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SOUTHWEST DAIRY CLINIC See a need, fill a need!
hat’s not just a quippy quote from the movie ‘Robots’, it was also the action plan for some dedicated adults wishing to bring more show ring knowledge and skills to young dairy exhibitors in the Southwest US. The idea of an organized dairy showing clinic with demonstrations about preparing, clipping and presenting show heifers had been tossed around last year, but really took hold in 2021 following a conversation at the Midwest Spring Jersey Show in Jefferson, WI.
Eleven-year-old Makayla Monk from Artesia, NM is a young dairy enthusiast that has fallen in love with showing cattle. She’s exhibited Holsteins, Red & Whites, and more recently, Jerseys. In her early days of showing – a couple of years ago – she and her mom, Patricia Yates Monk got to know Mark Brindeiro, a Hilmar, CA native who had relocated to Artesia. He came to the local Eddy County fair to help Makayla get her cattle ready and ended up doing the toplines for 19 other heifers that day. Makayla eventually purchased a couple of Jersey heifers with outstanding type and great pedigrees, one of which – Miss Franchise Colton Venice, a Colton fall calf that traces back to WDE Supreme Champion TJ Classic Minister Venus – was
good enough to go on the spring show circuit this year to Ohio and Wisconsin. They tied in with the Jersey lineup from Bos Dairy, fellow New Mexicans. Venice had a good outing at both shows, and after the conclusion of the Jersey show in Wisconsin, Makayla, Patricia, Nicole Schirm and Kate Pirrung had the idea to put together a fitting and showing clinic for kids from the Southwest who aren’t fortunate enough to learn on the road like Makayla. They settled on a June date, and Patricia took hold of the organizing and started a Facebook page for the clinic to get the word out. Mark and Patricia started contacting potential sponsors and found a large group of people and companies that were delighted to help with the project – enough that the clinic would be held free of charge for the participants and provide them with a free lunch. Next up was coordinating the panel of adults that would present for the kids. Dusty and Nicole Schirm, Kate Pirrung, Mark Brindeiro, Joe Pinedo and Rodney Hetts all agreed to share their knowledge with the kids. The registrations kept coming in and by the closing date, Mark and Patricia were astounded by the response. “We were hoping to get at least
41 youth from New Mexico, Colorado and Texas who participated in the Southwest Dairy Clinic in Artesia, NM. 15 kids from the local area, and we ended up having 41 kids attend from New Mexico, Texas and Colorado”, Mark notes. “We had more dairy heifers at the fairgrounds that day than we usually do for the dairy show at our county fair!” The event was held at the Eddy County Fairgrounds in Artesia, NM and one of the special features of this clinic was that the participants could bring their own project heifer to work on. “Unlike kids in the East and Midwest and where I grew up in California, there aren’t a lot of people in this area to learn from that go to the big
We had kids show up with all different kinds of calves and all kinds of equipment. Some had steer halters on their dairy project calves. We were starting at a very novice level with most of them. But, boy, do they have a thirst to learn! My favorite part was seeing all the little kids with their notebooks writing down word for word what we said and what we were showing them! MARK BRINDEIRO
Participants lined up during the showmanship portion of the dairy clinic. 44 « COWSMOPOLITAN Summer 2021