our youth: AG STARS
Collier Cowdrey
Showing Sheep for
the ‘Shear’ Fun of It
BY SCOTLYN OGLE
92
Courtesy photo
C
ollier Cowdrey, a second-grader at Brock Elementary, started
showing when he was just 4 years old. Following in his big
brother’s footsteps, he showed his favorite goat, Precious, in the
Peewee Showmanship at the Brock FFA Livestock Show. He
participated in his first real show at age 5, the Open Breeding
Sheep Show at Fort Worth. From there, he moved on to the
Houston Stock Show where he won Reserve Champion Ewe with
his White Dorper Ewe, Big Mama. By then, he was hooked on
showing.
Collier, now 8, has earned himself multiple awards includ-
ing Reserve Champion Ewe at the Texas-Oklahoma Fair in 2015,
Reserve Champion Hair Sheep at the Parker County Livestock
Show in 2015, and Reserve Champion Dorper Ewe at the
Houston Stock Show in 2015, plus multiple smaller awards along
the way. His favorite part
about showing is “having
fun,” said Collier, “and
getting the experience to
be a better showman.”
Showing has taught him
good sportsmanship wheth-
er he wins or loses.
Though he is young,
Collier has learned a lot
of responsibilities through
showing. He washes and
clips his sheep before each
show. He also walks his
sheep, and “breaks” them
so they can be led with
a halter while they are at
a show. “We have over
100 sheep,” said Collier.
“But we usually have five
to fifteen show sheep
at a time.” His biggest
inspiration throughout his
showing career has been
his dad, and his favorite
memory during showing
so far was when he won
Reserve Champion in the
Houston show.
Besides showing, Collier
enjoys playing baseball,
bike riding, and riding his
horse, Peppy, in his free
time. But out of all of the
things he loves to do, his
favorite thing is to fish.
So much so that when he
grows up he wants to turn
his passion into a career
by becoming a tournament
bass fisherman.