chippie
Well-known member
DLD":3pxesq34 said:At Fort Worth, the exhibitors get all the money (maybe less a small deduction for sale expenses). I'm not sure about Dallas (those are 2 separate shows - Dallas in early October, FW in late January/early February). Houston is the show with the notoriously large sale figures where the exhibitors share is capped - the remaining money goes into scholarship funds, and most of that doesn't go back to exhibitors, but to Houston city youth. You can debate the fairness of that from now on - personally, I don't agree with it, but the show stays huge because premium sale monies paid to exhibitors are still very good.
I won't argue with anyone that some of these very high premiums are too much. The shows (and the people and business' that support them) seem to have their own contest going about who can raise/spend the most money. The more money that's there, the more money people will spend trying to win it. But that doesn't make the whole program bad - most of the kids still do most of their own work. They're learning about raising animals, about feeding and daily care and about how hard work pays off and how not putting effort into something costs. They learn that market animals are raised for food, and that's where they all go in the end (no matter how much they love 'em). They learn about making breeding decisions, calving, animal health, and life and death. Just because they (may) get more than market price for their projects in the end, don't think they didn't have to pay more for them to begin with or that they get by feeding creep pellets and hay. That's not to mention entry fees and traveling costs. And the ones that don't make those premium sales still just bring market price. It's a money making proposition for very, very few. For almost all, it's a family affair - an activity to spend time together, keep the kids involved in something constructive, and have a learning experience along the way. There's nothing wrong with that.
Now please tell me where you heard that (the comment in red).
Here is the schedule of guaranteed payment for the Houston Livestock Show. http://www.rodeohouston.com/Livesto...s/JuniorMarketAuctions/GuaranteedPayment.aspx
If you notice on the payout schedule, HLSR pays exhibitors who placed in their class in all of the shows. Granted, there are caps on the Grand and Reserve.
Champions, and the extra money goes towards paying scholarships . This year HLSR gave 735 scholarships to Texas Youth each worth $18,000. That is $13,230,000.
http://www.rodeohouston.com/AboutUs/EducationalSupport.aspx#215392-scholarships
HLSR supports all Youth. And what it accomplishes is because of its' volunteers. Another thing, the event is not free to put on. The cost is high. HLSR leases the facilities from Harris County. They don't get to use it for free, and the utilities are not free either.
I can tell you something else. Not all of the kids winning come from wealthy families. Last year a girl in our 4-H club won her class with her steer. She worked hard and deserved it. Her dad did not spend 5 figures on the steer.
There are good kids out there who work hard and win. They deserve it. It's sad that people don't remember the good kids and their parents, only the bad ones.