Star Lake 2012 National Western Blog #9

Star Lake '12 National Western Blog Report #9 (1/14/12)

Friday began as a beautiful day in Denver at the National Western Stock Show.   Our crew arrived in the wee morning hours and began the preparation of the bulls for the Carload competition in The Yards.   In an earlier blog I explained what makes up the carload and thus I won't repeat again.  For us the Carload is a very, very important part of what we do.

This year we are very honored and humbled to have been awarded the Grand Champion Hereford Carload for 2012.  This is the thirteenth (Yes # 13) consecutive Carload Championship that has been won by Star Lake.  Number 13 won on Friday the Thirteenth!!!  We feel that it is a strong testament to our cattle, our people and our customers.  Throughout the history of Star Lake's participation in this event the vast majority of the bulls have been sold to our customers in our Fall Sale then held, maintained and developed for this event.   This year three bulls were For Sale and all were sold prior to the beginning of the Carload completion,  Thank you to Kottkamps from IN; Biddles from IA and Gleasons from OK for your purchases.  We are proud that this year that 50% of the Carload bulls had their new owners in attendance to witness and share this historic event.

The Grand Champion Carload trophy is quite a deal in its own right.  It is a tremendous award that weighs a ton.  There is no greater feeling than having your arms stretched with that trophy.  What a fantastic feeling...and yes a few tears as well.  I cannot say enough about our talented staff and crew that make this possible.  Congrats also to Delahey Herefords on their Reserve Grand Champion Carload entry.  I apologize for not having the pen show results and will get them to post tomorrow.

Today is the National Female Show, where there are a total of 306 female entries (109 Horned; 197 Polled).  We have seven heifers making a run and none of these are in the older age brackets. I know the crew will be working fast & furious to get everybody to the ring in top form.  Based on what we have in our showstring and what we have seen in others, I think the Shock & Awe heifers will catch some accolades.

I would remind each of you to check out our January Stock Show Internet Auction that is currently taking place now through Monday evening at LiveAuctions.tv.  We will conclude with a bidoff starting at 7 PM (Central) on the night of the 16th.  All of the fifteen lots are featured and showcased in the For Sale section of our website and you will find these to be some of our freshest genetics as we feature embryos out of Investor Gal, Mirror Image, Ginger Gal, Keyshona and Kessey.  Selling as well are a couple of great calves out of Glitter...a bull calf sired by Advance S109 and a heifer sired by Bright Future 533P.  So jump in and have fun...as always the Star Lake sales on LiveAuctions do not require a paid membership to participate.

Thanks again to all of you for the positive response to this blog attempt.  I enjoy the feedback and communicating with the many Hereford friends and followers around the country.  I hope to have more exciting tales to tell tomorrow.