Secret to Barnett's Clarksville beef show win: 'Spend free time with your steer'
Two area high school seniors — both perennial top contenders in the Clarksville Area Junior Better Beef Show since fourth grade — have plenty of wisdom for the younger set of competitors coming up behind them.
It's advice that never changes, in a beef show that just completed its 68th consecutive year as one of Clarksville-Montgomery County's best-kept traditions.
"Get up early before school, work your steer, wash and groom your steer, feed your steer ... come home from school in the afternoon, and repeat."
In a nutshell, that's the advice from Graham Barnett, 17, of Montgomery County and Macy Hix, also 17, of Robertson County, who claimed the top two honors in Tuesday's beef show at the John D. Bartee Agriculture Center on Rossview Road.
"It's an awesome feeling to win this, because it's a really big deal and a relatively large livestock show," said Graham, a Rossview High School senior and the son of Chris and Laura Barnett.
He's right about that. With about 100 steers entered Monday and Tuesday, the Clarksville show continues to be one of the biggest of its kind in the southeastern U.S., says Show Chairman John Bartee Jr.
Young 4-H livestock producers from several northern middle Tennessee counties traditionally compete in the Clarksville show.
"I've been competing since fourth grade. I usually go to feed the steer before school in the morning, and then it's just a matter of catching them, walking and working them for show, and about once a week I wash them down, which just kind of calms them down."
His grand champion 1,352-pound steer sold Tuesday afternoon for $4.60 a pound at auction.
Graham plans to attend Austin Peay State University starting in the fall, where he will major in agriculture science.
His parents have seen his attention to detail on their livestock farm through the years.
"I think it's the perseverance of going out to care for the steer. There's so much detail that you have to pay attention to," Laura Barnett said. "The steer might, for example, get pinkeye ... cattle are so susceptible to that, or it might step on something that hurts its leg. If something like that happens you've lost everything you've worked so hard for."
Macy Hix, senior at Springfield High School, won the grand championship last year and this year netted reserve grand champion — essentially second place honors, overall.
The daughter of Brandon and Amy Hix, Macy has been in the mix of Clarksville-area champions for several years since her first grand championship that came in her fourth grade year.
"I don't think there's any particular secret to winning this event," Macy said. "Success comes from working hard, for a long period of time, before the show. It starts on the farm, not in the show ring."
Her 1,349-pound steer sold at auction Tuesday for $4 a pound.
She plans to attend Western Kentucky University in the fall, but wants to stay close to the livestock arena and help younger competitors along the way.
The long-running Clarksville event has endured because of community commitment to sustain it, and high-quality beef herds that exist throughout the northern mid-state, said Bartee, and Rusty Evans with the Montgomery County Agricultural Extension Service.
Evans has been around the event throughout the nearly 41 years he's been working with the local Extension Service.
"They first started having this event at the Frosty Morn building (near downtown Clarksville), and eventually it moved over to the Clarksville Fairgrounds (the site today of Liberty Park and the Clarksville Marina)," Evans said.
From there it moved to the Kentucky/Tennessee Livestock Market in nearby Guthrie, Ky., until Clarksville-Montgomery County was able to fund and build the 4-H livestock arena that the late John Bartee Sr., then-County Extension director, had long dreamed of.
"I think this event has endured because we've gotten good community support through the years, and good buyers participating. It takes money to back this event," Evans said.
Dedicated buyers include, for example, Legends Bank Chairman Billy Atkins, who hasn't missed one of the springtime beef shows for about 40 years. Legends has been a traditional sponsor of the show's grand champion.
"Then, we've had a lot of multi-generational families participating in, and supporting this event, and a lot of good parental support from the 4-H families.
"There's a lot to be learned from competing in an event like this for youths, about responsibility, and all of the facets of the beef industry.
"Hopefully, these kids can make some money through competing and the auction, that will help them and their families pay for college," Evans said.