Lots of good comments and a few of them need combined.
Yes, many kids do show livestock for the "right" reasons; love of livestock, love of hard work, dedication. But a lot of kids/families do show to "prove" something; keeping up with the jones, suck at athletics, easier to buy a ribbon rather than work for one.
Which ones do you hear most about? Usually the high dollar, win at all cost, cheaters. That is what makes the news.
It IS an expensive hobby. Most families can not do it, regardless of if it is a family "vacation" or not. It is no longer a choice, as it is no longer even an option. Feed, fuel, equipment, animal, all add up to medical insurance, food, gas, and electricity.
I tried my best to win. I worked hard. Raised my own stock. Rarely, if at all, won. But I was raised that the purple ribbon was NOT the end point, making money was. I credit my parents for that. Not sure how they did it, but while I got frustrated and really ticked off at the same families cheating, and paying for high dollar animals and then paying to have them cared for, always winning, it never detered me from doing what I loved.
I guess most parents do not have that talent anymore. Kids no longer do something because they enjoy it, but do it to please someone else, or because "they have to". It usually isn't an option for them either, and that is sad.
