Rylee Nichols and Hit Me, a multi world championship show winner.
The show industry is a large, yet diverse industry. For many young individuals, it is their pride and joy. When these individuals leave the show ring, they leave with more than just a ribbon and a handshake; they leave with skills and experiences that will last a lifetime.
The Learning Experiences
Each day within the show industry brings memories, from halter training your heifer, winning a class or stepping into the ring for the first time. Each moment creates a lifelong memory. Most importantly these memories, good or bad, create learning experiences that help grow these individuals. Aiyanna Edmonds, a junior at Logan-Rodgersville High School in Missouri has had many learning experiences throughout her years of showing, but she has one that will stick with her for a lifetime.
“One of my most memorable learning experiences this year working with my heifer. She really taught me patience. At first, setting her feet was difficult because she liked to run off, and there were times she would push me or drag me around,” Edmonds said. “With a lot of time, practice, and help from others, I learned how to stay calm and set her up in a way that worked best for her. Even when it was frustrating, I kept being consistent, and that consistency paid off. By the time we made it to the state fair, she was setting up perfectly, and she wasn’t running off anymore. That experience showed me how much patience and hard work really matter.”
Edmonds’ learning experience with her heifer taught her patience and consistency, skills that will follow her inside and outside of the ring. She is not the only one learning life lessons through the show industry; she is only one of thousands of individuals who participate in this activity, and each one has a story.
Aiyanna Edmonds showing her heifer Phyllis.
The Building Blocks
The show industry builds character, grit and adaptability. Whether you win or lose a show, you will never walk out empty-handed. Each failure is a learning experience that fills your cup with new skills that allow you to take these moments and lessons into each and every part of your life. These individuals learn to get up and try again when things get rough, they learn how to work hard, and how to handle stressful situations. These skills not only help them within the ring, but they become the building blocks needed to prepare them for success in their futures.
The Start
If you ask anyone who has shown an animal before, they can always tell you about their very first time stepping into that ring. No matter who you ask, they all have a unique first experience that they look back on and cherish. Just like Alex Tapprich, a senior at Nixa High School in Missouri. Alex took an opportunity in a field that she had little idea about and turned it into a success story.
When asked how she got into the show industry, Tapprich said, “It initially started back in 2024. I was in an FFA meeting when Taylor Miller, one of our vice presidents at the time, asked us if anybody would be interested in showing, because [we] needed some help showing. So, I raised my hand and said I would love to do this. I’ve always been interested in it. I went over to her place, and I helped to work cows for the first time. I helped her work them and feed them.
“A week later Taylor told me that she had a show the next day, and invited me to come. So I did. I went and showed for my first time ever. That was really nerve-racking, but I ended up falling in love with it.”
Now on her third year of showing, Tapprich has shown in Oklahoma City for the Cattlemen’s Congress, Ozark Empire Fair and many more shows. She took her first time showing, standing nervous in the ring, and turned it into a story of success, and a way to show people that taking a chance in this industry can help build you into new heights that you never would have thought were possible.
Alex Trapprich and her reserve champion division winning intermediate heifer, Kelsey.
The Lessons
The show industry teaches lessons — sometimes big, sometimes small. These lessons are carried with these young men and women throughout their entire lives. Cash Honeycutt, a Missouri FFA state officer and a student at Mizzou learned through showing how to lose with grace.
“When I think about the show industry and the many lessons that it has taught me, the biggest one that I believe shaped me has been learning how to lose with grace,” Honeycutt said. “You see in the show industry that very rarely are you going to find yourself winning the overall championship every single weekend. Even the best of the best exhibitors will most likely win less than 10% of the shows they enter throughout all the years they show.
“Growing up in an industry like this has allowed me to understand that you are not always going to win and that’s OK. Of course you always want to do your best and find a way to come out on top. However, it just isn’t always meant to be; learning how to lose with a smile is absolutely a skill that I believe not only shows humility but also professionalism.”
Honeycutt explains how this industry has not only taught him lessons for the next time he steps into the ring, but it has helped him grow into the young man that he is today.
“I feel so blessed to have grown up in an industry that has taught me these valuable lessons. I believe that this has also taught me how to control my emotions and not allow them to get the best of me, especially in front of other people. It has also helped me to learn how to stay composed in almost any situation, which has helped me immensely as a public speaker in FFA,” he said. “I can confidently say that the show industry has easily had one of the biggest impacts on my life and so many others that have competed in it throughout their youth. Without the show industry I would not be where I am today and I hope to cherish the last couple of years that I have left.”
Their Futures
These stories of struggles, success, and failures all display how the show industry has helped build our youth. This industry takes young men and women and shapes them into disciplined and adaptable individuals. When they step into the world for the first time, they will have these experiences and lessons to guide them through their lives. That is the most valuable award that they could ever walk out of the ring with.
