our youth: AG STARS
Jacalynn Aldridge —
Brock Student Sets Sights On College And Beyond
By KRISTINA REILLY
T
90
he 4-H creed is a simple one, yet effective.
“My Head to clearer thinking, My Heart
to greater loyalty, My Hands to larger service,
and My Health to better living, For my club,
my community, my country, and my world.”
Imagine a world where we could adapt this
4-H creed into our daily lives and live it.
Sixteen-year-old Jacalynn Aldridge does all
of these things on a loop and has for the last
nine years. Her parents, Jackie and Stephanie
Aldridge, bought her first steer when she was
only six years old, and joined the 4H club at
the ripe age of seven.
To say that she speaks about her steers
nonchalantly is an understatement. She is as
comfortable around her steers as a race car
driver would be at the Grand Prix, as well as
focused on the prize.
“I used to get emotional at the end of the
stock show. I would cry when I had to say
goodbye to my steer,” she said. Now, she has
accepted the inevitable and is able to look at it from the
business aspect and the competitive nature of it all. Her
favorite steer was her very first one, named Ribeye, but
she has fond memories of them all.
Most recently, she showed at the Fort Worth Texas
Showdown where she received Reserve Breed Champion
Brangus. In 2016, she placed fifth and made the sale at
the Fort Worth Stock Show. Her most memorable victory
was in San Antonio when she showed her Red Angus,
named Rojo, winning Breed Champion in 2014. She
credits a number of people with supporting her through-
out her journey, including her 4-H extension agent
Kayla Neil and her Ag teachers, Mark Sullivan and Dave
Marcath. Her mom, Stephanie, adds “without the help of
Jim Martin, we would not have gotten such great show
cows.”
Jacalynn said she dreams of one day “winning it all at
one of the major shows.”
“I come from a very competitive family, where every-
one wants to win, and I would say that it’s been bred into
me,” she said.
So how does someone so competitive handle losing?
“I get angry, but at myself, not the competition. But
then, I look around at some of the younger competitors,
kids I’ve known for a long time, who I have worked with
over the years and it makes me happy to see them grow-
ing and doing so well,” she said.
Jacalynn was born and raised in Weatherford where
agriculture is commonplace, so when kids from the city
try their hand in the 4-H club, she is more than willing
to help out. “I’ll help them with the basics, guiding them
through the showing process, and how to handle their
steer. My trainer, Dusty, comes and helps them, too. He
breaks my steers and helps keep me safe,” she said.
With more than half of her life committed to groom-
ing steers for show, she is still a teenage girl, who likes to
hang out with her friends when she can find the time. She
also reaps the benefits of her dad’s appreciation of old
cars.
“My dad is into old cars and we’ll hop in one of them
and drive into Fort Worth to eat, usually somewhere
downtown like Sundance Square.”
She played volleyball her freshman year, but not
anymore.
“I had fun playing, but it did cut into my time caring
for my steers. I’ve decided this year to focus on my steers
and competing. I have two steers that I’m training, which
takes up a lot of time,” she said.
She is also involved with the Brock FAA where she
goes out to different shows and judges livestock. Busy,
yes, but committed; a fine trait for a sophomore in high
school. She is an Eagle at Brock ISD who is setting her
sights on attending Tarleton her first two years of college
and is hopeful she will graduate an Aggie. Whatever road
this amazing teen ventures on, you can believe she’ll be
blazing.