To say that Madison Miller was frustrated would have been a gross understatement.

The 15-year-old from Fairmount was trying her hardest to show off her Angus heifer, Shaniah, who was competing against three other cows during the beef show at the Coosa Valley Fair on Wednesday. But Shaniah was not cooperating. Whenever Madison would try to lead her, Shaniah would push and pull against her and even nearly rammed the teen into the arena fence several times. By the middle of the exhibition, Madison was in tears. 

They audience members were groaning in sympathy for Madison. And instead of leading Shaniah out of the arena — which she clearly looked as though she wanted to do — Madison stuck to it until the very end. And though Shaniah gave Madison such a hard time, she won first place in the category. 

Clutching her blue ribbon, Madison and Shaniah went to the barn afterward to cool off for a moment. Madison said Shaniah had been acting that way because the heifer was about to be in heat.

“It’s a time period,” she explained. “If you don’t get them bred … once you get them bred, they’re going to stop coming in heat. But this is the time of the month, she’s coming in heat.”

Madison said the exhibition was difficult to say the least. 

“It affected me because I couldn’t keep her still,” she said. “And I barely even got to set her up and show the judge what she has and how good she is.”

Madison said she was happy she won, but still miffed at Shaniah.

“It feels pretty good, I thought I was going to lose because he couldn’t really look at her,” she said. “I think she was the deepest one in there and she had more muscle. And as for the red cow in there, she was a different age and that really affects how big they are. I feel very frustrated but I’m also happy.”

Beef Show judge Brent Beckman said there are a variety of criteria the presenters are judged on, as well as the cattle themselves.

“They start with showmanship which is based on how they present their animals,” he said.  “Then after that, they break it down into age groups so the kindergartners don’t compete against high-schoolers.”

After the showmanship competitions, the cattle was brought back out and judged based on breeds.

“Certain breeds have certain strengths that other breeds don’t have,” Beckman explained. “Ultimately, they’re beef animals, but breeding cattle, they still have to be sound or functional. So they need to have longevity so they stay around for a long time so they can keep producing year after year after year. But they still have to have some meat quality so their offspring can produce the beef.”

Madison’s was the more dramatic win of the show, but Wyatt Carroll and Rayne Starkey both racked up several ribbons as well. 

“There was a lot of work involved,” said Rayne, who won first place for Junior High Showmanship. “Like washing her, drying her and working with her, trying to get her ready for the show.”

Chantell Matthews snagged first place for Senior Showmanship and said she was particularly proud of her win.

“I’m really excited, to be honest,” she said, “I’ve only ever had two showmanship wins. Showmanship’s like a really big thing, you know everybody looks forward to it and it’s something that everybody wants to win. Breeding is all about your cow but showmanship shows how much work you put into it, basically.”

She said she has been preparing for shows for a very long time.

“We exercise our cows by tractor almost every day but then for showmanship, this showmanship heifer, I walk her around the pasture by myself and just walk like a foot then stop just to practice,” she said.

Wyatt won many blue ribbons for his cows and said that dedication is what secures him the first place spot every time.

“I just feed ’em, feed ’em ... and just take care of them,” he said. “And that’s about all there is to it.”



Coosa Valley fair schedule



Thursday

SENIOR CITIZENS DAY

1 to 5 p.m. — Free admission age 55 and older, featuring entertainment, games and prizes

1 p.m. — Miss Senior Coosa Valley Fair (age 50-plus)

2 p.m. — Brian Staples Animal Encounters Show

5 p.m. — Gates open: unlimited rides with $20 armbands valid until closing

5:30 p.m. — Junior Lamb Show (Dairy Show to follow lamb show)

6 p.m. — Brian Staples Animal Encounters Show

7 p.m. — Little Miss Coosa Valley Fair: ages 6 to 17, sponsored by Miss Rome Scholarship Program

9 p.m. — Brian Staples Animal Encounters Show

Friday

5 p.m. — Gates open. Unlimited rides with purchase of $20 armbands

6 p.m. — Brian Staples Animal Encounters Show

7 p.m. — OTR Chuck Wagon Cook-Off encampment and wagon judging

9 p.m. — Brian Staples Animal Encounters Show

Saturday, Oct. 6

10 to 11 a.m. — Pre-opening special: Carload admitted for $5 (no trucks or vans)

10 a.m. — Gates open until midnight. Armbands $25, unlimited rides until closing.

10 a.m. to Noon — Little Miss Coosa Valley “Challenger” and Miss Coosa Valley “Challenger” pageants

Noon to 1 p.m. — OTR Chuck Wagon food serving: tickets required

1 p.m. — Brian Staples Animal Encounters Show

5 p.m. — Brian Staples Animal Encounters Show

7 p.m. — Miss Coosa Valley Fair Pageant

9 p.m. — Brian Staples Animal Encounters Show



Note: Any and all Coosa Valley Fair activities, including armbands, may be canceled because of inclement weather.



Armband Pre-Sale: Go to CoosaValleyFair.com to save as much as $7 per armband — offer valid through Monday.



Click to see a list of Coosa Valley Fair winners.