Over spring break I went to Houston to visit my family, but I was also lucky enough to get to spend some time interning at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Dr. Greene used some of his amazing connections and got be set up to volunteer with the livestock committee at the show, who are responsible for everything from chickens to show heifers.
The first day I showed up, I was immediately thrown into the show ring assisting with the Belgian Blue exhibition, and I even got to hand out the awards. Prior to this I had had no experience with livestock shows, and it was very much a learn on the go situation.
Even though I was only handling the line-up of the animals and the award distribution, just being in the show ring, near the judges and state officials, I learned a good deal about the rules and etiquette of the show ring, and also about the physiology and the desired traits of Belgian Blues.
They are such rare animals, that there were only about 50 or so present at the show, and within these 50 were a wide range of ages and body types. From Cow-calf pairs, to prized bulls, I was able to see clearly, the strong traits that define this breed.
I also learned a lot about what is undesirable, by the judge’s comments. However, more informative than the judges or any personnel, was Pierre. Pierre was a native Belgian, who also breeds Belgian Blues, and had travelled to Houston for the sole purpose of watching this particular show. His English was a bit off, so we conversed in Dutch in order for him to get his point across more clearly. He pointed out the differences between European and American Belgian Blues to me and gave me a little more history on the breed.
I never thought that living in Holland would help me in the world of Agriculture, but in this case it really paid off!
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