North American Limousin Foundation ‘Moooves’ into Rapid City

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - The 2023 National Junior Limousin show made its way to the Rapid City Monument arena. The Monument was said to house up to 252 cattle from 26 states for this weeks full agenda, according to the president of the North American Limousin Foundation, Bruce Lawrence.

Sullivan Supply was a sponsor for this year event, which lists 169 separate showmen competing for the gold.

Showmanship class breaks include : novice division (ages 5-9); junior division (ages 10-13); intermediate division (ages 14-16) and the grand champion senior division (ages 17-21).

The reigning champion intermediate showman, Kesler Collins says he showed heifers at the age of four, and attended his first cattle show when he was just three-days-old.

The Flanagan, Illinois, native said his champion heifer, Maleficent was not always the nicest. Hence, why he named her after the main antagonist from Walt Disney’s Productions’ Sleeping Beauty. Though, he also said the time spent with Maleficent has gotten them both where they are today.

“I actually pulled this calf out of her mom. We raised it and everything. It came out of one of my older cows, so I’ve been with this thing since she was born,” Collins said.

The vice president of North American Limousin Foundation, Mark Anderson, said showmanship is a lot more than showing off cattle.

“They’re judging livestock, they’re doing sales talk, they’re learning communication skills, they’ve got a ton of contests basically kind of bond them all week, but they educate them about agriculture and the cattle business,” Anderson said.

Anderson also explained that participants in these types of divisions are the future of agriculture.

Collins says he has grown in his showmanship skills and learned about cattle, but the handwork behind the scenes is what makes the whole show possible.

“A lot of it falls back to the DNA from their parents ... depends on how they were when they were older. Then a lot is also is how many times you’ve shown and how much you work with this heifer outside the show. Showmanship is won at home,” Collins said.

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