There are a bunch of seemingly good ideas posted that really show a complete lack of knowledge of the history involved and/or lack of knowledge of cattle in Texas.
First, blood typing is a common sense approach that was already done two decades ago. Pistol Pete became quite popular for his ability to blood type Angus. Bring back blood typing and you’ll only bring back the demand for Maine bulls that blood type Angus.
Second, if you think the cattle should all be run in the same class, you have no business trying to fix anything about Texas steer shows. The sixteen breed format is a HUGE part of the show system here for numerous reasons and it’s not going to change because damn it, people like it. Whether it’s point chasing for breed jackets or simply the fact that there’s not just one type of show steer, it’s a huge part of the reason the Texas jackpot system makes everything else look silly in comparison.
Yes, where you come from there’s no difference between the types of cattle raised in various parts of the state. Here, if you try running panhandle cattle in the valley you’ll find a bunch of skeletons in your fields. If you try running valley cattle in the panhandle, you better pray for mild winters.
Lastly, if you think nobody has done anything to try and ‘fix’ it, you simply don’t know what you are talking about. It was just three years ago that the state held a conference on nothing but the classification system. Claiming somebody is “taking the easy road” when you have no clue what road they’re on is just plain old ignorant.
Bottom line, you folks are coming up with solutions to problems you weren’t asked to fix for shows you aren’t even allowed to show in. It takes a significant amount of hubris to look at the level of participation in Texas steer shows and think you know how to fix it. Name me any state, let alone a state whose governor threatened to secede, where that kind of “help” is welcomed.
