Local 4-H and FFA members scramble for calves at PRCA rodeo

Wanda Nichols Photo PULLING ON THE HALTER -- Brownsboro High School freshman and FFA member Glenn Devlin easily captured his calf early on in the calf scramble.

Standing with baited breaths, 4-H and FFA members waited anxiously at the starting line for the signal to take off in hopes of catching what would become the beginning of a yearlong project of raising a show heifer, during the 2007 Henderson County Livestock Show calf scramble held during the Annual Elder Dodge PRCA Stampede rodeo Friday and Saturday, April 27 and 28.

A total of 19 4-H and FFA members participated in the calf scramble over the two nights.

Those participating in Friday's scramble were: Glenn Devlin, Brownsboro and Cody Smith, Brownsboro FFA; Shawnee Elliott and Erica Spears, Frankston FFA; Valerie Manning and Gabriella Costilla, Mabank FFA; Brandon Alexander, Cayuga FFA; and Mallory Mobly, Eustace FFA.

Saturday's scramblers were: Andrew Dyer and Peyton Williams, Brownsboro FFA; Levi McDonald, Brownsboro Jr. FFA; Bryce Williams and Zachary Williams, Kickapoo Creek 4-H; Bryan Blackwell and Jackie Jones, Frankston FFA; Tyler Marker, Horizon 4-H; Brady Tindel, Eustace 4- H; Dustyn Fernandez, Happy Days 4-H; and Christian Walker, Cedar Creek Home School 4-H.

Wanda Nichols Photo HOLDING ON TIGHT -- After catching and losing his first calf, Brownsboro High School sophomore and FFA member Cody Smith was all business when he rounded up his second capture.

All four Brownsboro FFA members participating - Devlin, Smith, Dyer, and Williams each caught a calf.

Contestants don't take home the calf they catch at the scramble, but instead receive a $500 sponsorship certificate. Each winner must use the certificate to purchase a purebred, registered heifer calf by June 30, and then begin the year-long process of caring for, keeping records and reporting his/her activities to their sponsors.

Each winner is responsible for having a facility, shelter, feed and water to care for the heifer, and must submit monthly reports to the Henderson County Calf Scramble Committee, and the Henderson County Livestock Show Association.

The winner must send a picture of the heifer in September, December, and March to the sponsor and the Calf Scramble Committee.

Winners and their heifers must also attend all mandatory clinics set by the committee.

They are required to show their scramble heifers at the 2008 Henderson County Livestock Show, but can also show in the major shows in Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas and San Antonio.

Prospective scramble contestants are required to write an essay to the Henderson County Calf Scramble Committee stating why they deserve to have a calf and how they would care for it. They must also have and maintain passing grades in school.

The Henderson County Farm Bureau of Athens has been the main sponsor of the Calf Scramble since its beginning. They run the program and pay for several items such as shirts, halters, end-of-year awards, and the sponsorship of a calf.

Other sponsors for the 2007 Henderson County Calf Scramble are: Brownsboro Young Farmers, Henderson County 4-H Leaders & Parents Association, Wagner Cadillac, First State Bank of Athens, Gary and Terry Douglas, Eustace Ag Boosters, Citizens National Bank - Athens, Chandler and Malakoff, Acme Brick, Berry Lumber/ Hayes & Co., Mabank Ag Boosters, Malakoff Ag Boosters, Estes & McClure & Associates, and Athens Collision Center.