Rodeos and Livestock Shows Make Positive Impact on Texas

Livestock shows and rodeos are a long-standing Texas tradition, and there’s a lot more to them than glitz, glamour and cowboy boots.

Texas livestock shows and rodeos have a huge impact on the state’s economy, as well as consumers’ views and knowledge of agriculture. They also play an important role in helping young Texans gain life skills through livestock and equine projects, raise money for college and develop a lifelong love for agriculture.

Showing Livestock

Brother and sister duo Ben and Railey Mikeska of Dripping Springs have both been showing beef cattle since the age of 9 through 4-H, an educational hobby passed along to them by their father Roger and mother D’Ana who both enjoyed it in their youth.

“It taught us responsibility, the value of hard work and to have compassion for animals, and it helped provide money for us to go to college,” Roger says. He and D’Ana both grew up on cattle ranches and met at Texas A&M University.

“Showing livestock is truly a family sport,” Roger says. “The kids are leading steers around at shows when they’re age 9 or 10, and mom and dad are there to drive them and support them.”

The Mikeskas travel to the big livestock shows in Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin, but they also compete locally.

Sixteen-year-old Ben had the grand champion steer two years in a row at the Hays County Livestock Expo and the champion Hereford steer at the 2012 San Antonio Stock Show. He received a $10,000 college scholarship.

Learning By Doing

“Showing animals has taught me responsibility since the animals’ feed, water, health and safety are in my hands, both at home and on the road,” Ben says. “It also has allowed me to make lifelong friends from across the state, and it has made my family very close because we all work together toward a common goal.”

Working with livestock also has taught Ben that “food doesn’t come from a grocery store.”

“There’s a lot that goes into it before it hits the shelves. I think the 4-H and FFA youth of Texas and the rest of the country will lead the way in feeding the world in the future,” he says. “In addition to showing animals, I play football and lacrosse, which I love, but there is no better competition than in a show ring, and no better feeling than seeing your hard work pay off there.”

Thirteen-year-old Railey shows steers and rabbits.

“I only have the rabbits for a month or two, but the steers are a year-round project, and they both require a lot of work every day,” she says. “Showing animals has taught me to work hard and to keep a positive attitude, even when I don’t come out on top. I love the competition and the friendships that come with showing, and I really love the animals. I think this experience will lead me into veterinary medicine or another animal-related field.”

Rodeo Impacts

Rodeos have an equally important impact on young people, far beyond the bronco riding, calf roping and steer wrestling. Twenty-year-old Alex Ingram from New Braunfels won a $16,000 college scholarship in January 2013 after being crowned Miss Rodeo Austin.

“I grew up on a ranch, and my dad was a team roper, so I took an interest in rodeo queen contests,” Ingram says. “I’ve gained so much from competing in the pageants. I’ve learned how to interview, and increased my public speaking and horsemanship skills. I think rodeo is the best sport there is because it’s so family-oriented, patriotic and faith-oriented. It’s also helped me make connections by traveling to rodeos across Texas.”

Rodeo Austin awarded $484,000 in college scholarships to 45 students in 2013.

“Rodeo Austin is so generous, and I’m proud to be a representative of it,” Ingram says. “I’m entering my junior year at Texas A&M, and I’m majoring in agriculture communications. It’s my goal to work in the rodeo world.”