How old was I, maybe 12? Proudly I stood holding the holstein heifer that I showed as a 4-H project. I was training her to lead when my mother caught me with her Kodak, and the picture shows, if viewed very closely that I was not using a show halter, but a stall tie-up that worked pretty well for this docile heifer. I showed her at the Lisbon 4-H Achievement Days and the day is still bright in my memory. There were 10 or 12 animals in this particular class and we did our thing circling in the ring under the gaze of the dairy judge. He started shuffling animals aroundto place us, and after a bit, I found myself and heifer standing at one end of the formation. Naive as all get-out I think I expected further juggling. No, he had made his decision and my heifer stood as the best in her class and received a blue ribbon. The judge made comments about her nice conformation, but added one bit of advice: he said I should be using a show halter. Of course my mindset became rectifying this problem, and in the following weeks I solved it.
I spotted a nice white leather number hanging behind the counter in Merlin's Leather Goods store in Enderlin that priced out at a few bucks, and after going home and doing a little creative financing I bought it a while later. If my math serves me correctly this all transpired 57 years ago, and I still own that halter.
