Let's give Fort Worth and Dr Mark Johnson Credit

[Steer4Caddy]

Total 180 from last year.  Steers enter ring in a organized fashion and Mark is taking his time and looking at every steer twice at least.  Let's give him credit.  We were all pretty upset after last year and he and the show listened it seems.  Kudos.

 

[Steer4Caddy]

Dr  Mark Johnson. Excuse me.

 

[jagster]

Agree totally.  I was one of the ones last year who came on here to voice my complaints, and so its only right to come back and say WAY TO GO Ft. Worth-you got it right!  The show ran so much smoother except for the first couple classes of exotics as mentioned above. Not only did Dr. Johnson take his time and give everyone a look, the holding area was much more organized and the way the kids entered the ring so much more orderly than last year. 

Not only did the show run more smoothly, it seemed to me every one working at the Ft. Worth stock show was incredibly friendly and helpful, from the show officials to the trailer parking attendants.  Every worker I saw spoke, asked how the show was going, etc.  Could not have asked for a better experience this year.  Thanks!!! (clapping)

 

[chambero]

I didn't think they could make the makeup pen work as good as it did.  The presence of cops created a little more patience.

The first class of exotics was chaos trying to fit all of the calves in the way he did breeds.  Folks in that class weren't happy. Second class which my youngest son was in was a little better.  Friday ran pretty smooth once after they figured out the dance Thursday.

I agree it was a much different experience than last year, but I think most would have griped this year if this had been his first year because of his lack of handling calves and not looking at them set up.

I thought he did a fine job this year, but last year didn't bother me either.

Now if they'll figure out the stalling mess.  Our county had 7 calves + 2 chute passes and got 4 stalls.

 

[Tallcool1]

I didn't think they could make the makeup pen work as good as it did.  The presence of cops created a little more patience.

The first class of exotics was chaos trying to fit all of the calves in the way he did breeds.  Folks in that class weren't happy. Second class which my youngest son was in was a little better.  Friday ran pretty smooth once after they figured out the dance Thursday.

I agree it was a much different experience than last year, but I think most would have griped this year if this had been his first year because of his lack of handling calves and not looking at them set up.

I thought he did a fine job this year, but last year didn't bother me either.

Now if they'll figure out the stalling mess.  Our county had 7 calves + 2 chute passes and got 4 stalls.

What did you do with 7 calves and 3 stalls!!??  I know it won't work @ Ft Worth because of the magnitude of the show, but at our State Fair, we usually pay the fees and enter double the steers we are taking, just to make sure we have a stall.

 

[chambero]

The phantom entry thing is part of the problem.  Yes, everyone does that and it still does no good.

We (along with plenty of other people) survived by leaving calves outside in tieouts.

 

[avatar25]

Phantom entries is why Houston now counts head on trailers and then assigns stalls.  Requires a large staging area several miles from the show. 

 

[chambero]

Fort Worth has the same staging wait, they just have room to do it much closer.  I frankly think they need to do it like Houston and San Antonio - stalling based on first come, first served based on cattle actually on the trailer.  I'll pay whatever they want for a chute pass, just give me a spot for one if I pay for it.  I guess the difficulty is they don't have the numbers of volunteers that Houston and San Antonio do in order to put it together.

 

[Tallcool1]

Fort Worth has the same staging wait, they just have room to do it much closer.  I frankly think they need to do it like Houston and San Antonio - stalling based on first come, first served based on cattle actually on the trailer.  I'll pay whatever they want for a chute pass, just give me a spot for one if I pay for it.  I guess the difficulty is they don't have the numbers of volunteers that Houston and San Antonio do in order to put it together.

2013 was the first year that our State Fair put restrictions on blocking chutes.  Before that, stalling was a much bigger problem.  There were blocking chutes in stalls, in aisles, around every corner, as well as the designated blocking chute areas.  Show Boxes are the next issue that our State Fair is going to tackle.  Every family shows up with $5,000 worth of gear to fit $1,500 worth of steer.  We don't even take a show box anymore.  We have a bucket on our blower cart that we keep all of the stuff we use daily, and we hang our wash hose on the cart as well.  On show day, we bring our fitting supplies into the show in milk crates. 

I don't think that most people can comprehend the size of that Ft Worth show.  I try to envision what it must be like, but I know I am not even close.

 

[rackranch]

It was nice fwssr make the needed changes to the make up area and lining up the classes and i applaud them. There are a couple more changes i think would improve the quality of the show. One is the classification process. I feel the  exhibitor or substitute exhibitor from their county should lead steers through classification.  Breeders, steer jocks, ect. should not be allowed to lead the steers through. Secondly, I think all 10 placing  steers should have to go through the weigh back process. There are to many steers in classes that actually weigh two to three classes higher than the one they are in in hopes they will not be picked on a random or finish first or second in their class. Weighing all placing steers like Houston Livestock Show and San Antonio Livestock Show will put everyone on more even playing field. The way things are done now promotes cheating and teaches children how to cheat in order to succeed at Fort Worth.

 

[sj0515]

I have to agree. I was really impressed with the changes this year. I saw no issues in the holding area and the judge waited until all calves were in the arena before he began pulling for his top 10. The only problem we had was electricity it felt like we were in San Antonio. We continually threw breakers. (clapping)