Parker County Today August 2015 | Page 96

our youth: AG KIDS Showing Red A 4-Her’s knack for calm chills the crazies in Euro-cross steer AUGUST 2015 PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY By Christina Loveless It all started last year when John Bruner, Jr. started showing pigs, and then he slowly moved into showing cattle. Then he met a European cross steer named “Red” that family friend Tony Austin, picked out for him. It was like at first sight. Red and John just clicked. “I just thought it was pretty cool,” John Jr. said.   John Jr. is a freshman-to-be at Brock High School and plays offensive right guard for the Eagles football team. He also participates in the Spring Creek 4-H program and has won a number of awards in the show ring, including belt buckles and ribbons, as well as Grand Champion at Brock and Reserve Champion at the 2015 Parker County Youth Livestock Show held this past June. Outside of showing cattle, John Jr. takes care of a number of other animals; he has goats and sheep along with his two head of cattle. But it all really started with Red. Whatever John needed Red to do, Red did. Red was calm, had no problems and he never gave John Jr. any problems either.  “He wasn’t crazy, that was the good thing about him, he was always calm,” John Jr. said. At the Parker County Youth Livestock Show 2015 in June, Jerry Durant and Plains Capital Bank bought Red. “They never had any issues; it was just one of those things,” John Bruner, Sr. said. According to John Sr., John Jr. keeps things calm, and keeps the animals equable and slows down the pace, so the reaction is different. “The complete success out of that steer was all on him,” his father said. These days, John Jr. is looking to the future and making plans for the coming year, and they definitely 94 involve showing cattle. “Hopefully I can get another steer like Red,” John Jr. said, with just a hint of wistfulness. John Jr. plans to participate in the major shows, like San Antonio and Fort Worth. He wants to continue showing cattle, either another cross or a pure breed. In Parker County, 4-H is much more than an organization for kids to participate in. It’s a culture. But, 4-H wouldn’t be what it is without the help of the people in Parker County, the ones who care. “They support the kids,” John Sr. said.  John Jr. highly recommends other kids start showing animals because it helps them learn valuable life lessons, such as responsibility and taking care of another living creature. One of the most important things he’s learned is that it’s about taking care of something else, waking up early and taking care of his responsibilities that have to be taken care of. “It’s like a community, and they kind of help you, and you can help them — it … makes you better,” John Jr. said. There’s always something to do in 4-H; plenty of events that range from small to large. “There’s always something. Sometimes there is a little cost involved, and sometimes there is a lot of cost involved,” John Sr. said. “But it does [present] the ability for people to learn how to sustain themselves.” Next year John Jr.’s goal is to place as well or better than this year, and he’s set his sights on pursuing a higher education — at Oregon State.