Incoming Seeley-Swan High School junior Dani Sexton is the only Seeley Lake Trailblazer competing in Western Montana Fair's livestock competitions. This is her seventh year competing and she looks forward to showing off her steer Hollywood.
Potomac Valley 4H Horse members Hadley Spethman and Claire Kelley practicing for the Western Montana Fair 4H Horseshow.
MISSOULA - Seeley Lake Trailblazer Dani Sexton is excited to return to the Missoula County Fairgrounds for the annual Western Montana Fair with her new steer, Hollywood, after last year's event was restrained due to COVID-19.
"I'm just ready to show again in front of a bunch of people instead of just the judge like last year," she said. "I really like being around a lot of people and ... going to the carnival at night."
Hollywood was born in March 2020 and Sexton bought him in November from Two Creek Ranch in Ovando. He is a cross of black angus and Maine-Anjou.
She intends to enter him into the fair's market and showmanship competitions which will respectively take place Aug. 12 and 13. The market judges Hollywood on his features while the showmanship competition judges Sexton on her presentational skills.
According to Sexton, the ideal steer has a "long" and "boxy" frame and weighs between 1,300-1,350 pounds. She said the judges want a longer steer because that is where the loin cut is, which is one of the "best cuts" on a steer along with a T-bone.
She estimates that there will be around 60 steers entered into this year's competition. For the market competition, Hollywood will compete against every other entrant. The showmanship contestants are placed into three experiential categories: novice, junior and senior. Because of her previous performances in the competition, this year Sexton will enter as a senior.
Sexton has participated in 4-H since she was nine. This is her seventh year in the program as an incoming junior at Seeley-Swan High School. Her first year she got third place in the overall market which was the highest award a first year Trailblazers member has received. Over the years she has consistently placed in the top 10 for market steer. For showmanship she has always placed in the top five.
Sexton makes sure Hollywood gets the right food by tracking his weight. Sometimes she will chase her steer around to work on "muscle building."
She said she is very thankful for her neighbor Les Parcel. He has helped her by letting Hollywood stay on his property behind barbed wire as well as helped with feeding him while she was busy with school and sports.
Saturday morning Aug. 14 is the livestock sale. Hollywood and the other market animals will be sold in a live auction. The steers are priced per pound. Looking at next year's competition, Sexton will buy her next steer this September and will pick it up in November.
Every year Sexton has a different experience when it comes to emotionally separating herself from her steer come auction date.
"Every year it's different, because the animal has a different personality," she said. "My last few steers were kind of easy to let go because they're a little bit crazy and hard to handle. But [Hollywood] might be a little bit harder, because he's pretty sweet and he's definitely nicer than the other steers. ... I've kind of gotten used to [it]. ... I know what's going to happen so I just prepare myself the whole week."
Along with doing steer projects, Sexton has also cared for and sold sheep. She said they were definitely harder to let go of when she had to sell them.
Every year Sexton's biggest challenge is transferring the steer over to Missoula because when they are in a hot trailer for an extended period of time, they can "hollow out" and lose a lot of water weight which can make them appear skinnier. Also since they are used to the well water in the rural areas, they don't always like the way the water tastes in Missoula.
Sexton is the sole member of the Seeley Lake Trailblazers 4-H Club. She entered the competition as an independent.
Even though she has been involved with 4-H for so many years, she is unsure if she will pursue a career in agriculture but she is open to the idea.
"You never know my mind can change," she said.
More information on this year's Western Montana Fair can be found on https://missoulafairgrounds.com.
In addition to Sexton, the Potomac Valley 4-H Club has nearly 50 projects that will be shown at this year's Country Fair.
Potomac Valley 4-H Animal Projects
Beef: Ashbeigh Hall and Colter Schulz
Goat: Gracelynn Knapp, Maliya Larson and Harrison Spethman
Horse: Claire Kelly, Katrina Olson and Hadley Spethman
Market Hog: Sawyar Cooney and Cooper Hathaway
Poultry: Callum Waletzko
Rabbit: Maliya Larson
Sheep: Brayden Cooney, Layne Cooney, Ashbeigh Hall and Leah Nelson
Potomac Valley 4-H Non-Animal Projects
Cloverbuds: Lur Hamon Combe, Elizabeth Hathaway, Jonathon Larson, Kyra Larson, Erik Petersen, Kinsley Spethman, Cade Sutton, Kinley Sutton and Harper Vezina
Food & Nutrition: Claire Kelley and Hadley Spethman
Photography: Brayden Cooney, Sawyar Cooney and Leah Nelson
Sewing & Textiles: Claire Kelley
Shooting Sports: Robert Larson
Sport Fishing: Sawyar Cooney and Harrison Spethman
Woodworking: Layne Cooney
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