National Western Stock Show Media Tip Sheet

Note to Editors: The following is a collection of media tips that includes experts and resources at Colorado State University. The media tip sheet is intended to provide resources to reporters and editors and is not intended as contact information for the public.

M E D I A   T I P S H E E T

National Western Stock Show

City kids get into country action at National Western behind-the-scenes tours

More than 15,000 Denver Metro elementary students will get to take a trip behind the scenes of the National Western Stock Show. Educational tours hosted by Colorado State University give kids a chance to see bulls, horses, goats and other animals up close and are complete with barn visits and a chance to meet Stock Show clowns. The tours show children what role agriculture plays in their day-to-day lives, such as through the food they eat, the products they use and the open landscape of Colorado. Most tours begin at 9 a.m. and continue throughout the day, incorporating Stock Show events. The tours include free Stock Show admission. (To arrange for story information about these tours, contact Mary Pat Adams at (303) 271-6634. Queries about all other stories should be directed to Dell Rae Moellenberg through the contact information above.)

Kids wrangle calves in crowd-favorite Catch-A-Calf contests

Colorado State Cooperative Extension sponsors a National Western Stock Show crowd-favorite: the annual Catch-A-Calf contest. Since 1935, the contest has given a group of enthusiastic 4-H youth an opportunity to catch a calf that they can take home and raise as a 4-H project and learn to feed and care for it. They bring it back the next year to compete in a livestock show at the National Western. Those 4-H’ers who are successful in catching a calf maintain contact with contest sponsors and are required to give them updates about the animal, its health, and the lessons they’ve learned in caring for the animal daily. The Catch-A-Calf contest teaches youth responsibility, leadership and communication skills.

Colorado State students excel in judging contests

Colorado State University students are cleaning up around the nation in various livestock, horse and meats judging contests. In the last year the teams have won or placed second in seven national competitions. These contests provide the students with an opportunity to practice practical professional skills, build poise and communications skills and develop their leadership abilities. Teams will compete in several National Western Stock Show competitions.

Student interns work behind scenes

The National Western Stock Show runs smoothly in part from efforts by Colorado State University interns. For more than a decade, students from the College of Agriculture volunteer their time and get excused from their first few classes of the semester to make the show a success. Working in various offices at the National Western, the students get valuable experience by running one of the west’s largest special events, learning to work with diverse people and applying their education to a real-world experience.

Colorado State helps students compete for top rank

The National Western’s premier exhibiter contest is the crown jewel of competitions among show contestants. Winning the contest, which is supervised by a Colorado State University faculty member, takes diverse talent and knowledge. Top show participants can compete in the premier contest for a stock trailer and a NWSS collegiate scholarship by competing in an interview process, giving a prepared two minute speech on a pre-assigned topic related to major issue facing the agricultural industry. Their performance in those categories is combined with their score from the show ring as showmen, their animal placing and the carcass placing. The contest was originally developed to help youth who compete in the show ring become more knowledgeable about the agricultural industry.