler.
“With sheep, you have to fit the wool,” Beck said. This means washing and trimming the sheep’s wool the night before the show. Special awards are given out for “best fit” on a sheep.
Heifers can be challenging as well.
“With heifers, you’re showing an animal that weighs around 400 pounds,” Miller said. “You only have two months to break them to lead.”
Despite this, many inexperienced students have overcome these obstacles in the past to compete successfully, even making it as far as the Steeb Award show.
The Steeb Award is the most sought-after of the competition and the most challenging. The winner of each species category must show not only their own animal, but all three other species as well.
“Usually there’s one species they really have trouble with, but they usually figure it out,” Miller said of the challenge of handling unfamiliar animals.
This year’s Steeb Award winner was heifer handler Allison Agle, who has been showing cattle since she was 8 years old.
“It is a great honor to receive the Steeb award,” Agle said. “It takes a lot of time, effort and skill to show any of the species exhibited at the Little I and I have a great deal of respect for the other participants.”
For more information on the Little International, go to sands.org.ohio-state.edu.
Meagan Strub can be reached at [email protected].
