County Fair, Texas (2015) - full transcript
County Fair, Texas is a portrait of a year in the lives of four, small-town kids as they raise and care for farm animals to show in competition at a local county fair. Presented from the perspective of the kids themselves, the film is a unique look at a formidable time in childhood, and a coming-of-age story that transcends the traditional 'contest' documentary.
[skateboard rolling]
[ambient music]
[cows mooing]
- You ready for your show tomorrow huh?
What are they saying to you?
Are they talking to you?
What are they saying?
- [Man] And now here's Tex Ann,
Tex Ann, what do you want to sing on this news?
- [Woman] Oh I'm thinking tonight of my blue eyes.
♪ Oh I'm thinking tonight of my blue eyes ♪
♪ Who is sailing far over the sea ♪
♪ Oh I'm thinking tonight of him only ♪
♪ And I wonder if he ever thinks of me ♪
♪ Would have been better for us both had we never ♪
♪ In this wide wicked world never have met ♪
♪ But the pleasures we both had together ♪
♪ I'm sure we'll never forget
♪ Oh I'm thinking tonight of my blue eyes ♪
♪ Who is sailing far over the sea ♪
♪ Oh I'm thinking tonight of him only ♪
♪ And I wonder if he ever thinks of me ♪
♪ When the cold, cold ground surround me♪
♪ Won't you come, dear, and shed just one tear ♪
♪ And then say to the friends all gather around you ♪
♪ A poor heart you have broken lies here ♪
♪ Oh, I'm thinking tonight of my blue eyes ♪
♪ Who is sailing far over the sea ♪
♪ Oh, I'm thinking tonight of him only ♪
♪ And I wonder if he ever thinks of me ♪
- [Man] Thank you Tex Ann.
[dog barking]
[roosters crowing]
[spitting]
- [Man] How you doing, Scott?
- [Man] Hey man, how are you?
- [Man] Doing good.
- [Man] Charles, I was telling Pedro, I don't think
it's settled, I just say pick what you like.
There's a couple of small pigs in here.
Like you were saying you still want one of these.
- [Man] Right.
- [Man] There's some couple of good pigs over there,
don't be scared to pick a barrow.
A barrow won y'alls show last year
and I got some really good ones in there.
That one wagging his tail fixing to turn around
is also good.
- [Woman] I like this one.
- I like that one right there.
- [Man] Which one?
- I like the one here, the second one that has
the back to us.
And then the second one over here.
This side.
- [Man] That barrow right there.
- [Man] Uh hmm.
- [Man] She said she like that one.
- Okay, that one right there.
I think that's the best pig in the whole litter.
I really do.
He's a monster isn't he?
- [Woman] Yeah.
- [Man] She's good.
- [Man] That will make it.
- [Man] Is that the one?
- Once you get them home, the main do, we gotta get wormed.
And I'll tell y'all how to do that with the safe guard.
And that's a multiple day wormer.
These bigger pigs will weigh 260 to 270 come October.
And that's perfect, as long as they grow,
don't get sick or anything.
They'll weigh 260, 270.
- Hey, Brandon, come look at these, look at those,
they're small [laughs].
Oh ah.
Hello. Mine's name is gonna be bacon.
[pig oinking]
- Whoa.
- I like this one.
- Okay, that's the barrow hog right there, alright.
[pig oinking]
Pretty heavy, can you take it?
[pig squealing]
- [Man] That's good, right there, Bob.
[heavy breathing]
It's gonna be tough 'cause she's not halter broken.
She ain't get to be around humans yet.
- Hang on, drop it.
Right here.
- So if I get up behind her, she's gonna go crazy.
Maybe she won't kick.
Go that way, go that way.
That's right.
I got her down there.
Keep going, harder, harder.
[chatters]
Just relax, just relax.
There you go.
[dog barking]
- [Man] Oh.
- [Man] Alright, hold on.
Y'all stay right there.
Just be easy, real easy.
- [Man] Don't set it lose.
- [Man] Just be easy.
[heavy breathing]
Real easy, we going towards her.
Real easy, right there.
- [Man] Hey.
[clapping]
- [Jonathan] We ain't got no lock, the lock's at the house.
[folk music]
[kissing]
[loud chewing]
[chain rattling]
[folk music]
[pig grunting]
[folk music]
[insects chirping]
- Tick, tick, tick, tick.
I can plug this in too.
She heard that noise, she heard that flickering,
she started throwing her head.
We'll see how this goes.
[whistling]
It's okay, it's okay, shh.
Come on.
It's okay. It's okay.
So close.
Come on girl, you smelt it, I'm okay.
It's okay.
See I'm not sure how, like what her signs are
when she gets mad.
She I'm not sure whether she's getting closer
to sell the food or to try to jump on me.
It's okay.
Well, that's good, at least your hands reaching me.
It means you must not hate me too much.
[ambient music]
Oh wow, we'll try again tomorrow.
[birds chirping]
- Come on, what's wrong with you?
Stubborn turd.
Come on, come on.
Come on.
- Don't turn.
Come on girl, come on, you can do it.
Now your going. Now your going.
Good girl, Aggie.
Alright.
You're going.
- Oh I know she'll go in here, she wants to eat.
- [Man] Can only clean one a day, that's--
- I can clean all three.
- That's like having one child, you only practicing
if you only got one kid.
- May get where Tori can end up with some college
money and savings out of this deal.
- I'm gonna blow it on clothes, nah I'm just kidding.
- Oh no no no.
- We'll have to get past the 10th grade first.
- Them boys of mine did this for 10 years
at the county fair and our only goal back then
was to make a sale.
We didn't care if we won or not, all we wanted to do
was to [mumbles].
- Uh hmm.
- [Man] That's why my boys never did pig, turkey,
chicken, rabbit, or steer, 'cause they knew if they
didn't make the auction, daddy was bringing it home
and putting it in the freezer.
- Yeah, I don't think I'll ever do a steer.
- They knew the heifers were gonna come home
and make babies.
- Yeah, not T-bones.
[engine revving]
- [Boy] Alright we got it.
[water splashing]
- That pig drink a lot of that water?
- [Boy] This one?
- Yeah.
No.
[water rushing]
[pig grunting]
- [Boy] Come on.
[pig grunting]
[whistling]
Stop, go this way, come on.
- [Man] He's walking pretty sound isn't he?
- [Boy] Uh huh, he's hugging up against the fence.
Uh hmm.
That feel good?
Ah, ah.
- [Man] He's probably good.
- [Boy] Yeah, he's fine.
- [Man] We just need to get him comfortable
in a new environment.
- Here, put this up and take that one down.
It's just the glass.
- Hmm.
A few of my favorites here of course is the Houston
Livestock Show and Rodeo buckle that Mason won.
I believe that was 2010.
And then Tate won a buckle in San Antonio this
past February and he also received a $10,000 scholarship
for that buckle, so.
Last May, we had our house broken into, and when we
showed up, my wife asked the sheriff, she says,
"Please tell me they didn't steal my kid's belt buckles."
And he said, "No, they're there."
So, she was relieved about that, because you can't
replace these buckles.
You know, it's a lot of hard work.
Early mornings, hot days, cold evenings,
rinsing calves, and blow drying.
And I couldn't imagine what would have happened
if they would have stole these buckles
and they didn't touch a single one.
So they're still all here.
[crickets chirping]
- Those are my chickens.
We get eggs with these.
We don't actually show these chickens.
And those are the ducks and things.
We use to keep our pigs over there
but a hurricane came and it collapsed,
so we don't do it there anymore.
We don't like to buy our eggs from the store,
because it's cheaper just to raise your chickens
and get your own eggs out the chicken thing.
And most of the eggs they raise at the store,
they have like genetic engineering and we don't
want to get sick and get salmonella, or anything.
So it's easier to do this.
[cow bellowing]
- [Boy] Shock.
[humming]
- Ah ah, go out the house.
Stupid cow.
Move.
Get.
[piano playing]
These are all my ribbons that I won from
Brazoria County Fair and I really don't show
anywhere else at the moment because we're always
busy with other stuff.
This is my first belt buckle the I won by myself
without the help of my brothers and sister
like two years ago.
This is one of the first trophies I won about
two years ago.
It says something on there, oh it fell off.
I won it for my breeding champion female,
my Limousine heifer.
In case you want to know what a Limousin is,
it's not a car, and I try tell people this,
it's a cow from France, and it's very furry.
We have a cooler out there to keep it cool
'cause it's not use to our climate,
'cause we live in Texas, it's super hot.
And it's really good.
That's why most of the beef you eat is from,
like if you eat ground beef, it's from a Limousin
cow most of the time.
If you want different kind of cow, it'll say it
on the package, but most ground beef is from Limousin.
Yeah, our cow was the greatest.
Don't let nobody else tell you any better.
Our cow's the greatest.
- [Boy] Might want to scrub those.
Looks like everything.
Right over here is dad's boar open stuff.
We don't know where his rigging is, but we keep
a lot of it right in there.
All under here is rodeo plaques and posters.
And some of these, they're in the album but some of them
aren't like this one.
They do this at the rodeos and then if you saw
the pictures you liked at the end, you could buy them
or if you didn't, you didn't have to.
And I guess, he got them made like that.
Well, I always heard stories that he would ride bulls
and that his dad rode bulls.
And when I was little, rode sheep, the mutton busting.
But I haven't been on a steer or nothing.
I sat on one in the chute when I was little
but never rode one.
That's dad.
Oh that's, I'm not sure who the bull is, but that's
Chris Shivers.
He's the first million dollar cowboy and he holds the record
for the most 90 point rides in the PBR.
Well, my grandpa, he recorded bull riding tapes.
I got them ranging from I think my oldest one.
It's '86 and that far, and then I got them
all the way up til about '05 I think.
He recorded like 10 rodeos on this one tape.
And I've use them so much, some of them don't even
show a picture anymore, all you can do is hear it.
- [Man] You're gonna be able to keep me updated, right?
- No, on some of them.
Why don't you come in here and tell them?
- [Man] You can always just give 'em to me.
- I only that one on that brown and white bull.
And then the one where the bull jumps out of the
pen with Hardy.
[ambient music]
That's the Alvin Rodeo right now?
- Yup.
- [Jonathan] Oh you're in this one, I've never seen
you in this one.
- [Man] Yeah, that's a different pen there.
- [Jonathan] Yeah.
Ooh.
- [Man] This about 1976 right here.
That might be me, 'cause I use to hang up a lot.
- [Jonathan] I've probably been watching these tapes
since I got them when I was like five or six.
- [Man] Oh yeah.
That's probably where it all started with you.
Watching these tapes.
[ambient music]
[folk music]
- I wanna chase that chicken so bad,
I wanna chase that chicken so bad.
You know I do, I can't.
My mom told me not to be irresponsible [mumbles].
These are the show pigs.
That's Pork Sausage, say hi Pork Sausage.
I don't know the name of that one.
Ooh ooh, his name is Pork Ribs.
- It's okay, come on.
Yeah, she lets me brush her left side, but she won't
let me get around to her right side to brush her.
And that's the side that needs to be brushed,
that's the side the judges look at.
See, every time I go to get a little bit over there,
she kind of acts up.
- Keep it going.
[machine blowing]
- See that wasn't bad.
Huh, that wasn't bad, you did go.
[cow grunting]
Oh please stop doing, ugh.
- To get her over to fair, I have to go take them
to get their hooves clipped, get them shaved,
'cause their hair isn't suppose to be this long.
Teach her how to walk right, bath house,
special way to walk.
This one's usually more like use to me,
in the pen already, I guess when I come out here.
'Cause I feed him first I guess.
[pig oinking]
This one's a lot more stubborn.
We don't know why.
Maybe 'cause she's a female.
- This way, come on.
Yeah, before I let her on that outside pen
or that little round pen we just built in the pasture,
she's got to get use to walking around
in circles right in here.
'Cause right now she's not really walking in circles.
She's just scooting her front end.
[folk music]
[pig squealing]
- Bacon, be quiet please.
Get her sister.
- I got her.
[pig grunting]
[kissing]
- It's okay.
Good girl.
Nick, look, you seen that.
Good girl, good girl.
[kissing]
Okay, that was almost my mouth.
[spitting]
Oh look, there's that little pony.
- Is that the one you were talking about?
- No.
- That's my Chance.
- That is?
That's your horsey.
- That's what I put on [mumbles].
One, two, three.
- Hold on, I don't got a hold of him.
[laughing]
Oh.
[laughing]
Holding on.
- [Boy] That little hair on that pony just flopping.
- I can get off by myself.
- [Woman] Okay.
[clapping]
- I got it.
You see right when she got on that pony, she kicked it.
- [Boy] Yeah.
- [Jonathan] Make it run faster.
Oh.
[engine revving]
[insects chirping]
- What are you doing covering your head up?
[coughing]
Come on, you got six minutes.
[moaning]
Get up.
Maybe, okay maybe seven.
- It was a full moon last night.
- And it's our last day.
- It is our last day.
- Only have [mumbles].
[laughing]
- Yeah, but if I found some more close here pretty soon,
he'd probably let me get on something.
- Why don't you just go to the [mumbles] winter series?
- [Jonathan] 'Cause they don't ever have nothing.
All the have is junior steers and senior steers.
- [Boy] They don't have bulls?
- [Jonathan] Nah, and for the senior steers,
you gotta be 13.
That's not, nah, that's not.
That's a good looking horse.
That kid goes to our school, the boy.
- [Boy] He does?
- [Jonathan] Yeah, he's a team roper.
They say he's like 26 in the world for heeling.
- In the world?
- That's what Kyle Booth told me.
I've never asked him about, but that's what I've heard.
- Oh there they go.
They're so funny to watch [laughs].
They're all running towards them.
They're like trotting.
- Try to shoot him right behind there ear,
right in the neck, okay.
Oh this gun's a lot bigger than that other one.
- [Man] Okay, you got it.
Can you see [mumbles]?
- I need the little one, it's too far.
- [Man] Yeah, yeah.
- [Jonathan] Oh yeah.
- [Boy] Get your hand up, don't touch him.
- [Jonathan] Oh that's a good one. Oh he touched him.
[bell buzzing]
- [Boy] No score.
- [Jonathan] Dang.
That was a good bull, but he was wanting him
over that front end.
- [Boy] I know.
See he wasn't leaning back far enough.
- Yeah, and he never took his spurs out, yeah yeah.
- [Boy] His feet weren't out.
- [Jonathan] He kept them in the whole time.
- [Boy] Yeah, you can't just dig them in.
You gotta turn them out.
- Yeah.
- Till you get straight in the next.
- [Jonathan] Look everybody's rigging I see is like yours.
Mine's all bigger and wider.
- [Man] Yeah, yeah.
- [Jonathan] Oh yeah, that's a good one right there.
- [Boy] He's spinning good.
- [Jonathan] Oh.
- [Boy] There you go, hang on there.
- [Jonathan] Look, he's spurring too.
- [Boy] Dang, that's a good one.
- He's gonna take the lead right there.
- That's a good ride.
- Yeah it was.
- That's the only good bull I've seen so far,
the other ones were crap.
- If that one, JT's would have jumped up there
and turned back and kicked as high he did,
that would have been a good one too.
- [Announcer] We're gonna need a drag the arena to set up the
pulse, we're gonna start at nine o'clock sharp.
- [Jonathan] So is that it for the rough stock?
- [Boy] Yeah. I'm gonna talk to my dad.
- Is it loaded?
- Yeah, all you gotta do is cock it.
You good or you want to change chairs?
- I need to sit up.
I don't see him anymore.
- [Man] Can you see through the scope okay?
- [Girl] Yeah.
[gunshot firing]
- [Man] Clean this place out.
- [Girl] The walk of shame.
[piano music]
[engine revving]
- I don't know what's gonna happen when he dies.
- Yeah, throw him in the dirt.
- Yeah, pretty much.
- Mags, you got the eyeballs.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, hmm.
♪ Happy birthday dear Tori
♪ Happy birthday to you
[clapping]
[piano music]
[group chatter]
- Of course, gotta hold my hand.
[girls screaming]
I'm freezing, it's cold.
[screaming]
- [Tiffany] Dragon, a seahorse actually.
You see the seahorse?
- [indistinct chatter]
- Looks like a giant lion mouth right there.
[piano music]
[engine revving]
[laughing]
- I bet you he can catch up to you.
[engine revving]
Did you talk to that guy?
- Yeah, I talked to that guy.
- [Boy] What'd he say?
- He's like you got to put some goggles on.
- [Boy] What?
- I need to put some googles on.
- [Boy] He told you that?
- 'Cause once a bug hits you in the eye,
he said it's not only gonna hurt your eye,
but you're gonna fall off.
He's kind of right there.
- [Boy] Yeah.
- [Girl] Don't let him go.
- Whoa.
[laughing]
[dramatic music]
- [Boy] Oh, yes.
[water splashing] [piano music]
- [Girl] Come on.
[crickets chirping]
[door opening]
- Good girl, okay, okay.
Come on. It's okay girl.
Come on, it's okay, come on.
Good girl.
Come on.
[grunting]
It's okay, it's okay.
- [Tiffany] Now, they're suppose
to go like this, at fair time,
we start walking the pigs like we walk them
in a show ring, which is basically, how my brothers
taught me to walk them in a straight line.
'Cause the judges notice them better when
they're not acting up.
Only up to fifth place get to sell their pigs
and the rest of them have to take them home.
[pig oinking]
- Alright, what I usually do,
just start from over here, on the side over here.
[clippers buzzing]
- Right here?
- Yeah, you always want to go against the hair,
okay, like that.
I think he's looking good.
I think he's got enough muscle.
He walks fairly well, and that's the main thing
is their structure.
It's gonna come down to the judge's preferences now
but I think we got him about as good as we're
going to be able to get him.
We'll know next Sunday I think they show, or Saturday.
[pig oinking]
[wheel barrel squeaking]
[door opening]
- Chu, chu.
Chu, chu, chu.
[door closing]
[door squeaking]
Well, I'm packing for rodeo school tomorrow.
Hopefully gonna do good there.
I mean I'm not real nervous, as nervous like my
mom or something.
I mean, I know should be scared but I'm really not.
She's heard stories and seen movies of how
people can get hurt real bad in rodeo
or even die, so it's not too big of a deal to me,
but she seems pretty nervous about it.
To be honest, it doesn't even feel like
I'm going tomorrow.
It just feels like it's gonna be a normal day.
I'm pretty sure once we get there, that'll be different.
- How y'all are doing today?
- Fine.
- How you doing young lady?
- Good, how are you?
- Good, good.
- How's Cheryl doing?
- She's doing really good.
- Good, good.
- Very, very good.
- They've got her entered in a commercial show
and the buyers will payout more money for bred cattle.
They'll pay a couple hundred dollars more
for one that's bred.
Judges like to see them bread at her age. So we'll find out.
- [Tori] Your next Aggie.
Moment of truth right here.
You better have a baby in there.
Come on Aggie.
Come on Aggie.
- [Man] This one here, could be 34 days.
- We got that [mumbles], ultrasound.
This is the horn and ears right there, see that little.
That's the whole uterus right here.
Yeah, she's not pregnant.
She's not bred.
[engine revving]
[insects chirping]
- [Girl] [Mumbles].
[water splashing]
[laughing]
- [Girl] Hit my face.
[laughing]
Don't look now.
[laughing]
- Who came up with this idea?
- Both of us.
- Oh.
- I called it a hillbilly slip and slide.
- It's not a hillbilly slip and side.
It's a ghetto slip and slide.
- Ghetto slip and slide.
Is that any better than a hillbilly slip and slide.
- Yes, 'cause ghetto ones have rips.
- Okay, sorry [laughs].
[water splashing]
- [Girl] Sorry.
[laughing]
- We weren't looking to adopt.
Like I said we have three children of our own.
It's not like our house wasn't full
but my husband has a half sister and was told
that her granddaughter had just given birth to a child.
And I said, impossible, she's what, 12, 13 years old.
He said, "Well, she doesn't want to be a mother
"and so she's putting her up for adoption."
[ambient music] [water splashing]
You know I always say you can't choose
your own children but we chose her, and I'm sorry,
I'm getting real emotional.
And to me it's like she chose us because people
ask us like, why would y'all take another kid?
Your kids are so big.
And I always felt like she was a gift from God.
[ambient music]
[horse galloping]
- Whoa, whoa.
- [Mumbles] we have a rope.
- Yeah, get you a rope and start twirling first.
- Okay.
- Learn how to handle your rope.
[water splashing]
- I asked about her a lot and they told me a lot of stories
and it made me mad at her
because I didn't know I had a sister
until two years ago.
That she knew she had me and she couldn't take care of me.
But she went out and had another child and
couldn't take care of that child and gave
that child away too.
And it made me mad because if you know you can't take
care of children, you shouldn't have them.
I mean, I know how some children complain like
oh my god, my mom is like da da da da da.
So I really don't want to complain.
Like if I could stay a teenager forever, I would.
And they're like I want to grow up.
I don't want to grow up, I'd rather not.
The real world scares me.
There's too many crazy people out there.
I want to stay in my own sheltered little box
and not have to come out.
[ambient music]
[loud clicking]
- Have to do all that, just stay in the air and learn it.
- Have you done this before?
- No, it's my first time [laughs].
How old are you?
- 19.
What about you?
- 15.
- So a freshman.
- Yeah.
- We're gonna give you every chance this weekend
but you are not in shape to do this.
- Yes sir.
- And we don't have any magic potion to fix that.
That's something you're gonna have to bow up
and decide if you want to take care alright,
'cause you can't keep until you get in a little
better shape.
We're gonna get you fundamentals.
But you're gonna leave here with knowing more
than your body can execute.
- Yes sir.
- And that's our goal this week.
Get you all the information we can,
try to get a little foundation in you,
but you can fix it.
- Yes sir.
- We'll work with you.
- Yes sir.
- Guys, this is very important, okay,
we're going over the foundation of how you're gonna
ride your bulls.
Okay, it doesn't change for anybody, okay.
All of y'all almost, whenever you leave the bucket chute,
you're gonna want to tend to this right here.
Come back, your feet are gonna float forward
and you're gonna fall off the bat, okay.
It's 'cause you're not getting ahold with your feet,
you're not mashing, you're not lifting.
You've got to ride that bull.
You ride this thing like it's a bull,
y'all see me, I'm not playing whenever I ride this thing.
Okay, I'm not just getting up here going,
oh wow this is fun.
Okay.
This is a bull to me.
If I ride this like a bull, I'm gonna ride that like a bull.
Here, ready to go.
Alright, whistle blows.
[loud squeaking]
[loud banging]
Okay.
Good job.
Drive up over it, get on your butt, get off your butt.
I just want to make sure, here we go.
Okay, whistle blows, whenever you're ready.
Fire now, okay.
There you go, keep going, move.
Okay, who's next?
Right here.
Get on there.
Get up, you're good.
Alright then, [mumbles].
Okay, right there, keep your chains up.
Nice and easy, we're just gonna go up and down.
See what happens.
Slow your trailer down.
There you go, you see the difference?
You feel the difference?
- Yes sir.
- Okay, gotta breathe a little bit, okay.
Ride on over, there you go.
Alright, here we go. Slow down for a second.
I want you to slide over, just, no,
watch your free hand, keep it square.
Okay, now shuffle just your hips.
Okay, see how that works?
Shuffle your hips, there you go.
Okay, you're always riding it.
Always riding, there you go.
Okay, slow it down, slow it down.
Whistle blows.
Yeah, yeah, okay. [clapping]
Alright, hey, you really got to look, Jon,
where you looked is right here.
And I can see, I mean, this is, I think this it.
Not a good spot, okay.
Always warm up, stretch, warm your muscles up.
Kind of jump up and down, kind of get ready.
Kind of be moving, thinking about, start warming
your body up 'cause those bulls, half the time they don't
know oh no, we got to slowly go into it.
It's a hundred percent as soon as that gate opens, okay.
[dramatic music]
[bull digging]
Put a lot of pressure on your knee,
this is cowboy up, okay, go.
Come on, come on.
- [Man] Let's go boy.
[cowbell rattling]
[whistling]
- [Man] Hey.
Oh.
[dramatic music]
[bull grunting]
[cowbells rattling]
- [Man] Okay, Jon.
- Put your right foot on there, now.
The other side, right side.
Left foot here, straight down buddy.
Now, scoot back.
Put this foot, down, down, Jon.
This foot down over here.
Right in place on the knee.
[dramatic music]
[cowbell rattling]
Hold it, put your hand,
now set it right there flat.
This is what controls that.
[dramatic percussive music]
Got your heels lined up with your belt?
- Yeah.
- Okay, stand on your feet.
Put your butt up on your hand.
Get ready go.
[cowbell rattling]
- [Man] Feel that rope, buddy.
[loud grunting]
[cowbell rattling]
- [Man] Guys, open that gate for me please.
- Right, nobody but me going choo.
- [Man] I told you everything was gonna be moving
so fast, you ain't gonna be able to think about everything.
- [Boy] Yeah I know.
Leaving that looks pretty good,
and then that second jump,
see that one looks good and then burmp, he got my outside foot.
- [Man] Hey, most important,
when they take your rope, there ain't nothing
you can do unless you got some like cat-like balance.
- Are they gonna let us get on more?
[folk music]
- [Man] [Mumbles].
[folk music]
- Everybody wants to win, you know what I mean,
so that's the way we go in.
Just think that we can win.
Every kid has got that attitude.
You know, as long as we do what we suppose to do
and hopefully, we'll come out a winner.
I got to get this one back through,
I gotta get that pig back where she needs to be.
- Okay, I gotta go cook and get some drinks.
- Huh?
- [Girl] I'm gonna cook and get some drinks.
- Yeah.
- [Girl] What you need?
- Soda.
- What kind of soda?
- Lemon lime.
[easy listening music]
- Check check, mic check.
[easy listening music]
- Whoa Nelly.
- [Girl] Come on.
- [Tiffany] Let me feed him real quick.
- [Man] She gotta weigh them to see what they weigh.
- [Tiffany] Uh hmm.
- [Man] Then once we weigh them to see what they weigh,
then we know how much to feed them,
'cause we don't want to go over.
- Chu chu chu chu chu, excuse me.
[water splashing]
[easy listening music]
[cow grunting]
- Dear heavenly father, we're mindful,
many blessings that you have bestowed upon us.
As cowboys, we live life of hard work.
Long days, restless nights of unspoken faith.
At the end of the day with our tethered hearts
and our challenged hands as we lay down in you,
ask for forgiveness.
Lord, tonight, as we start our rodeo, we ask that you not
only watch over our attendance, we also that you watch
over [mumbles] and folks may stay free from injury.
[clapping]
- [Man] Good morning ladies and gentleman,
like to welcome you to our 2013 travel heifer show.
[Mumbles] judge again today.
Been with us for several years.
Our first class in the ring is gonna be class 802,
so this will be your last last in half, class 802,
that's gonna make these calves 12 to 15 months old.
- Slow down Aggie, slow down Aggie.
[cow mooing]
- [Man] Next class of heifers in the ring
will be class 804.
Last in half females, 18 to 21 months old.
I have five on record.
This will be your class 804.
Last in half all the females, 18 to 21 months.
- [Man] [Mumbles].
[Tiffany] How much can it weigh?
- Too many.
It can't go, once you get out there,
take him, and come to the judge.
That's what you want to do.
You want to come to judge and [mumbles].
[pig oinking]
[loud cheering]
- How are you girls?
- Good.
- Alright, ready to go.
- There you go Piggy, come on, you got it.
Uh.
- Are you ready?
- Yeah. I'm a pig jockey.
- [Woman] First call for class 556 to make their way
to the holding area.
First call for class 556 to make your
way to the holding area.
[bell music]
- It's okay, shh shh shh.
Hey, I'm right here, it's alright, it's okay.
[cow mooing]
It's alright, shh shh, it's okay.
It's alright, hey easy.
[bell ringing]
[easy listening music]
It's okay, shh shh.
Good girl, it's okay.
- [Man] Compliments to these young people out there.
They've done extremely good job.
Some of their arms are gonna be a whole lot more tired.
Let 'em hear it, they deserve it.
[audience applauding]
Preference wise, I'd go for the yellow heifer today--
- Half way [mumbles].
- Thank you.
So far I've done pretty good.
I got a fifth place ribbon and a fourth place ribbon.
But I came out here this morning.
I don't think she was happy with fifth and fourth place
'cause she ate pretty much all of it.
[bell music]
[pigs oinking]
[clapping]
- [Woman] Would you please give the kids
that are exiting the arena a round of applause
for their hard work and dedication this past year.
They've worked very hard in raising their animals.
Okay, congratulations to class 555.
In first place is James Wells with Angleton FFA.
In second place, George Wright with FFA.
- This is why I hate pigs.
- [Man] Good job.
- Yeah, embarrassed the shit out of ourself.
- Hey, hey, hey.
[percussive music]
- [Man] Young lady's bald faced female that comes
next in class, a female that I think you can appreciate
her vantage in growth, she's a female that gets
a little larger frame than I'd like to see her today.
When you really get behind this heifer is where she
kind of loses some of that overall power and base width
compared to the two heifers that lead off the class.
[cow mooing]
- Come on Aggie, come on get up.
Come on big girl.
- [Man] Our 2013 Stramel Heifer Showmanship Award
goes to Mason Cosner from Caravan [mumbles].
[audience applauding]
- [Man] Another really nice lineup, let's put our hands
together and congratulate these young folks
who did a really nice job.
It's not overnight.
I mean, you can tell they've been working with
these cattle.
What an outstanding job.
And it all starts at the house, you can tell the way
these cattle are working, the way they're conditioned,
that's definitely what they've been doing.
- [Man] Less than half of them are female, [mumbles].
[ambient music]
- Come on, come on.
[gate squeaking]
He come here, because he like my pig, so I got pigs,
so I can be in the championship drive to
win first place in this one.
Yeah, so this is really good.
[ambient music]
[clapping]
[audience applauding]
- [Woman] In first place, we had Chandy Stander
with Angleton FFA.
In second place, we have Dalton Decker
with Angleton FFA.
In third place, Tiffany McNeil with Angleton [mumbles].
[applauding]
And in fourth place, Braxton Wood with [mumbles] FFA.
In fifth place, is Jacob [mumbles].
- That's what I'm talking about, come on.
- Ah, I can't breathe.
[laughing]
- You did a good job.
- Thanks.
- I'm proud of you.
- [Woman] Hold that ribbon up.
Look at me.
[camera snapping]
Good job.
- [Man] Y'all are gonna make me cry.
- Next time.
Next year.
- Mic check, mic check.
Guys we're gonna get the live auction started here
in just a few minutes.
So if you're still in the back eating, eat fast,
'cause we want you up here to participate
in the live auction.
We're gonna started in just a few minutes.
If you're not registered to participate in the auction,
go see the ladies right over here by the door.
They'll get you a big [mumbles].
- Woo hoo.
I know [mumbles] I just never got it, [mumbles].
- [Man] Sold there your way, $4,000 TDEC,
what's your number there?
TDEC wins it, $2,000, [mumbles].
[bell ringing]
$3,000, yes.
- Did that hurt when you fell off the bull?
- The second one it did, the first one--
- You rode it twice?
- Not the mechanical bull?
- You rode a real bull?
- Yeah.
- Are you nervous?
- Yeah, a little bit.
- How much do you hope to get?
- Like 1,500 at least.
- Well, good luck.
- You too.
- Let me how you do.
- Alright.
- [Man] Lot number 44 is Jonathan Baker.
Alvin FFA Club 912, less than half she is open,
let's get number 44.
Alright Jonathan, let's sell your animal now.
[Mumbles] for Jonathan here, [mumbles, one thousand,
now 1,250.
$1,250 will buy you a heifer today.
$1,250, I see you Ray, now $1,500,
now 17 and a half, 1,750, [mumbles].
2,000, you're out JT.
2,000 ready to go, 2,000.
[loud hammering]
Sold at 1,750 for 1265, for 1,750.
[camera snapping]
- [Man] You've been here before?
- [Tiffany] Yes I have.
- You danced on the stage last year.
- Yes I did, sir.
- Right, so you know the drill, right.
- Alright, alright, alright.
- Go out there and smile and look pretty, right.
- [Tiffany] Whoo.
- [Man] Lot number 79, it's Tiffany McNeil.
Angleton Willy [mumbles] storage,
she's got a third place swine.
Alright Tiffany, dance up there now,
it'll bring a couple more votes.
Somebody get me started guys.
2,500 [mumbles],
600 now, 700, 800 now, 900 now,
a thousand, [mumbles],
now 1,700 [mumbles],
17, now 18,
1,800 now 19, [mumbles].
Sold at $1,800.
- Whoa. [clapping]
Thank the Lord, we got $1,800.
I'm so shocked.
- That was a good girl, you did good in there, good girl.
I'm not real sure whose ranch or farm she's going to.
All I know is that she got bought for $1,750.
[folk music]
[cows mooing]
- You are done Aggie girl.
Now you get to back to pasture and be a mommy.
[kissing]
You did good.
Let's go home.
[folk music]
Bye bye.
[door closing]
[folk music]
[door slamming]
[folk music]
[gate squeaking]
[cow mooing]
[folk music]
[cow mooing]
[easy listening music]
[music fades]
[ambient music]
[cows mooing]
- You ready for your show tomorrow huh?
What are they saying to you?
Are they talking to you?
What are they saying?
- [Man] And now here's Tex Ann,
Tex Ann, what do you want to sing on this news?
- [Woman] Oh I'm thinking tonight of my blue eyes.
♪ Oh I'm thinking tonight of my blue eyes ♪
♪ Who is sailing far over the sea ♪
♪ Oh I'm thinking tonight of him only ♪
♪ And I wonder if he ever thinks of me ♪
♪ Would have been better for us both had we never ♪
♪ In this wide wicked world never have met ♪
♪ But the pleasures we both had together ♪
♪ I'm sure we'll never forget
♪ Oh I'm thinking tonight of my blue eyes ♪
♪ Who is sailing far over the sea ♪
♪ Oh I'm thinking tonight of him only ♪
♪ And I wonder if he ever thinks of me ♪
♪ When the cold, cold ground surround me♪
♪ Won't you come, dear, and shed just one tear ♪
♪ And then say to the friends all gather around you ♪
♪ A poor heart you have broken lies here ♪
♪ Oh, I'm thinking tonight of my blue eyes ♪
♪ Who is sailing far over the sea ♪
♪ Oh, I'm thinking tonight of him only ♪
♪ And I wonder if he ever thinks of me ♪
- [Man] Thank you Tex Ann.
[dog barking]
[roosters crowing]
[spitting]
- [Man] How you doing, Scott?
- [Man] Hey man, how are you?
- [Man] Doing good.
- [Man] Charles, I was telling Pedro, I don't think
it's settled, I just say pick what you like.
There's a couple of small pigs in here.
Like you were saying you still want one of these.
- [Man] Right.
- [Man] There's some couple of good pigs over there,
don't be scared to pick a barrow.
A barrow won y'alls show last year
and I got some really good ones in there.
That one wagging his tail fixing to turn around
is also good.
- [Woman] I like this one.
- I like that one right there.
- [Man] Which one?
- I like the one here, the second one that has
the back to us.
And then the second one over here.
This side.
- [Man] That barrow right there.
- [Man] Uh hmm.
- [Man] She said she like that one.
- Okay, that one right there.
I think that's the best pig in the whole litter.
I really do.
He's a monster isn't he?
- [Woman] Yeah.
- [Man] She's good.
- [Man] That will make it.
- [Man] Is that the one?
- Once you get them home, the main do, we gotta get wormed.
And I'll tell y'all how to do that with the safe guard.
And that's a multiple day wormer.
These bigger pigs will weigh 260 to 270 come October.
And that's perfect, as long as they grow,
don't get sick or anything.
They'll weigh 260, 270.
- Hey, Brandon, come look at these, look at those,
they're small [laughs].
Oh ah.
Hello. Mine's name is gonna be bacon.
[pig oinking]
- Whoa.
- I like this one.
- Okay, that's the barrow hog right there, alright.
[pig oinking]
Pretty heavy, can you take it?
[pig squealing]
- [Man] That's good, right there, Bob.
[heavy breathing]
It's gonna be tough 'cause she's not halter broken.
She ain't get to be around humans yet.
- Hang on, drop it.
Right here.
- So if I get up behind her, she's gonna go crazy.
Maybe she won't kick.
Go that way, go that way.
That's right.
I got her down there.
Keep going, harder, harder.
[chatters]
Just relax, just relax.
There you go.
[dog barking]
- [Man] Oh.
- [Man] Alright, hold on.
Y'all stay right there.
Just be easy, real easy.
- [Man] Don't set it lose.
- [Man] Just be easy.
[heavy breathing]
Real easy, we going towards her.
Real easy, right there.
- [Man] Hey.
[clapping]
- [Jonathan] We ain't got no lock, the lock's at the house.
[folk music]
[kissing]
[loud chewing]
[chain rattling]
[folk music]
[pig grunting]
[folk music]
[insects chirping]
- Tick, tick, tick, tick.
I can plug this in too.
She heard that noise, she heard that flickering,
she started throwing her head.
We'll see how this goes.
[whistling]
It's okay, it's okay, shh.
Come on.
It's okay. It's okay.
So close.
Come on girl, you smelt it, I'm okay.
It's okay.
See I'm not sure how, like what her signs are
when she gets mad.
She I'm not sure whether she's getting closer
to sell the food or to try to jump on me.
It's okay.
Well, that's good, at least your hands reaching me.
It means you must not hate me too much.
[ambient music]
Oh wow, we'll try again tomorrow.
[birds chirping]
- Come on, what's wrong with you?
Stubborn turd.
Come on, come on.
Come on.
- Don't turn.
Come on girl, come on, you can do it.
Now your going. Now your going.
Good girl, Aggie.
Alright.
You're going.
- Oh I know she'll go in here, she wants to eat.
- [Man] Can only clean one a day, that's--
- I can clean all three.
- That's like having one child, you only practicing
if you only got one kid.
- May get where Tori can end up with some college
money and savings out of this deal.
- I'm gonna blow it on clothes, nah I'm just kidding.
- Oh no no no.
- We'll have to get past the 10th grade first.
- Them boys of mine did this for 10 years
at the county fair and our only goal back then
was to make a sale.
We didn't care if we won or not, all we wanted to do
was to [mumbles].
- Uh hmm.
- [Man] That's why my boys never did pig, turkey,
chicken, rabbit, or steer, 'cause they knew if they
didn't make the auction, daddy was bringing it home
and putting it in the freezer.
- Yeah, I don't think I'll ever do a steer.
- They knew the heifers were gonna come home
and make babies.
- Yeah, not T-bones.
[engine revving]
- [Boy] Alright we got it.
[water splashing]
- That pig drink a lot of that water?
- [Boy] This one?
- Yeah.
No.
[water rushing]
[pig grunting]
- [Boy] Come on.
[pig grunting]
[whistling]
Stop, go this way, come on.
- [Man] He's walking pretty sound isn't he?
- [Boy] Uh huh, he's hugging up against the fence.
Uh hmm.
That feel good?
Ah, ah.
- [Man] He's probably good.
- [Boy] Yeah, he's fine.
- [Man] We just need to get him comfortable
in a new environment.
- Here, put this up and take that one down.
It's just the glass.
- Hmm.
A few of my favorites here of course is the Houston
Livestock Show and Rodeo buckle that Mason won.
I believe that was 2010.
And then Tate won a buckle in San Antonio this
past February and he also received a $10,000 scholarship
for that buckle, so.
Last May, we had our house broken into, and when we
showed up, my wife asked the sheriff, she says,
"Please tell me they didn't steal my kid's belt buckles."
And he said, "No, they're there."
So, she was relieved about that, because you can't
replace these buckles.
You know, it's a lot of hard work.
Early mornings, hot days, cold evenings,
rinsing calves, and blow drying.
And I couldn't imagine what would have happened
if they would have stole these buckles
and they didn't touch a single one.
So they're still all here.
[crickets chirping]
- Those are my chickens.
We get eggs with these.
We don't actually show these chickens.
And those are the ducks and things.
We use to keep our pigs over there
but a hurricane came and it collapsed,
so we don't do it there anymore.
We don't like to buy our eggs from the store,
because it's cheaper just to raise your chickens
and get your own eggs out the chicken thing.
And most of the eggs they raise at the store,
they have like genetic engineering and we don't
want to get sick and get salmonella, or anything.
So it's easier to do this.
[cow bellowing]
- [Boy] Shock.
[humming]
- Ah ah, go out the house.
Stupid cow.
Move.
Get.
[piano playing]
These are all my ribbons that I won from
Brazoria County Fair and I really don't show
anywhere else at the moment because we're always
busy with other stuff.
This is my first belt buckle the I won by myself
without the help of my brothers and sister
like two years ago.
This is one of the first trophies I won about
two years ago.
It says something on there, oh it fell off.
I won it for my breeding champion female,
my Limousine heifer.
In case you want to know what a Limousin is,
it's not a car, and I try tell people this,
it's a cow from France, and it's very furry.
We have a cooler out there to keep it cool
'cause it's not use to our climate,
'cause we live in Texas, it's super hot.
And it's really good.
That's why most of the beef you eat is from,
like if you eat ground beef, it's from a Limousin
cow most of the time.
If you want different kind of cow, it'll say it
on the package, but most ground beef is from Limousin.
Yeah, our cow was the greatest.
Don't let nobody else tell you any better.
Our cow's the greatest.
- [Boy] Might want to scrub those.
Looks like everything.
Right over here is dad's boar open stuff.
We don't know where his rigging is, but we keep
a lot of it right in there.
All under here is rodeo plaques and posters.
And some of these, they're in the album but some of them
aren't like this one.
They do this at the rodeos and then if you saw
the pictures you liked at the end, you could buy them
or if you didn't, you didn't have to.
And I guess, he got them made like that.
Well, I always heard stories that he would ride bulls
and that his dad rode bulls.
And when I was little, rode sheep, the mutton busting.
But I haven't been on a steer or nothing.
I sat on one in the chute when I was little
but never rode one.
That's dad.
Oh that's, I'm not sure who the bull is, but that's
Chris Shivers.
He's the first million dollar cowboy and he holds the record
for the most 90 point rides in the PBR.
Well, my grandpa, he recorded bull riding tapes.
I got them ranging from I think my oldest one.
It's '86 and that far, and then I got them
all the way up til about '05 I think.
He recorded like 10 rodeos on this one tape.
And I've use them so much, some of them don't even
show a picture anymore, all you can do is hear it.
- [Man] You're gonna be able to keep me updated, right?
- No, on some of them.
Why don't you come in here and tell them?
- [Man] You can always just give 'em to me.
- I only that one on that brown and white bull.
And then the one where the bull jumps out of the
pen with Hardy.
[ambient music]
That's the Alvin Rodeo right now?
- Yup.
- [Jonathan] Oh you're in this one, I've never seen
you in this one.
- [Man] Yeah, that's a different pen there.
- [Jonathan] Yeah.
Ooh.
- [Man] This about 1976 right here.
That might be me, 'cause I use to hang up a lot.
- [Jonathan] I've probably been watching these tapes
since I got them when I was like five or six.
- [Man] Oh yeah.
That's probably where it all started with you.
Watching these tapes.
[ambient music]
[folk music]
- I wanna chase that chicken so bad,
I wanna chase that chicken so bad.
You know I do, I can't.
My mom told me not to be irresponsible [mumbles].
These are the show pigs.
That's Pork Sausage, say hi Pork Sausage.
I don't know the name of that one.
Ooh ooh, his name is Pork Ribs.
- It's okay, come on.
Yeah, she lets me brush her left side, but she won't
let me get around to her right side to brush her.
And that's the side that needs to be brushed,
that's the side the judges look at.
See, every time I go to get a little bit over there,
she kind of acts up.
- Keep it going.
[machine blowing]
- See that wasn't bad.
Huh, that wasn't bad, you did go.
[cow grunting]
Oh please stop doing, ugh.
- To get her over to fair, I have to go take them
to get their hooves clipped, get them shaved,
'cause their hair isn't suppose to be this long.
Teach her how to walk right, bath house,
special way to walk.
This one's usually more like use to me,
in the pen already, I guess when I come out here.
'Cause I feed him first I guess.
[pig oinking]
This one's a lot more stubborn.
We don't know why.
Maybe 'cause she's a female.
- This way, come on.
Yeah, before I let her on that outside pen
or that little round pen we just built in the pasture,
she's got to get use to walking around
in circles right in here.
'Cause right now she's not really walking in circles.
She's just scooting her front end.
[folk music]
[pig squealing]
- Bacon, be quiet please.
Get her sister.
- I got her.
[pig grunting]
[kissing]
- It's okay.
Good girl.
Nick, look, you seen that.
Good girl, good girl.
[kissing]
Okay, that was almost my mouth.
[spitting]
Oh look, there's that little pony.
- Is that the one you were talking about?
- No.
- That's my Chance.
- That is?
That's your horsey.
- That's what I put on [mumbles].
One, two, three.
- Hold on, I don't got a hold of him.
[laughing]
Oh.
[laughing]
Holding on.
- [Boy] That little hair on that pony just flopping.
- I can get off by myself.
- [Woman] Okay.
[clapping]
- I got it.
You see right when she got on that pony, she kicked it.
- [Boy] Yeah.
- [Jonathan] Make it run faster.
Oh.
[engine revving]
[insects chirping]
- What are you doing covering your head up?
[coughing]
Come on, you got six minutes.
[moaning]
Get up.
Maybe, okay maybe seven.
- It was a full moon last night.
- And it's our last day.
- It is our last day.
- Only have [mumbles].
[laughing]
- Yeah, but if I found some more close here pretty soon,
he'd probably let me get on something.
- Why don't you just go to the [mumbles] winter series?
- [Jonathan] 'Cause they don't ever have nothing.
All the have is junior steers and senior steers.
- [Boy] They don't have bulls?
- [Jonathan] Nah, and for the senior steers,
you gotta be 13.
That's not, nah, that's not.
That's a good looking horse.
That kid goes to our school, the boy.
- [Boy] He does?
- [Jonathan] Yeah, he's a team roper.
They say he's like 26 in the world for heeling.
- In the world?
- That's what Kyle Booth told me.
I've never asked him about, but that's what I've heard.
- Oh there they go.
They're so funny to watch [laughs].
They're all running towards them.
They're like trotting.
- Try to shoot him right behind there ear,
right in the neck, okay.
Oh this gun's a lot bigger than that other one.
- [Man] Okay, you got it.
Can you see [mumbles]?
- I need the little one, it's too far.
- [Man] Yeah, yeah.
- [Jonathan] Oh yeah.
- [Boy] Get your hand up, don't touch him.
- [Jonathan] Oh that's a good one. Oh he touched him.
[bell buzzing]
- [Boy] No score.
- [Jonathan] Dang.
That was a good bull, but he was wanting him
over that front end.
- [Boy] I know.
See he wasn't leaning back far enough.
- Yeah, and he never took his spurs out, yeah yeah.
- [Boy] His feet weren't out.
- [Jonathan] He kept them in the whole time.
- [Boy] Yeah, you can't just dig them in.
You gotta turn them out.
- Yeah.
- Till you get straight in the next.
- [Jonathan] Look everybody's rigging I see is like yours.
Mine's all bigger and wider.
- [Man] Yeah, yeah.
- [Jonathan] Oh yeah, that's a good one right there.
- [Boy] He's spinning good.
- [Jonathan] Oh.
- [Boy] There you go, hang on there.
- [Jonathan] Look, he's spurring too.
- [Boy] Dang, that's a good one.
- He's gonna take the lead right there.
- That's a good ride.
- Yeah it was.
- That's the only good bull I've seen so far,
the other ones were crap.
- If that one, JT's would have jumped up there
and turned back and kicked as high he did,
that would have been a good one too.
- [Announcer] We're gonna need a drag the arena to set up the
pulse, we're gonna start at nine o'clock sharp.
- [Jonathan] So is that it for the rough stock?
- [Boy] Yeah. I'm gonna talk to my dad.
- Is it loaded?
- Yeah, all you gotta do is cock it.
You good or you want to change chairs?
- I need to sit up.
I don't see him anymore.
- [Man] Can you see through the scope okay?
- [Girl] Yeah.
[gunshot firing]
- [Man] Clean this place out.
- [Girl] The walk of shame.
[piano music]
[engine revving]
- I don't know what's gonna happen when he dies.
- Yeah, throw him in the dirt.
- Yeah, pretty much.
- Mags, you got the eyeballs.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, hmm.
♪ Happy birthday dear Tori
♪ Happy birthday to you
[clapping]
[piano music]
[group chatter]
- Of course, gotta hold my hand.
[girls screaming]
I'm freezing, it's cold.
[screaming]
- [Tiffany] Dragon, a seahorse actually.
You see the seahorse?
- [indistinct chatter]
- Looks like a giant lion mouth right there.
[piano music]
[engine revving]
[laughing]
- I bet you he can catch up to you.
[engine revving]
Did you talk to that guy?
- Yeah, I talked to that guy.
- [Boy] What'd he say?
- He's like you got to put some goggles on.
- [Boy] What?
- I need to put some googles on.
- [Boy] He told you that?
- 'Cause once a bug hits you in the eye,
he said it's not only gonna hurt your eye,
but you're gonna fall off.
He's kind of right there.
- [Boy] Yeah.
- [Girl] Don't let him go.
- Whoa.
[laughing]
[dramatic music]
- [Boy] Oh, yes.
[water splashing] [piano music]
- [Girl] Come on.
[crickets chirping]
[door opening]
- Good girl, okay, okay.
Come on. It's okay girl.
Come on, it's okay, come on.
Good girl.
Come on.
[grunting]
It's okay, it's okay.
- [Tiffany] Now, they're suppose
to go like this, at fair time,
we start walking the pigs like we walk them
in a show ring, which is basically, how my brothers
taught me to walk them in a straight line.
'Cause the judges notice them better when
they're not acting up.
Only up to fifth place get to sell their pigs
and the rest of them have to take them home.
[pig oinking]
- Alright, what I usually do,
just start from over here, on the side over here.
[clippers buzzing]
- Right here?
- Yeah, you always want to go against the hair,
okay, like that.
I think he's looking good.
I think he's got enough muscle.
He walks fairly well, and that's the main thing
is their structure.
It's gonna come down to the judge's preferences now
but I think we got him about as good as we're
going to be able to get him.
We'll know next Sunday I think they show, or Saturday.
[pig oinking]
[wheel barrel squeaking]
[door opening]
- Chu, chu.
Chu, chu, chu.
[door closing]
[door squeaking]
Well, I'm packing for rodeo school tomorrow.
Hopefully gonna do good there.
I mean I'm not real nervous, as nervous like my
mom or something.
I mean, I know should be scared but I'm really not.
She's heard stories and seen movies of how
people can get hurt real bad in rodeo
or even die, so it's not too big of a deal to me,
but she seems pretty nervous about it.
To be honest, it doesn't even feel like
I'm going tomorrow.
It just feels like it's gonna be a normal day.
I'm pretty sure once we get there, that'll be different.
- How y'all are doing today?
- Fine.
- How you doing young lady?
- Good, how are you?
- Good, good.
- How's Cheryl doing?
- She's doing really good.
- Good, good.
- Very, very good.
- They've got her entered in a commercial show
and the buyers will payout more money for bred cattle.
They'll pay a couple hundred dollars more
for one that's bred.
Judges like to see them bread at her age. So we'll find out.
- [Tori] Your next Aggie.
Moment of truth right here.
You better have a baby in there.
Come on Aggie.
Come on Aggie.
- [Man] This one here, could be 34 days.
- We got that [mumbles], ultrasound.
This is the horn and ears right there, see that little.
That's the whole uterus right here.
Yeah, she's not pregnant.
She's not bred.
[engine revving]
[insects chirping]
- [Girl] [Mumbles].
[water splashing]
[laughing]
- [Girl] Hit my face.
[laughing]
Don't look now.
[laughing]
- Who came up with this idea?
- Both of us.
- Oh.
- I called it a hillbilly slip and slide.
- It's not a hillbilly slip and side.
It's a ghetto slip and slide.
- Ghetto slip and slide.
Is that any better than a hillbilly slip and slide.
- Yes, 'cause ghetto ones have rips.
- Okay, sorry [laughs].
[water splashing]
- [Girl] Sorry.
[laughing]
- We weren't looking to adopt.
Like I said we have three children of our own.
It's not like our house wasn't full
but my husband has a half sister and was told
that her granddaughter had just given birth to a child.
And I said, impossible, she's what, 12, 13 years old.
He said, "Well, she doesn't want to be a mother
"and so she's putting her up for adoption."
[ambient music] [water splashing]
You know I always say you can't choose
your own children but we chose her, and I'm sorry,
I'm getting real emotional.
And to me it's like she chose us because people
ask us like, why would y'all take another kid?
Your kids are so big.
And I always felt like she was a gift from God.
[ambient music]
[horse galloping]
- Whoa, whoa.
- [Mumbles] we have a rope.
- Yeah, get you a rope and start twirling first.
- Okay.
- Learn how to handle your rope.
[water splashing]
- I asked about her a lot and they told me a lot of stories
and it made me mad at her
because I didn't know I had a sister
until two years ago.
That she knew she had me and she couldn't take care of me.
But she went out and had another child and
couldn't take care of that child and gave
that child away too.
And it made me mad because if you know you can't take
care of children, you shouldn't have them.
I mean, I know how some children complain like
oh my god, my mom is like da da da da da.
So I really don't want to complain.
Like if I could stay a teenager forever, I would.
And they're like I want to grow up.
I don't want to grow up, I'd rather not.
The real world scares me.
There's too many crazy people out there.
I want to stay in my own sheltered little box
and not have to come out.
[ambient music]
[loud clicking]
- Have to do all that, just stay in the air and learn it.
- Have you done this before?
- No, it's my first time [laughs].
How old are you?
- 19.
What about you?
- 15.
- So a freshman.
- Yeah.
- We're gonna give you every chance this weekend
but you are not in shape to do this.
- Yes sir.
- And we don't have any magic potion to fix that.
That's something you're gonna have to bow up
and decide if you want to take care alright,
'cause you can't keep until you get in a little
better shape.
We're gonna get you fundamentals.
But you're gonna leave here with knowing more
than your body can execute.
- Yes sir.
- And that's our goal this week.
Get you all the information we can,
try to get a little foundation in you,
but you can fix it.
- Yes sir.
- We'll work with you.
- Yes sir.
- Guys, this is very important, okay,
we're going over the foundation of how you're gonna
ride your bulls.
Okay, it doesn't change for anybody, okay.
All of y'all almost, whenever you leave the bucket chute,
you're gonna want to tend to this right here.
Come back, your feet are gonna float forward
and you're gonna fall off the bat, okay.
It's 'cause you're not getting ahold with your feet,
you're not mashing, you're not lifting.
You've got to ride that bull.
You ride this thing like it's a bull,
y'all see me, I'm not playing whenever I ride this thing.
Okay, I'm not just getting up here going,
oh wow this is fun.
Okay.
This is a bull to me.
If I ride this like a bull, I'm gonna ride that like a bull.
Here, ready to go.
Alright, whistle blows.
[loud squeaking]
[loud banging]
Okay.
Good job.
Drive up over it, get on your butt, get off your butt.
I just want to make sure, here we go.
Okay, whistle blows, whenever you're ready.
Fire now, okay.
There you go, keep going, move.
Okay, who's next?
Right here.
Get on there.
Get up, you're good.
Alright then, [mumbles].
Okay, right there, keep your chains up.
Nice and easy, we're just gonna go up and down.
See what happens.
Slow your trailer down.
There you go, you see the difference?
You feel the difference?
- Yes sir.
- Okay, gotta breathe a little bit, okay.
Ride on over, there you go.
Alright, here we go. Slow down for a second.
I want you to slide over, just, no,
watch your free hand, keep it square.
Okay, now shuffle just your hips.
Okay, see how that works?
Shuffle your hips, there you go.
Okay, you're always riding it.
Always riding, there you go.
Okay, slow it down, slow it down.
Whistle blows.
Yeah, yeah, okay. [clapping]
Alright, hey, you really got to look, Jon,
where you looked is right here.
And I can see, I mean, this is, I think this it.
Not a good spot, okay.
Always warm up, stretch, warm your muscles up.
Kind of jump up and down, kind of get ready.
Kind of be moving, thinking about, start warming
your body up 'cause those bulls, half the time they don't
know oh no, we got to slowly go into it.
It's a hundred percent as soon as that gate opens, okay.
[dramatic music]
[bull digging]
Put a lot of pressure on your knee,
this is cowboy up, okay, go.
Come on, come on.
- [Man] Let's go boy.
[cowbell rattling]
[whistling]
- [Man] Hey.
Oh.
[dramatic music]
[bull grunting]
[cowbells rattling]
- [Man] Okay, Jon.
- Put your right foot on there, now.
The other side, right side.
Left foot here, straight down buddy.
Now, scoot back.
Put this foot, down, down, Jon.
This foot down over here.
Right in place on the knee.
[dramatic music]
[cowbell rattling]
Hold it, put your hand,
now set it right there flat.
This is what controls that.
[dramatic percussive music]
Got your heels lined up with your belt?
- Yeah.
- Okay, stand on your feet.
Put your butt up on your hand.
Get ready go.
[cowbell rattling]
- [Man] Feel that rope, buddy.
[loud grunting]
[cowbell rattling]
- [Man] Guys, open that gate for me please.
- Right, nobody but me going choo.
- [Man] I told you everything was gonna be moving
so fast, you ain't gonna be able to think about everything.
- [Boy] Yeah I know.
Leaving that looks pretty good,
and then that second jump,
see that one looks good and then burmp, he got my outside foot.
- [Man] Hey, most important,
when they take your rope, there ain't nothing
you can do unless you got some like cat-like balance.
- Are they gonna let us get on more?
[folk music]
- [Man] [Mumbles].
[folk music]
- Everybody wants to win, you know what I mean,
so that's the way we go in.
Just think that we can win.
Every kid has got that attitude.
You know, as long as we do what we suppose to do
and hopefully, we'll come out a winner.
I got to get this one back through,
I gotta get that pig back where she needs to be.
- Okay, I gotta go cook and get some drinks.
- Huh?
- [Girl] I'm gonna cook and get some drinks.
- Yeah.
- [Girl] What you need?
- Soda.
- What kind of soda?
- Lemon lime.
[easy listening music]
- Check check, mic check.
[easy listening music]
- Whoa Nelly.
- [Girl] Come on.
- [Tiffany] Let me feed him real quick.
- [Man] She gotta weigh them to see what they weigh.
- [Tiffany] Uh hmm.
- [Man] Then once we weigh them to see what they weigh,
then we know how much to feed them,
'cause we don't want to go over.
- Chu chu chu chu chu, excuse me.
[water splashing]
[easy listening music]
[cow grunting]
- Dear heavenly father, we're mindful,
many blessings that you have bestowed upon us.
As cowboys, we live life of hard work.
Long days, restless nights of unspoken faith.
At the end of the day with our tethered hearts
and our challenged hands as we lay down in you,
ask for forgiveness.
Lord, tonight, as we start our rodeo, we ask that you not
only watch over our attendance, we also that you watch
over [mumbles] and folks may stay free from injury.
[clapping]
- [Man] Good morning ladies and gentleman,
like to welcome you to our 2013 travel heifer show.
[Mumbles] judge again today.
Been with us for several years.
Our first class in the ring is gonna be class 802,
so this will be your last last in half, class 802,
that's gonna make these calves 12 to 15 months old.
- Slow down Aggie, slow down Aggie.
[cow mooing]
- [Man] Next class of heifers in the ring
will be class 804.
Last in half females, 18 to 21 months old.
I have five on record.
This will be your class 804.
Last in half all the females, 18 to 21 months.
- [Man] [Mumbles].
[Tiffany] How much can it weigh?
- Too many.
It can't go, once you get out there,
take him, and come to the judge.
That's what you want to do.
You want to come to judge and [mumbles].
[pig oinking]
[loud cheering]
- How are you girls?
- Good.
- Alright, ready to go.
- There you go Piggy, come on, you got it.
Uh.
- Are you ready?
- Yeah. I'm a pig jockey.
- [Woman] First call for class 556 to make their way
to the holding area.
First call for class 556 to make your
way to the holding area.
[bell music]
- It's okay, shh shh shh.
Hey, I'm right here, it's alright, it's okay.
[cow mooing]
It's alright, shh shh, it's okay.
It's alright, hey easy.
[bell ringing]
[easy listening music]
It's okay, shh shh.
Good girl, it's okay.
- [Man] Compliments to these young people out there.
They've done extremely good job.
Some of their arms are gonna be a whole lot more tired.
Let 'em hear it, they deserve it.
[audience applauding]
Preference wise, I'd go for the yellow heifer today--
- Half way [mumbles].
- Thank you.
So far I've done pretty good.
I got a fifth place ribbon and a fourth place ribbon.
But I came out here this morning.
I don't think she was happy with fifth and fourth place
'cause she ate pretty much all of it.
[bell music]
[pigs oinking]
[clapping]
- [Woman] Would you please give the kids
that are exiting the arena a round of applause
for their hard work and dedication this past year.
They've worked very hard in raising their animals.
Okay, congratulations to class 555.
In first place is James Wells with Angleton FFA.
In second place, George Wright with FFA.
- This is why I hate pigs.
- [Man] Good job.
- Yeah, embarrassed the shit out of ourself.
- Hey, hey, hey.
[percussive music]
- [Man] Young lady's bald faced female that comes
next in class, a female that I think you can appreciate
her vantage in growth, she's a female that gets
a little larger frame than I'd like to see her today.
When you really get behind this heifer is where she
kind of loses some of that overall power and base width
compared to the two heifers that lead off the class.
[cow mooing]
- Come on Aggie, come on get up.
Come on big girl.
- [Man] Our 2013 Stramel Heifer Showmanship Award
goes to Mason Cosner from Caravan [mumbles].
[audience applauding]
- [Man] Another really nice lineup, let's put our hands
together and congratulate these young folks
who did a really nice job.
It's not overnight.
I mean, you can tell they've been working with
these cattle.
What an outstanding job.
And it all starts at the house, you can tell the way
these cattle are working, the way they're conditioned,
that's definitely what they've been doing.
- [Man] Less than half of them are female, [mumbles].
[ambient music]
- Come on, come on.
[gate squeaking]
He come here, because he like my pig, so I got pigs,
so I can be in the championship drive to
win first place in this one.
Yeah, so this is really good.
[ambient music]
[clapping]
[audience applauding]
- [Woman] In first place, we had Chandy Stander
with Angleton FFA.
In second place, we have Dalton Decker
with Angleton FFA.
In third place, Tiffany McNeil with Angleton [mumbles].
[applauding]
And in fourth place, Braxton Wood with [mumbles] FFA.
In fifth place, is Jacob [mumbles].
- That's what I'm talking about, come on.
- Ah, I can't breathe.
[laughing]
- You did a good job.
- Thanks.
- I'm proud of you.
- [Woman] Hold that ribbon up.
Look at me.
[camera snapping]
Good job.
- [Man] Y'all are gonna make me cry.
- Next time.
Next year.
- Mic check, mic check.
Guys we're gonna get the live auction started here
in just a few minutes.
So if you're still in the back eating, eat fast,
'cause we want you up here to participate
in the live auction.
We're gonna started in just a few minutes.
If you're not registered to participate in the auction,
go see the ladies right over here by the door.
They'll get you a big [mumbles].
- Woo hoo.
I know [mumbles] I just never got it, [mumbles].
- [Man] Sold there your way, $4,000 TDEC,
what's your number there?
TDEC wins it, $2,000, [mumbles].
[bell ringing]
$3,000, yes.
- Did that hurt when you fell off the bull?
- The second one it did, the first one--
- You rode it twice?
- Not the mechanical bull?
- You rode a real bull?
- Yeah.
- Are you nervous?
- Yeah, a little bit.
- How much do you hope to get?
- Like 1,500 at least.
- Well, good luck.
- You too.
- Let me how you do.
- Alright.
- [Man] Lot number 44 is Jonathan Baker.
Alvin FFA Club 912, less than half she is open,
let's get number 44.
Alright Jonathan, let's sell your animal now.
[Mumbles] for Jonathan here, [mumbles, one thousand,
now 1,250.
$1,250 will buy you a heifer today.
$1,250, I see you Ray, now $1,500,
now 17 and a half, 1,750, [mumbles].
2,000, you're out JT.
2,000 ready to go, 2,000.
[loud hammering]
Sold at 1,750 for 1265, for 1,750.
[camera snapping]
- [Man] You've been here before?
- [Tiffany] Yes I have.
- You danced on the stage last year.
- Yes I did, sir.
- Right, so you know the drill, right.
- Alright, alright, alright.
- Go out there and smile and look pretty, right.
- [Tiffany] Whoo.
- [Man] Lot number 79, it's Tiffany McNeil.
Angleton Willy [mumbles] storage,
she's got a third place swine.
Alright Tiffany, dance up there now,
it'll bring a couple more votes.
Somebody get me started guys.
2,500 [mumbles],
600 now, 700, 800 now, 900 now,
a thousand, [mumbles],
now 1,700 [mumbles],
17, now 18,
1,800 now 19, [mumbles].
Sold at $1,800.
- Whoa. [clapping]
Thank the Lord, we got $1,800.
I'm so shocked.
- That was a good girl, you did good in there, good girl.
I'm not real sure whose ranch or farm she's going to.
All I know is that she got bought for $1,750.
[folk music]
[cows mooing]
- You are done Aggie girl.
Now you get to back to pasture and be a mommy.
[kissing]
You did good.
Let's go home.
[folk music]
Bye bye.
[door closing]
[folk music]
[door slamming]
[folk music]
[gate squeaking]
[cow mooing]
[folk music]
[cow mooing]
[easy listening music]
[music fades]