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- [00:01]
Host
All right, so we're live. This is going to be your official post game interview of the San Antonio stock show and Rodeo steer show. What's exciting is we're going to cover both waves for you, and we have the pleasure of Mr. Blake Nelson and Spencer Scotten coming on. This is something that I've looked forward to trying to accomplish for the last couple weeks, and I know we're a little behind. It's been a minute since the start the show happened, but it's still fresh on our minds, and it's just. I'm excited for it. I can't wait to see how the conversation ends up and everything that it entails. So with that said, if y'all both Blake and Spencer, want to introduce yourself, let everybody know who's listening, what's going on, and then we'll get started about the overview of the show.
- [00:47]
Blake Nelson
We're glad to be on, guys, and thank you for the invite. One of those things. Spencer and I, really, we've talked maybe once since the show, but have had the chance to obviously see the pictures and think a little more about decisions. And after every show I judge, it feels like I relive some of those particularly tougher decisions I made throughout the show. So that's been fun to reflect back and think about what we did and. And really, to me, just get excited about it again. Think about all the good cattle we got to see. See?
- [01:21]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah, you bet. Fellas, thanks for having us on. I enjoyed listening to some of the other ones that you've done, and so I was excited to get the chance to get on here with Blake and talk about. Talk a little bit about the show and. And kind of some ins and outs and some of the things that, you know, maybe if you were at the show, some of the things that were going through our mind that maybe you didn't get to hear on the mic. So, yeah, I'm. I'm pumped up for it.
- [01:46]
Host
Awesome.
- [01:48]
Augustus
Well, to kick us off, first thing I want to hear is, you know, you get the phone call from San Antonio. We want you to judge your show. Like, what does that mean to you? And the anticipation, excitement, kind of explain that to the listeners.
- [02:05]
Blake Nelson
I think that's a great place to start. When we, you know, got that phone call from Brian. I mean, San Antonio pops up, and you get excited right away. And of course, with me, traditionally, it's been heifer shows. Seems like I've judged those major heifer shows down there multiple ones, several times. And. And then when he said it was the Steer show. That was a whole nother level of excitement. Not that I don't love judging the heifers, but, you know, it just is. Haven't really judged a decent sized steer show down there since the State Fair Texas a few years back. So I was very pumped about it. And at the same time, obviously, you're honored, but knowing that it's San Antonio, you get to have an associate. To me, that adds a whole nother level of, you know, getting a chance to work with people that you like. And it, you know, it's just fun. It's one of those things. We all love looking at good stock, but when you're with a buddy, it's even better. So that was a pretty neat deal. And then I actually, after I got that, asked for the show. I mean, absolutely, yes, I'd love to do it. I don't care what the dates are. We'll make it work. I told my wife. And then it was not. But maybe a day later, I called Dr. Skaggs just to get some advice on how to go about, you know, picking out associates or sending a list, because they did request a list of three to four names for potential associates. And, you know, that's how then started working through that process. And, you know, Dr. Skaggs always gives good advice, but he's like, obviously you want someone, you know, you can work with, but at the same time, someone that you respect their opinion. You don't want just a yes, ma'am, because that's really, you know, not what you need, but at the same time, someone you think you'll see things like, and talk things with and. And obviously that you would feel comfortable recommending the judge to show yourself. So when you start putting it in those terms, that list starts getting pretty short. And. And they do want, obviously someone that maybe is either just getting started, judging some majors, or on that cusp. And. And so that does make it a lot of fun then to. To be thinking about it from that standpoint.
- [04:40]
Host
That's awesome. What. How'd you feel, Spencer? Were you pumped up? I bet you were.
- [04:46]
Spencer Scotten
Oh, absolutely, Absolutely. Yeah. So saw Brian's number pop up and. And I was really excited about that. And. And I'd been. I judged in San Antonio two times before I did the DOE show. Oh, I can't even remember what year it was. And then I did the. The Weather Goats last year, and it was awesome. Both of those experiences were. And so I was. He told me that he wanted me to come back down, and he said, hey, we're going to have you on a little bit bigger beast this time. And. And so I was.
- [05:20]
Blake Nelson
Hey.
- [05:20]
Spencer Scotten
And I. I'm like, Blake, I love. I love the goat show, but we raised. We raised show steers. That's all we do. And so getting the call to judge those that got my heartbeat just a little faster, I guarantee you that. And then, you know, they. I knew Blake was judging because he talked, he texted me and asked if I'd be cool with putting. With him putting me on the list. And. And so. And for sure. And that was. That was one of those things whenever you go into that when where you're judging with somebody else as an associate judge, that. That was a little bit nerve wracking for me to be to. To work with somebody. But whenever Blake asked, I, I felt like I got really lucky on somebody that I knew that we were just going to have fun out there for the three days judging. And so that. That came together. That came together actually. Very, very good.
- [06:17]
Host
Even with all this said before y'all arrive or you're driving there, I'd like to know what both Yalls expectations of the show would be and maybe what you were most pumped up for.
- [06:31]
Blake Nelson
You know, I, I think for me, and I was. I was excited about the chance to get to work with Spencer because, you know, I just. He's one of those guys I enjoy being around. Anytime I've ever talked to him, he's excited about livestock and I knew we would have fun. And, and you know, and we both mentioned this in our speeches down there, but those folks at San Antone, they do such an awesome job of taking care of you as a judge and making you feel welcome, making you feel appreciated and just absolutely top notch people. You know, that in itself is pretty neat in that experience. But from there, you know, going into any major in Texas, but particularly, you know, these three or four bigger steer shows, you know, you're going to get to see some. Some really good ones and really heat. And you never know just if they're like elite good or just good ones. The best ones to the barn, whatever the case. But figured at San Antonio particularly, that top end was going to be pretty stout. And I know we both were excited about getting to see. I mean, we all do. It's that quest to see the great one. Right. So it's just another step in that direction.
- [07:50]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah.
- [07:50]
Blake Nelson
All right.
- [07:51]
Augustus
And so y'all start out on the turf Monday morning with the main on Jews. Kind of walk us through that breed and what y'all are seeing. And also into The Charlies and Sims, if you will.
- [08:05]
Spencer Scotten
Perfect. Yeah. Well, going into the show on day one, as we started off with the mains and, and you look at the list of the breeds that we started off with, I've been to, to watch the show just through the judging contest that we come down. We usually get down there on Thursday and watch the show Thursday, our workout, Thursday night. I'd never actually been there for day one, but traditionally you think about, there's been several years that the breed that the champion overall comes out of that first day, whether it be, you know, I know the main has won the show a couple times, the semi, the, the, the shore, you know, you know, that day that there's going to be good cattle that, that fire right out of the gate. So we were excited right, right out of the box. Because whenever we started off, there is no doubt that we could have seen the grander reserve that day. You know, in my mind, looking, looking forward into it. And we got into the mains and I'm telling you, they were good. And that champion, champion main. As we got done selecting that one, I was thinking, hey, we've got, we've got one that set the bar pretty high for what we like. And I thought just getting into the show and how it was going to work and just with Blake and I together out there and kind of getting that adjustment of, hey, we're out here together, we're judging the show. Here's how it's going to work. Let's get kind of a process going. And really, I mean, from the first breed, I thought we had a really good process going where I thought both of us got a great look at the cattle coming in. We got to go through all of those cattle separately and then kind of reconvene. And so I feel like San Antonio has done a really good job. And I thought the two judge system worked great right off the bat in the mains because there wasn't, I mean, and I'm sure, you know, I'm sure if you had a steer that maybe got the lap, yeah, you probably think, yeah, maybe they've missed one or two. But I did feel like we got a great look at the cattle with both of us going through, watching them come in and then both of us going through individually getting our hands on them, I felt really good about that. So right off the bat it was, we're kind of rocking and rolling through there and we saw some very, very good cattle in that main division. And you guys, I mean, I'm sure have Watched a lot of these shows and have been in and I know both of you have shown competitively, but finding a main or a black heighted slick steer, that's very good. It is very challenging because it, it's hard enough to build them good with the hair on them. You can ask anybody that's raising them. It's not easy. And then to make them look good slicked off, we were, hey, we were pretty impressed going through and there were some good decisions, some good discussion there on the mains. But the ones that, the ones that we ended up with, and I think we kind of set. Set a good tone early on that because both of those cattle that we started off with, they had the kind of freshness they were the just the kind of shape, the kind of boldness, the kind of balance that, that we were looking for. And I thought pretty early we kind of got into a groove. And I'm glad that we had those, those ones that started off the day because I felt like we had good cattle that we could land on that we were both very comfortable with. And you know, we didn't have to use cattle in that first breed that we didn't like or, you know, didn't, you know, you had to stomach something that you didn't like. Because sometimes you do. Sometimes whenever you're going through and, and judging, and even in a judging contest, you guys have found that as well. Sometimes you have to use ones that you don't like and sometimes it's a little bit tough whenever you do that. But I thought the mains were a good one to start off with, that we use cattle that we liked that really set the tone for that day.
- [12:15]
Host
That's awesome. One thing I'd like to, to add to your. Your talk is the two judge system. What I really appreciate about it is how, Spencer, you'll take the mic and go talk about an individual steer through the lineup, walking out and saying the differences on why they didn't get pulled and what you'd like to change about them. I think that puts a lot of insight and a lot of help to any family or any breeder that didn't get the pull. And I do really, really like that. And I wish, I wish some other shows would do it as well. Just for help for families that don't know but. Or breeders who don't know. I just, I do appreciate that and, and like that setup.
- [12:57]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah, no doubt about it. No doubt about it. Because some of the other ones that I've seen, you know, those. A lot of Those cattle get dismissed. And some of those classes were very, very deep and very good. And there were good cattle that we dismissed. No, there is no doubt about that. And so those ones that were right on the bubble, I'm glad that we got to recognize those for sure.
- [13:17]
Blake Nelson
You bet. And just to build off what you were just talking about, I really like that system too. And I've, I've been lead judges, I've been assistant judges, I've been associate judges, I've been on panels. But that system that we work through, that's one of my favorites because, you know, well, on starters, those large classes, I like pulling on the walk, particularly when you're at a show of that magnitude, you know there's going to be some good cattle. It saves some time, but also it gets you kind of in the right groove. And as you're pulling them, you're getting a lot of them better cattle in the same part of the class right off the bat. So when you start working the class and working, you know, particularly that competitive end, they're already together. So it just helps your mindset there. And to, you know, as they're coming in, Spencer and I, I told him from the very first class, I said, spence, you know, we're going to figure out what we like. We're going to get on the same page. I mean, we know what we like, but you know, you never know what the class is going to bring you. But I said we're going to lean into dense cattle when it's available. That was just in my mind, you know, if it got to those pairs where it's that showy one that's a little frail or it's a stout one that's maybe not quite as cool necked or maybe just not perfect in their hawk. I'm going to lean towards the dense stout ones and, and we were on the same page. We agreed with that. And fortunately the cattle came to us as well. Like he said on those mains where we could set that, that tone right off the bat. So, so that sure made it nice too. We can say that all day long, but those type of cattle aren't there. It gets a little tough, right? But luckily they came to us and, and that was it just, it felt like the timing of the breeds, the type of cattle that came to us, you know, the mains had some really, really good cattle, but probably just a smaller group of what you would say were elite ones. And let us kind of get warmed up there and then we roll into the charolays and we knew, I mean, you guys have grown up in it when it comes to smokes or oranges, Silver's, whatever the case, white ones, Charolay crosses is going to be one of the tough breeds regardless.
- [15:43]
Augustus
Absolutely.
- [15:45]
Blake Nelson
So we knew that going in. And I mean, right off the bat, how that first class, really good little steering. And that's the thing that, that I would tell you. Working through that show amazed me how many good, you know, twelve, twelve hundred and fifty pound steers come to the show when. And I know it's a decision process and how you gear them, but you're like, man, what's that thing going to look like in 30 days if you were going to go to Houston or Austin with one? You know, it's like, man, he could really, he could be more than just a class winner. But again, that's a management call y'all have to make. And I get it. We just appreciate the fact that people brought us good cattle where we had them in each class, and it set that tone right off the bat. And, you know, we start getting those Miller middleweight charolays, and it got to be that's really probably where we started having to work through. Not give and take, but there maybe just wasn't that one absolute all star that put it all together, but a lot of really good cattle. So again, that spurred on a lot of discussion and seeing, you know, maybe what I waited and valued versus what Spencer weighed and valued. Fortunately for us, we were very close in what we liked, so that worked out to get ready for that heavyweight class when it come rolling in, because you guys probably saw that class, too. And that's another one of those classes where we're glad we got to pull them, because that's just another one of those pieces of sorting them. The mobility of those market animals is important, you know, but, you know, first right out, when they come out of the gate, you're getting a picture of their skull and their front end and potentially seeing how maybe stout they're going to be. And then when they turn, you can see the rib shape. And then we get to see how they walk. So it all kind of those ones that hit you, they stand out. So anyway, we got to got to rolling through there on those, and we had a pretty good big pull, yet still had some good cattle we didn't pull. And I do like the fact that as a judge, you're so focused sometimes. And I know I get this way where I'm so focused on making sure I get that top in right sometimes I Feel like I may be short those kids that wasn't up there. And that is not something at all that I want to feel. I want. I'm not saying I didn't look at their calf, but maybe didn't get to interact with them or talk. That calf. That gets tough, you know, I don't like that at a junior show, but in terms of large shows, it's just something that's got to happen. So again, going back to this system, that's really nice when they can still get their due. And also, like you were saying, be productive and get some coaching from the judge and what they see. So sorry, I'm bouncing around a little bit here, guys. But back to those cattle. When those rolled in, you know, we saw some we liked awfully well, and that particular, that champion, Charlay. I mean, he walked in, and right then we knew he was a player. We didn't know if there was going to be more than one player, but we knew he was a cat, and he hit us extremely well. And just going on throughout that class, that one just, you know, we. We never saw anything that would turn him. But then after him, those next four or five were awfully tough. And that did set us up for good discussion. And, you know, at that point and that level, most all those cattle have enough muscle. There's degrees of freshness and where they're at from a handle standpoint, and obviously build and structure come into play. And that's really how we work through that one, particularly that heavyweight class. You know, really, two through five were all really, really good steers and just kind of what you liked or how they hit you that day. But it was kind of neat to see one. I mean, that mainstream we thought was awfully good and really nice. But then that Charlie walks in and it's a. Another. Another gear there. We just didn't know. We knew he was a guy we liked awfully well, and just seeing how he measured up, there's something better in him, they're going to be pretty special. So that was really fun to work through that. And he hit both of us that hard, so that was cool.
- [20:20]
Augustus
And y'all talked about how in the mains, y'all saw good calves that the child liked and felt set a good foundation to get the day started. And that's one thing I wanted to hit on is your job as a judge. You have to place what the people bring you. And yes, quality comes in different shapes and sizes, but it's very refreshing when you can find one that does hit you hard. That is your type and kind. And then you can build from. Build that class off of that animal and go from there.
- [20:54]
Blake Nelson
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. That, that was the thing. And I mean, you guys are young and you may have already experienced it, and I'm sure you have with judging classes, but when you start judging more shows, you know, it's always an honor to judge a show and it's fun and you work your way through it. It's like I tell people, I love getting to the end of a show where you got to use cattle you wanted to use, not the ones you just had to use. You know what I'm saying? It's just, it's a. It's a different villain. And don't get me wrong, you love the interaction in the process, but when it's a stinger that hits you pretty good, that gets you going. So especially on a large show, that keeps you motivated.
- [21:39]
Host
Yes, sir, absolutely. And so main on Jews happen, Charlize happen. You're pumped up. There's great cattle, great types and kinds of cattle, but you find your mojo or whatever. Spencer, talk to us about the semis. What was your thought process? I mean, I saw the grand and Reserve on the Pulse and I thought those were phenomenal semis.
- [22:00]
Spencer Scotten
Yep, for sure. And just about like every breed we're going to talk about. Honestly, they were, they were very good. And that, that going through the semis, I thought probably had a little more discussion. And that was probably the first time that I think the, the, the two main cattle came out of the heavyweight class. The two charolais steers came out of the heavyweight class. Well, the civitols, the one we use came out of the middleweight class, and then the one that was reserved came out of the heavyweight class. And so you as, as a judge and probably as an exhibitor too, in those families getting those cattle ready, you always want your calves to weigh right. And that's one of the most common things that I get asked as a judge. Well, what do they need to weigh? And Blake and I talked about it early on too, where we just want those cattle to fit their weight. We want them to be fresh, we want them to be 12 o'clock. And I thought that was one of those instances where whenever we got our class winners out there, that middleweight that we used, yes, he wasn't, you know, he was not out of the heavyweight class, but that steer was fresh. He was 12 o'clock. He was one of the ones that fit the mold of what we were doing and better than the heavyweights and the heavyweight steers. I'm telling you, they were good, and they were stout, and they were extremely, extremely good. But those cattle were pushing up. Up close to 1500, which didn't bother us at all. And we used some cattle close to 1500, but they weren't as fresh. They. They were not as fresh. They weren't as useful. They weren't as good in their shape as that middleweight. And so as we got done with the semis, you know, that was probably the first breed of the day where freshness really came into account. And we had to make that call there because both of those cattle that we used for grand and reserve were very, very good. We just felt like that one, his freshness and his balance allowed him to go ahead and win. And, you know, like we said, weight. Weight ended up being irrelevant. They just had to be good. They had to be good first and fit their weight, and then we would worry about that. And then if there was, you know, and a thousand. A good thousand pounder that won class one and a phenomenal, you know, 1450 pounder that wins the heavyweights. Well, yeah, we're probably going to side with the heavyweight, but we were probably more concerned at that. That breed right there. I thought we just went with, kind of set that set the tone that that day or that was the first kind of decision that we made where those two cattle didn't come out of the same class.
- [24:54]
Host
Right. Well, by far, it was a very competitive breed. I got to watch just the simmies on day one on live. I had classes and stuff going on, but then it was lunch. Do y'all get a good lunch? Surely they fed y'all well?
- [25:11]
Blake Nelson
Oh, for sure.
- [25:12]
Spencer Scotten
Oh, man. Yeah. Blake was talking about the crew at San Antonio being awesome. There is no place, and I'm telling you, no place that I've judged that has better hospitality and food than San Antonio. I mean, it is awesome.
- [25:28]
Host
That's awesome.
- [25:29]
Spencer Scotten
I was watching Dinner Break, too. I'm not gonna lie. I was hoping. I. I was hoping to drag the show out so that way we could. We could get them to fix his dinner, too.
- [25:37]
Host
Make it in, like, 12:30 last year and get that real, real good dinner.
- [25:42]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah.
- [25:44]
Host
Okay, so now we're in the American breeds.
- [25:47]
Augustus
Gotta adjust your eyes a little bit.
- [25:50]
Spencer Scotten
Hey, hey.
- [25:51]
Host
There ain't nothing wrong with Americans, baby. There ain't nothing wrong with them. So the first breed's the Simbraw and. Or the Simbraw breed himself. What was Blake, what did you think about the Simbras? Obviously, that champion was a stud. From what I remember, y'all pulled him out for top five in your prejudging of the Grand Drive. So run us through that breed and what you thought about what was going on.
- [26:13]
Blake Nelson
Yeah, well, to me, the Simbres is a great transition of the. For our American breed coming from those Continentals, because you kind of get the best of both worlds. And it seems like the Simbra steers probably are just a little stouter built, particularly in terms of bone and foot, to some of the other American breed steers. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying as a breed. So body shape and type, it was good. We just kind of added the leather and the ability for them to class onto those. That group of cattle as we got into that breed. And, you know, it cranked off right off the bat, lightweight class, good steer, and just kept that. That middle set was really deep. And again, that's the thing about it. And not just the Simba breed, but I thought several of our breeds. And Spencer can back me up on this or tell me I'm wrong, but I thought lots of times our lightweight cattle would be as high quality as anything in the breed. It's just if we're saying pound for pound, how good they were and they would be deep, you know, obviously, from a market standpoint, it's hard to make them just true players as we get into those middles and heavies. Just cause a sheer mass, right. And maturity in terms of rib and finish and. And just where they're at. But that was a pleasant surprise where there were some breeds, if you just had to say, what's the best year? It might be the lightweight. If we're just saying throw weight market out of it. So that gets us cranked off in good fashion. But it was that way in the Sembros. And we work on through that and. And get to that heavyweight class. And that was the place where we did start getting into. And I think in the Americans, particularly, and get this, where you start getting in variations of good in terms of type, you know, good cattle, but differences, like, not just subtle differences of positives and negatives. Different body types, you know, different frame, different looks in terms of if they're real clean or if they're a little trashy, and start plugging that in and weighing it out. But like you said, that one when he walked in, we're like, okay, Again, we had one of those that just hit us. We're like, man, he's. He's a deal. Let's see if there's something else that can beat him. If it is, we're going to have a, you know, a nice two or three of them. And that's another one of those situations where in our breed, I would say our breed and reserve breed champions come out of the same class. Both those calves are exceptional, but they're a little different in what types they are. You know, the one we used, obviously a little more our speed, just stouter more opened up, just more mass everywhere and was pretty enough and sound enough. Actually he was really sound comparatively, but was pretty enough. And then that reserve was a good looking rascal, you know, just a little neater in terms of just levelness of hip and pin set and tail head a little better in terms of the top side of his neck and the way he was put together. But again, you're giving up some bone, you're giving up some substance. But in that case, actually the stouter one of that pair, the champion moved better too. So it wasn't, wasn't even really a pair for us, but another one of those deals, like I said, just not to get too carried away. But that is a great transition breed to go into the rest of the markets and just kind of set us up to, to move on.
- [30:10]
Host
Yes, sir. And then so with all this said, we thought simbraws were a great way to transition. Excited. Then we got bramers. I've grown up with bramers. That's all I knew for a minute. So I was very excited to see the quality of bramers that were there. So Spencer, what were you, what did you think about it? What, what was going on in your mind when you started the Brahmins blaster.
- [30:36]
Spencer Scotten
Judge at several jackpot shows down here. I, I really like the Brahman cattle and the Brahman influence cattle. And it is really amazing to me how far that these breeders have pushed them forward. I mean they are flat good and obviously there's been several of them get a piece of major shows in the last, you know, five years and deservingly so because they are really good. And as we got into the promise again, good breed. And as we were working through those cattle, I thought probably the, I thought probably the heat came, came in our heavyweight division in our heavyweight class. And I don't know if you guys got up on that champion that might have been the stoutest hit, just the biggest pin status hip calf at the entire show. He was incredibly bold and stout and, and he could still go. He was still good down low and still good. His Joints wasn't perfect in his hip but man, you put that much muscle on something. And coming from a background of raising a few goats too, you know, hey, some of those ones that we get that are very, very muscular, they're not going to be perfect out of there yet. And I thought that was a prime example of one that was extra stout and still extra extra good at the ground. And then we had that one that was reserved that I was a little bit worried about getting loose at the rodeo because man that he, he was just, he had a little spirit to him but that, that girl did a good job with him and she did not let him go at the rodeo. Actually the, the Hereford Contrary reserve polled. Yeah, the Herefords are supposed to be gentle and, and, and the Brahmin heat. He stayed hooked and so that was a really nice gift. I thought those were two different kinds of cattle but both very good. So we enjoyed, enjoyed the Brahmins and weren't huge classes really. I thought that was one of the small them and that you know bring us were probably the smaller breeds of the day but. But they were very, very good on the top ended. You expect that in San Antonio, you know, San Antonio, Houston. Yeah. As I think those were the only two. I mean correct me if I'm wrong. Those are the only two shows that have a Brahmin breed. Correct.
- [33:00]
Host
Yeah. That place Houston are the only two here in Texas. Major show wise.
- [33:05]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah. Yeah. I mean the rest of them have the, you know, Brahman influenced or you know, the ABC or whatever they call that. But you know, to, to judge the cattle that, that just can class, you know, Brahman. I mean you expect, you expect them to be good and they were.
- [33:25]
Host
Yes sir, absolutely.
- [33:27]
Augustus
So you finish up with the Brahmins and like you mentioned, a tremendous winner. And I live down here in South Texas say Brahmins all the time. I do not see him built like that champion every day. But get into the San Gertrudes and If you will Mr. Nelson, talk us through that.
- [33:44]
Blake Nelson
Okay, no, I'm glad to do that. And the Brahmins and something I would back up talking is like I grew up with commercial bring us cattle and then you know going through college there at Connors we had a really good Sandra Treatise herd and then later when I was there I worked with them. And so I've had the luxury of getting to judge you know quite a few year breeding shows and getting a judge international a couple times there in Houston. So I am far from a Brahmin expert but I feel very Comfortable looking at them. And I know Spencer, I think the first time we ever judged together was at Houston. He's judging Beak Masters on the other side. So I know that does wig out some judges, particularly from the Midwest and different places. When they come down and they haven't really, they make more of it than what it is. I'm not saying that you can't be comfortable or not, but good cattle is good cat. I don't care what breed. Just might come in just a little bit different in their trim, if you will, in terms of, you know, a little leather here, a little sheet there, a little more hump. But it's one of those things where the way you guys are breeding those show steers now, I just. It's probably. It probably hit me the first time I was down in Austin and judge Osteers, I was blown away by how much muscle is in those cattle. And I think that takes a talk to anybody from up here that comes down that way to judge them and judge steers, it blows them away. So anyway, again, chasing rabbits, guys, y'all have to keep me focused here. Getting back to the Gertz. To me, that's something. Being an Okie and Missouri now. But coming down the Gert steers blows my mind on classification. Just because, you know, Sembras, you can kind of see, okay, some. Something in there, you know, Brahman's, obviously the Gertz, you can get, you know, solid color, but in about any color. And definitely some variation from how clean they are, the helm, loose sheet they are, or whatever the case. So it. We started experiencing that and that particular breed, those classes were not very big either. And we wrote through it pretty quick. You know, we got in the middleweights and really like that calf, he was one a little showier, kind really neat look to him that just. That's one of those cases where, you know, he wasn't the status one of the top four. But we thought he had enough to go along with that extra quality and. And gave him a little bit there. But that was a really, really neat looking calf. I know Spencer and I both liked him. And one that was still youthful in terms of his head and the way he was put together. Then we were on those heavyweights and here comes some of those stout horses. And luckily for us, one of them was still sound enough and still certainly fresh and probably the best handling steer, or he will not probably. He was the best handling steer we had in that breed. So that all kind of came together. We had another pretty good heavyweight, Sanger Trudeau. But we just really liked the quality of that. That middleweight steering thought hey, you know, he's. Honestly, he was never, never crossed her mind not to have him get a banner. Whether it was the big one or reserve. We just thought he was that kind of steer need to be up there. And we both just felt more comfortable and thought the big steer was a little more right that day and. And went that way. And I think he fit again. That's one of those situations where we went with the. The denser one in a pair of really, really good cattle. And I think that just helps us not only us more are consistent job we do, but hopefully you guys watching, exhibiting or watching can follow us as well.
- [38:00]
Host
Yes, sir. Sure. And so then the bring us happen and what I'd like to know is with there. There were. There were quite a bit cattle that were not able to classify. And so what did y'all think quality wise of the breed, how that went and what y'all thought with some of maybe elite, maybe not getting kicked out?
- [38:29]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah, and those classes were smaller, no doubt. And that's one thing as. As we're standing out there and they're classifying in the back, which, you know, we don't see any of that. I mean that's, that, that's something that we're a little naive to out in the middle of what comes in, you know, or what gets kicked out. So we just get to see the cattle that came in and honestly just. I mean they're. They're probably. They probably weren't as deep just because there weren't as many numbers. Honestly. Shoot, I don't even think we made a sift on. On some of those classes. And so the top end, the top end I still thought sorted very, very well. Again, there was. We felt like a pair of steers that came in there that really. That was. That was some good. Those were a good pair of steers that we ended up using in the Brangus. And that was one of those pairs where we decided, hey, there's a pair of them that have more quality. There's give and take at the stand. But now we can be really picky on structure in this particular group of them because those cattle were both stout enough. They were both. They were both awesome standing still. And then, you know, as far as structure goes and Blake and I both kind of came come from the background of raising cattle ra. You know, breeding cattle where they still have to be sound.
- [39:55]
Blake Nelson
That's.
- [39:56]
Spencer Scotten
That's one of those pairs where I thought we could be the top end. The top end I still thought was very good, even though there wasn't as many numbers.
- [40:04]
Host
Awesome. Well, and so with that said, we thought the brangus were very, very high quality. There were differences, but you found your. Your type in kind. So then ABCs happened, and I. I was fortunate to be able to watch the ABCs. I thought grand and Reserve were very, very similar in terms of. In terms of build and rib shape and body shape. But again, I wasn't there in person. So I'd like y'all to walk us through the ABC breed and what y'all thought on how that went. And, I mean, this is the end, getting close, end of day one. So, I mean, y'all are probably tired, but, I mean, it looked like y'all were having fun out there. The ABCs looked very competitive.
- [40:51]
Blake Nelson
They were. And, you know, that was definitely one of the larger breeds of that first day. And with ABCs, I mean, it is what it is, but you get every shape and size and color, so it's one of those things we. There was quality, without a doubt, all the way through that deal. And with that many numbers, we're going to. You're going to have it. But you can just imagine when you got your basically multiple breeds represented, um, not all the good ones are going to look the same. We got there towards the end, and it took some wading through that and sifting through that, and that's part of the job. But we probably had as much discussion in some of those classes as we did any. Just because you do get into all the different types and seeing what hits you. I mean, fortunately for us, those topping cattle and typically stand out to both of us. We're on the same page. But when you get into, you know, maybe third through 10, there's so much variation. Then you have a little discussion and probably had as much discussion about those type, those placings as we did the top group, because those good ones do stick out. But did like the cattle we ended up with and very suited. We remember that steer that won that breed. I remember again, he was one of the last cattle in the ring, but when he came in, he's another one of those that stuck out to us, and we liked him awfully well.
- [42:30]
Host
So y'all are done with the ABCs. It's the end of day one. Talk to us about how y'all felt, the quality of day one throughout the show, and was it everything y'all ever dreamed of? Y'all have fun?
- [42:44]
Spencer Scotten
Was.
- [42:44]
Host
It was an experience that y'all were wanting.
- [42:49]
Blake Nelson
I think both of us were a little bit tired. I don't think it hurt either one of our feelings that we had Tuesday off, but we were still. I mean, you know, that first hour or two, and even when I got back to the hotel, it took me a little bit to unwind because you're still pumped up. Because Spencer and I talked about this at dinner that night over a good whataburger that we. Regardless of what we see the rest of the week, we knew we had cattle we could. Was not afraid to step in the backdrop with. We knew we already had some really good ones come through, and yet we still know we're not, you know, halfway done. So we were pretty pumped about that. We were glad to. It seemed like we found our groove and that process. Even though we had some big classes and a long day, we just felt like it was a great way to set it up for the rest of the run. But we were both very excited about the cattle we'd already got to see and just made us look forward to the rest of the show that much more.
- [43:59]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah, no. No doubt about that. After. After day one. And it is so nice whenever you're judging a show and something that cattle that you really like come in early where, like Blake said, if. If the show ended after day one, we would have got to use very, very good calves for grand and reserve. If we just had to pick from the cattle that were shown day one, and we knew good ones were coming still. So that was. That was kind of a relief, really, as we got through that first day that, you know, we weren't still searching for, you know, cattle that we felt good about. You know, we weren't sitting there saying, man, I hope they. I hope there's better ones that come. We were very pleased with the cattle that we got to see that day, and really, I thought we got in a groove early that day and just how everything worked, how the ring worked, how, you know, the. The discussion worked, how we ended up lining those cattle up. And I thought everything just as far as the process of the judging went, and I thought it went. I thought it went really, really good. And we had a good. You know, we had a good groove set going into. Going into day two and day three. But I'm like, Blake, I was glad to have a day off that was. That was a long day. And needed to. Needed my feet. Needed my feet to rest.
- [45:29]
Host
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- [47:32]
Augustus
And so going off of what you just said when y'all sorted through, I believe the number is 497 head of calves in that first day. Talk to us a little bit about the mental toll of sorting through that many head, making sure you give everyone a fair look and I mean as well as the physical toll y'all being on yalls feet for that long and how the turf plays into all that kind of break that down for us if you will.
- [47:58]
Blake Nelson
I would say the turf for us is one of the best surfaces in the world to judge on because there's just a little bit of cushion to it. You're not waiting in knee deep with shavings or sand where you feel like you know you ran 30 miles and it's not packed hard concrete completely either. So I think surface wise we, we darn sure appreciate that. The biggest Thing even after lunch is like once you sit down, when you've got into it that long, it's hard to get up, get going. Lunch was nice to eat a little bit, but I think both of us was ready to get back going because the longer you sat there, the harder it is to especially. I'm getting to be an old man now to get back up and get going. So yeah, you really. And when you take the breaks, that's when you realize how tired you might be. But staying motivated by good stock and then obviously each other. And I knew Spencer was going to be high energy and I knew I needed that because sometimes on a long day, not saying you get work, but you just want to make sure you're staying hooked up. And we held each other accountable, which we didn't have to do that much, but it was good just in our energy and our discussion. So that was really good. We didn't get complacent. And back to what you said on a long day like that. That's again where I love this system where you don't feel like anybody gets shorted or missed. You got two sets of eyes, conversation, nothing, hopefully slid through the cracks. At least we do our best not to let it slide through the cracks and every kid to feel like they got their. Their due evaluation. And at the same time, you know, that extra discussion that the associate gets to make is awesome. So it does, you know, let them know they're not forgotten about.
- [50:13]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah. And. And as far as I think going through that, that many head and we. We really took the time on making sure that yes, the. The breed champions and reserves were very important. We also thought that every single sale spot was important. The ones that were right on the bubble. I felt like we tried our very best to discuss those and try and get those as right in our mind as we could. Just like the breed champions. And whenever we get. Got done with that first day and. And Blake and I had both been, you know, we. We'd both been through it and kind of both, you know, judge judged several, have. Have judged several shows where there has been a lot of head. And honestly, I'm exhausted after every one of them. And I think mentally, if you are not, you know, exhaust, like mentally drained after a full day of judging, you probably didn't. You probably didn't work hard enough and just putting the thought into those decisions. And they were not decisions that we took lightly at all. And so after that day one, I think both of us, I mean, by the time that we were done and just to stay. Just to stay hooked up and stay on for 12 hours or however I. It might have been longer than is. I think it was actually longer than that. And I'll tell you what it was. It was a mental. I mean you have to stay hooked up mentally and it is exhausting.
- [51:53]
Host
I mean that's gotta be a longer day than even wave two. With two days.
- [51:57]
Blake Nelson
It was.
- [51:58]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah.
- [51:59]
Host
Because you're not stopping at all. But even with that said, I mean. So wave two. But is that. It's on top of what we're discussing. Do y'all like how they separate into do into two days of wave two? Is that. I'm sure that helps y'all quite a bit.
- [52:16]
Blake Nelson
It. I think it really helps considering how especially day two really is almost just 60% of a judging day or half of a judging day. Because you're trying to get wrapped up to have the, you know, the preliminary judging and everything's on such a schedule that afternoon to make sure everything's right for the rodeo. It takes a little pressure off, that's for sure. From our standpoint, even though on day three we knew we had quite a few cattle to work with, we knew we'd be efficient. So I didn't mind it being front loaded at all. I'd rather it be that way and working through those big numbers. So when we did get into maybe some breeds, not saying this is the case, but some of those breeds were. It might be a little deeper on who's, you know, making the sale, who's making. And I'm not saying all of them are that way. But you know what I'm saying, getting into those crosses, knowing there's going to be some challenge. We have a little more time if we need it.
- [53:22]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah.
- [53:23]
Host
And even talking about day one or wave one, wave two, the temperature change between both waves was insane. So I'd like to know both yalls aspect on how the cattle were vice versa.
- [53:39]
Blake Nelson
I do think on day, you know, that first day when it was pretty darn cold, I think we got into particularly in those Brahmin crosses. I don't know if we even talked about it, Spencer, but it felt like at times you'd go to handle them and they would be maybe humped up just a little more and then even their hair would be on end. If they were very coarse haired, you'd darn sure feel it. But on the flip side of that, since it wasn't the heat like in Fort Worth, they were pretty full and ready to go too. So not all Bad.
- [54:19]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah. And that, that was one thing where whenever you're at a show and you've got extreme weather like that, I mean, it was, it couldn't have been any worse at Fort Worth for Hot Cat. You know, hot on haired cattle is a disaster. And then really, really cold on slick cattle is not, not what you want either. And, and so I would, I would say probably our job wasn't as tough as those families jobs trying to keep those cattle together. And you know, but at the end of the day, if it was cold for one person, it was cold for everybody. So everybody, you know, everybody I still thought was kind of on an even, you know, that even playing field where, yeah, it wasn't ideal, but everybody had to deal with it.
- [55:10]
Augustus
And so one thing I wanted hit on when y'all were the end of day one, judging the red crosses. Y'all said it was hard for y'all to get the rhythm and that from what y'all had throughout the day. Kind of talk to us a little bit about what that meant to y'all. And still y'all still had to end up with, I believe is six sail holes, kind of. You'll sit on the mic. This was difficult for you. Explain what that meant.
- [55:42]
Blake Nelson
Now, I guess just which breed were you talking about? The red crosses or.
- [55:48]
Augustus
Yes, sir, the red crosses. On that Thursday afternoon.
- [55:51]
Blake Nelson
On Thursday afternoon on those red crosses. Well, I think it was just for us. Again, you're almost switching gears after we go through those English breeds. Different potty type, different shape. There wasn't that many of those lemmies, you know. And then we hit red crosses and again, yes, we're looking at market animals and your priority traits are the same, but they're going to be in a little different shape and size sometime or package. Right. And within those red crosses, when you're getting, you know, quite a bit of variation there too, in terms of breed makeup and characteristics. It just, at times we didn't have. It was a little harder finding those cattle that put everything together. You know, a good one walks in and you're like, man, that thing's awfully good and just hit you. And then you have six of them that walk in that all have something you love about them or maybe a couple things you love, but they also also have glaring holes. So then, you know, you've got to rationalize and balance that out and really judge as hard on those as you do on the top end and prioritize and making sure you're. You're just being consistent in what you think and do. And, and you know, when they come at you in that many different shapes, it gets a little more challenging. And that's probably, I'm guessing that's what you're talking about. It was just harder to hit a rhythm where it wasn't like, okay, there's that one that hits us hard. Oh, there's two or three we like awfully well, but maybe not as good, you know. And then there's the rest of them. Well, all of a sudden there's one we like really good and then there's six to eight to ten that we all like something about, but we all would like all have something we change and then you have to pull it back together. And that's probably, I'm guessing that's, I'm thinking that's probably what we were meaning when we said that.
- [58:05]
Spencer Scotten
And another thing, another thing on that breed was, or I guess multitude of breeds in there where it kind of got to be a catch all. Where we had Hereford's, you know, Herefords that, that, you know, that didn't class and Shorehorn appearing cattle and you know, red Angus cattle. And there were some, you know, kind of ones that were American influenced in there that maybe didn't have enough character to class in the, in the Americans. And so you, while you're sitting there and watching those cattle come in, there might be, you know, six or seven ones that came to be in a different breed that ended up being in the red crosses. And all the other cat. All the other ones that we've judged so far, you know, have been fairly consistent just as far as, you know, the way they look in their breed type and all of that. So I think that's a little bit too. What made that, what made that just a little more random on just a, an assortment of cattle that, that were in there.
- [59:10]
Augustus
Oh, certainly sitting ringside. I am in complete agreeance with y'all. I thought there was one calf who really hit me hard just looking at him on the profile. And then aside from that, the man could go several different ways. And like you said, there's a lot of calves who had some things really good about him and also some glaring holes in them that you wish didn't have.
- [59:31]
Host
Yeah. So we've. What I'd like to do is Augustus, I didn't. Wasn't able to watch the first day of Wave two. Like all the British breeds, Angus, Shorthorn, Herefords, none of that. Also, that's Augustus's forte. He digs that stuff. So I'm gonna let him run the show with that, for that, for a minute with all those British breeds.
- [59:53]
Augustus
Yeah, I mean, those breeds were, I thought throughout the show the numbers were down. They said the numbers were down on entries and even what showed up numbers were down even more than what they were expecting. So not a whole bunch of entries in each class, but they still brought the quality, that was for sure. Cattle were good bodied, good structured for the most part, and just kept coming class after class. And I'd like to hear Spencer, y'all talk about that.
- [60:23]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah, yeah. The as, as we got started in, into the British, we got going on a good set of Angus steers really, you know, and, you know, we weren't looking for anything different that day. And so we started off with cattle that were good bodied, good feeding, good structured, like you said. And, you know, there weren't, there wasn't as many of them, but kind of like some of the other breeds that we talked about, the top enders, they, they come there to win, you know, they, they come there to win their breed. And so we, we got kicked off in, in there and we thought the, the British day, British day was very, very high quality on the top end. There's no doubt.
- [61:07]
Host
So then, Angus, what did y'all think of the shorthorns? Because I saw both of them on the pulse. I didn't get to see any other of the British breeds for the day. I was busy that day. But the shorthorns looked really competitive this year versus last couple years, like just insane amount of very, very nice bodied, big back, good, structured ones.
- [61:32]
Blake Nelson
Yeah, the shorthorns, it. We did think that was another good breed. And where we ended up there, we really like those calves pretty well. Both very solid, maybe not just, you know, absolute, just vellum down the door, elite ones, but really good cattle. And that's kind of how that breed was as we were working through those classes is, you know, they were good cattle. So you could just kind of pick what angle you want to go at. And, you know, what I'm saying is, yes, there's variation in color, obviously with shorthorn, but there's still some variation in type and kind of particularly, you know, shorthorn steers, where some of them are shaped a little more like a Continental and some of them are shaped a little more like a British. Now we know classification takes that factor out some, but you still get into that. And I think with that we, we found challenge at times. It wasn't that we didn't like the cattle, it's just deciding what direction we Wanted to go because you would get some really good ones. And I think that breed was kind of setting us up for the next day. In those shorthorns, we would have cattle we really liked on the stand, but when you asked them to lead out, we had some challenge. And it's kind of like, you know, we really didn't have that in the Angus. We didn't really have that in the ABCs as much. But that was almost getting us geared up for what we were going to see later in the day and then on day three. But, you know, that red steer that ends up winning? Absolutely loved his shape and dimension as much as anything in there. His dad bone. And he wasn't the. The coolest looking one, but the parts came together good enough. And then the white steer we used for reserve was awesome on the stand. Really nice profile, nice useful calf. That's where we dropped down to a middleweight again and really liked his structure. He just gave up a little power to that that winter. But two really nice cattle, both high quality and good ones, but a little different type and kind again.
- [63:58]
Augustus
And I feel that whenever people go to a show, they sometimes maybe have the mindset of, oh, well, if you want to make a play at the breed, you have to bring a heavyweight. And I feel it's real exciting whenever people actually see the judges use a midweight or sometimes even a lightweight gets reserved breed or something. I mean, last year at Houston, the lightweight won one of the breeds and. And it gets people fired up. And they're talking about through the barns of, oh, the judges used a midweight. Whatever. The judges go out there and they're going to use the best one in their mind, the one who fits his weight the best, like y'all said. And like y'all just said, using the middleweight and the short horns. That was one thing that got a lot of people fired up.
- [64:47]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah, and that was another one of those instances where, you know, we, we cared about how good they were first and then we'd worry about weight later.
- [64:57]
Blake Nelson
Yeah.
- [64:57]
Augustus
Yes, sir. Spencer, if you want to go ahead and run us through the Herefords and polls real quick.
- [65:05]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah, yeah, those were, those were really nice again on the south end. We thought were, were very, very good there. I was excited this year I got to do Odessa, so I was excited to go out there and see good Hereford cattle. And, and so it was a good, awesome day there. And so I was excited to get in, get into the Herefords. That one that won the first, first division that we did, boy, that was as as striking and as good looking of a calf as we had and beautiful structure. And so the quality, the quality up on the top end of the Herefords was very good. And probably on the, on the other side, I think it was the shoot, I think it might have been the poles probably had a little more discussion on the top end of those because there were some. There were a handful of very, very good ones up on the top end. And I thought that that one that we ended up using, that just again, kind of came back to cattle that just combine a lot of good things. And those were, those were really good. Those were really good cattle on the top end too.
- [66:19]
Augustus
And that breed y'all doubled up on, the middleweights, correct?
- [66:21]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah, I think we, I think we.
- [66:23]
Augustus
Did very, very exciting stuff. And then you roll into the polls right after that and I mean, kind of same thing like you said, a little bit more discussion. Not one that maybe just floored you, but you still were able to sort through them and find what you like, find a real good bodied calf who had some look and balance from the side.
- [66:46]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah, there were. Honestly, there were several of them that suited us pretty good there. You know, that, that top, you know, three or four there in that class that, that the champion and reserve ended up coming out of that. Those actually, all of those were.
- [67:00]
Blake Nelson
Were really, really nice that, that heavyweight P.O. class. Augustus, you remember Spencer and I talked a lot those top three, maybe even four. But particularly I remember the top three we thought were all really, really good. And you know, again, you cut them off their hock and knee. Probably my favorite steering that bunch was third. He was really good, just the parts of him. But I don't know if y'all got close enough to see. He had a inside toe that was about half the size of his outside toe on his back wheel. And it hindered how he moved. So then that made it tough on us where we stuck him, you know. But again, like the cattle we ended up with. But it's almost like, okay, we've got the good ones up. This one has some big time pieces, but he also has some big time holes. And you know, that's kind of how that sifted where just that really solid steering's up one in that breed.
- [68:01]
Host
Yes, sir. And so then I want to.
- [68:06]
Spencer Scotten
I want.
- [68:06]
Host
I was able and fortunate to see the champion Red Angus on the polls. And I thought to myself that was one of the best Red Angus champions I'd ever seen in my life. I don't know what he looked like in person or how that correlated in yalls mind. But I. That thing blew my socks away when I saw him.
- [68:25]
Spencer Scotten
You know, I was not expecting to see a Red Angus that looked like that. He was. Well that was a good one.
- [68:30]
Host
That was a good one.
- [68:32]
Blake Nelson
When he came in we were like holy cow. You know he was. He was just souped up enough where he'd still class. I mean really like his. But you know his ear set, his head shape and even his bone is just right enough where he could class. But his body shape and freshness. He could have been in an exotic just as easy you know, just from that standpoint. But not said he didn't look like a Red Angus but what we're just talking about those little extra special things he had and. And he was kind of in the league in his own particularly you get your hands on him. I remember Spencer and I talking about that. That dude opened up good. As good as any of the British breeds right behind his shoulder.
- [69:16]
Host
Right. That's awesome. Yeah. I saw him on the pulse as I texted a friend. I said that's by far one of the most awesome Red Anguses I've ever seen in my life. Like very impressive. And then we got the limousine and then we've touched on the red crosses a little bit. If there's anything that y'all haven't talked about the red crosses we can go to. But the limousines were afterwards and I. I vaguely remember watching that here in the dorms at Blinn. But what was yalls thought process and. And going through the breed of the limousine?
- [69:53]
Blake Nelson
Well, I can Spence anyway either one of us can take that. But we thought you know, it was good and we expected as you you would think on the limousine those cattle would have a little more muscle shape. Just indicative of the breed strength. And we understand that these may not be purebreds, but still yet just that kind. We know there's going to be some extra shape and power after some of the breeds we came out out of. And you know it. It started off that first class like that where you know, you started seeing more muscle shape. Maybe not quite as much softness through the rib cage and then variation in hip structure and bone work and that all came into play for us and finding those, you know muscle is not a huge factor throughout that breed within classes until we got to the heavyweights and you know, remembering about that breed. We had solid cattle that won the other two classes. But we get to the heavyweights and it's kind of a two horse race. Like both those cattle awfully well. That dark red steer, you know, maybe just not as smooth made as the reserve, but, man, you get on top of them. And that dude, he probably. He was. Had a. Had a back like a market hog in terms of just groove and shape and dimension and a hip to go along with it. And still he didn't, you know, he wasn't so ripped up. He was harsh in his handle, but just fresh shape probably as good as anything on the. You know, out of the back of his shoulder over his ribbon loin as. As any of those breed champs. That. That's one place he really blew us away and could still motor to go along with it. And that yellow steer, that was reserved, man, it's hard to make one much smoother than him. We had a lot of discussion on that pair because we liked both them awfully well, but again, two different types and kinds, both extremely elite cattle. We probably. We did. We discussed that. That breeding. Reserve breed there, as much as any, particularly on day two, thought both those steers were awfully good.
- [72:13]
Augustus
So now y'all roll into day three, and you start off with the black crosses and the. Those had the most numbers of anything y'all had seen yet. And then followed up with the AOCs. But break down the blacks, if you will, a little bit.
- [72:30]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah, I can talk about the blacks real quick. That. That breed kind of like the mains starting off, it's hard to get good black slicking cattle if. If you've tried to raise them. But we were. We. We really liked the top end of those. And honestly, like the. The heavyweight class, I thought that's pretty much where the. I mean, And. And Blake and I talked about it, that in that particular breed, they were. The numbers were big, they were deep, but the. The real contenders fell in that heavyweight class. And I thought that's where. Where our decision lied. And that one that won the black crosses, that's one of those that I was talking about earlier, like we were talking about in the semis, where that cap was close to 1500 pounds. That was one of the bigger breed champs that we had. But man, he was a fresh, great, shaped, youthful, expressive 1500. And we were pretty solid on him.
- [73:38]
Blake Nelson
That.
- [73:38]
Spencer Scotten
That kept. That calf was pretty dang good. Just building from the ground up. Good footed, good jointed, awesome hip and hind leg. That one of the top end kind of combined. It combined the power. The shape we were looking for was still the kind of look, the kind of presence, and still the kind of structure. And then after him, we really had some good Discussion on, on the rest of the lineup and then the one that probably fit with him the best as far as that elite look, presence and squareness up high was that, that one that was reserve and, and we thought of the ones remaining. His structure, his look, his build really fit together with that one. That one just wasn't near as massive down low. But, but those were, you know, as we got to pick those two cattle, you know, and you know, that day is going to be good. You know, the black crosses are going to be good. You know, the AOCs are going to be good. There's been several champ, you know, a lot of times there's several champions that come out of that day. Grand, grand reserve or a combination of cattle that are definitely playing, you know, that you know, are going to be big time players at the show. And, and after, after those black crosses we were, we were excited about those two that we picked. But yeah, the, the heat kind of came in, kind of came in that heavyweight black cross class and there was, there was some discussion I thought after the one that won, but we were in 100% agreement on both of those calves, but especially on. We were thought the, the one that won really was going to fit in with our lineup that we've, that we already established.
- [75:26]
Host
What I thought was intriguing was the population of black and white cattle in the black cross division. And I don't know if that was because of classifying didn't go well in the mains or what, but there were a lot of black and white crosses overall.
- [75:44]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah. Yeah. And that, you know those ones with the, with a splash of color on them, they come in, they've got a little pop to them and, and, and so yeah, I don't, don't. I did notice that too. There were quite a few of them.
- [75:58]
Augustus
So y'all, you know, finish up with the blacks and then we don't really need, I feel like we don't need to break all the lightweight classes down in the AOCs, but you get to, I'd say Class 5 and Class 6 is where all the heat is. Talk to us about those classes a little bit and yalls decision in the champion drive.
- [76:20]
Blake Nelson
Okay, well, I'm going to get there. But I do want to mention one of those lightweight steers. There was a silver Baldy out of Class 2 in those AOCs. And again, pound for pound, that dude was a stinger. I mean, I don't know if he would hold this, you guys. State fair. There you go. Yeah, you're like, man, if you could hold him to state fair.
- [76:44]
Augustus
He stood out like a sore thumb in that class.
- [76:47]
Blake Nelson
Sorry I had to say something about him because we were like, holy cow, look at this little guy. He was good. But, yeah, that was. That was awesome to see him and then have some, you know, really, really good class winners all the way through that deal. But I did want to bring him out because that dude was impressive. And, yeah, we get into Class 5, and that's. Spencer and I have been talking like we knew and, like, the heat's coming. The heat's coming. We just didn't know when and how quickly it would get there. Class 5 rolls in and we're seeing cattle we like, but then that particular class winner rolls in and we're like, holy cow, this is a different gear here. Again, he's one of those heroes in. You're like, man, if something turns him, it's going to be pretty phenomenal because that's a good steer. And we worked that class and we really just kind of thought he was the one. Then you could go a few different directions after that if you wanted to. But we really, really, really like that cat Fee. You know, he put so much together, and we'd saw some good lightweight cattle. But now we're getting in that level of, you know, the ones that really have that right maturity, that right bulk, and the right mass to be players. Because I think there's been in years past where class five might have been, where the heat was, that maybe your breed champs, not saying he wasn't one of them, but he didn't after him. He. To me, he was kind of standalone. Then you go to working on the rest of the class, and that's how we saw it and we approached it. But, yeah, what a heck of a steer there. And then we're like, okay, well, maybe we're going to get into this stealing the heavyweights. And it didn't disappoint. We got into that thing and knew right off the bat, I think we started pulling cattle pretty quick. And we told ourselves we were going to be stingy on the poles and those ALCs because the classes were so big and we could do that in the lightweights. But as we got into those heavier cattle, we started pulling, you know, a few more, and rightfully so. I mean, they merited it. And then going back and pulling some cattle, you know, we maybe didn't get on the first pull that we were impressed with when we got in behind them, you know, just like that big white steer, I think that ended up fourth in that class, we didn't pull him right off the bat because we knew how big he looked coming in and weren't sure how that would work out. But he's one we didn't forget either. And. And we're glad we didn't because he ended up working his way up and thought he deserved, you know, more evaluation. But that class, with that being said, we thought it was awfully deep. And Spencer, I do want you to chime in on this. Those two that end up top of the class, we thought that they were still in a league of their own, even within an extremely high quality class. Yep. Go ahead, Spence.
- [80:05]
Spencer Scotten
Yep, I agree on that. And those cattle, those cattle coming in, that was one of the deeper classes that we had. And dismissing those cattle that were along the ringside, I mean, and I'm not just saying this, that sucked because there were some good steers in there and that. And man, they're. They're hard to make. And those ones that were up on the top end, that's just how good that class was. You had to be. You had to be elite in that class to make, to make the top end and make the sale in that last class. But still, I'm like, Blake, we talked about that. And then as good and as deep as that class was, we felt like there was still just those two that, I mean, hit us dead center. Both of them did. And there were. There were good differences between the two. And at the end of the day, we. I really love both of those calves that ended up winning, you know, that then ended up going on to win champion and reserve aoc. And there was some good discussion, some good kickback back and forth. But if somebody told me that they didn't like either one of those two cattle, we would have to disagree on the kind of livestock that we like. I can promise you that.
- [81:30]
Blake Nelson
Yeah. And I went back and watched some of that video since then, and we've spent as much time working those two cattle as we did a big part of the class, but it was just that tight of a decision. And at the end of that run that, you know, that white steer, he just held together better. And whether you say it's right or it's wrong, you know, that did come into the factor as he was holding together by bettering his. His top and his full rib. Both of them moved for the kind of power and mass they had. And there was some subtle differences in. In shape when you got on top of those cattle and from behind, but they both could motor. And like Spencer Said, we just thought, you know, that was. I probably agonized and I think he did too, over the decision of that pair, because you knew. You just had that feeling. Like, we just saw an awfully, awfully good one, a stinger in Class 5, and we'll see how he measures up. But you just knew that that decision was going to be impactful on the big banners at the show when you saw those cattle. So we did our absolute best to give them both chances to do their very best, the cattle, in terms of their. Their own presentation and what we saw in them, to do our best to get that decision right. And like he said, it comes down to. There's not a wrong way to place that. They're both extremely good. It's just that day that silver steer was on and he was doing everything right and hit us. Both of them hit us extremely hard. But collectively, that's just where we got to, is like, he's holding together and this is what we're going with. But that was. That was the toughest decision. I was. I think both of us were. We were both just almost holding our breath getting through that decision and getting through that pair and even discussing that pair, getting geared up to discuss that pair. Probably as much intensity I felt through the whole process was placing those two even after that, with the breed and the overall.
- [83:55]
Spencer Scotten
And, you know, that, you know, you know, that's one of those decisions or, you know, potentially one of those decisions that could impact the ones that are going to be grand and reserve at the show. Because we haven't, you know, keep in mind, it's been, you know, four. Four days since the first breed showed. You know, it's been a day since the second day of those. We have no idea how those cattle are going to come back and look and how they've held together. And anybody that's shown anything holding one together for a day, it's tough holding one together for, you know, three or four days. Like some of those ones that. That won those breeds on the first day, hey, it. They could look. They could look completely different than we saw them that first day. So in that moment, we. We knew, hey, at the end of the day, this could be the. This could be the decision that impacts grand in reserve of the show. And so we. We really, I mean, put a lot of weight on ourselves that to. To do the very best job we could and feel as comfortable as we could of getting that, you know, getting that decision made where we were 100% comfortable with it.
- [85:20]
Host
One thing I'd like to say is me and my roommates here got the opportunity to go up to the San Antonio livestock judging contest, and I. I saw the Class 5 winner in person, and, oh, my gosh, I felt his top, and I thought, that thing feels like a dream today. Even still. I don't even. He looked awesome live on. On video, but his top was just a dream. So I can only imagine how tough it was even in the AOC drive as is. Yeah, that out. Because I thought his top was awesome. But I also saw first and second out of class six and just blew me away about how that silver one can hold so much mass and still be so. So flexible.
- [86:05]
Spencer Scotten
Yeah. And if you remember, Blake, we were talking, whenever he was talking that breed drive and getting ready to pick aoc, we talked about how there were three calves and only two banners. And it was a shame, you know, those. Those three calves out there, you know, gun. And for those two banners, because those were elite, Elite, elite kind of cattle.
- [86:28]
Host
Yeah. What was that? I do have a question. At the end of the drive, you were saying something about third overall. Is that. How did that happen? Or is that something that was just going on for the AOCs that.
- [86:43]
Augustus
I can chime in on that. So for that's San Antonio giving out their scholarships. They have a $10,000 scholarship for all the breed champions. And if you win two scholarships, then you, quote, max out. And so the scholarship would roll down to the reserve. Well, those two individuals who had grand and reserve AOC had both maxed out, and so the scholarship had to roll down to a third person within the breed. And so, correct me if I'm wrong, but they had to approach you judges and say, okay, we need to pick a third calf in this breed to award the scholarship to. Is that how that went down?
- [87:28]
Blake Nelson
That's. That's exactly what happened, Augustus. Because like I said, we just said there's three hammers out here, and we just kept two banners. And Spencer and I both were like, man, this. It just makes you sick for the kids. So that was a nice constellation, you know, but, yeah, those other two kids had maxed out. And that way, that steer we still. Still loved and thought he was a great calf. That young lady still got her something for the day and should have. So that. That worked out. The judge and God saw the. The situation and presented another award. So we'll take it. It worked out good.
- [88:13]
Host
That's awesome. And so now I want to talk about quickly the. The pre drive judging and how y'all brought five out that were Yalls five favorites. But what I want you all to do is break down those five. Why? You like those five? And if you had the opportunity, place them from first to fifth.
- [88:38]
Blake Nelson
You're really putting us on the spot here, Weston. So that's good, but that's okay. That's okay. Obviously, you know which two we like the best, but that was something. And Spencer mentioned this earlier, like, getting into those AOCs is. We knew what those look like that day, you know, going back to that first day that Charlie hit us awfully good early. But, you know, how's he holding together? The Simbra, we knew that was a special calf, but how's he holding together? And then the. The Red Cross again, another one of those calves we liked awfully well. But that was yesterday, and same way with the Lemmy. So going into that, we knew that the one, the two we just picked, if we had to, not knowing what was coming, we knew we were good. If that's our two, then, hey, that's two awesome sears to make the backdrop. And yet we roll in there with an open mind. And you got to do that, you know, to be fair to all the kids. Okay, let's wait and let's just see and. And I'll be darned. You know, the charolay rolls in, and I think he looks even better than he did the day we judged him the first time. So props that whole crew for what they did with him and. And had him hydrated, and he looked even better. So he rolls in, we're like, holy cow, he looks even better. He's going to be in the mix. We'll just see and keep working. And, you know, we go on down that lineup and was pleasantly surprised. And before we get into that top five, Spencer and I talked about this is. We were very pleased with, like, it just to us, outside of the last breed, it was pretty cut and dried. We. We got the right cattle on top and really good cattle in reserve, but we were very pleased with our champions all across breeds being the same kind of cattle, even with the variations in breed makeups, hopefully you could look at that group of cattle and realize what we valued and what we liked.
- [90:56]
Host
It was pretty evident, like, all of your breed champs had similar build, similar shape, similar. Just. It was very, very uniform. And that's something I commend y'all to. And so with that said, it happens. Char wins, AOCs reserve, phenomenal cattle. And overall, I'd just like for y'all to discuss. What did y'all feel after the Drive. And we'll start to end this postgame interview.
- [91:30]
Spencer Scotten
Well, I can start off so Blake. He can. Blake, you can kind of finish up and close. Close shop on. On us here. But looking back, that was one of the coolest shows that I ever got to be a part of, and. And I was really glad I got the opportunity to do it with Blake. That was something that is. Is that I will absolutely never forget. And I'll look back on that for a long time. The show is. And Blake was saying those breed champions, and you guys were talking about just the consistency across the board of those. It's nice. Whenever you go to a show and you can use the ones that you like, it really is, because, you know, not all the time do you get that. And very rarely do you go to a show and think, man, those. Through every breed. I absolutely loved those cattle, and they were my kind. And I felt like we got to do that that day. And that was. Or not that day, those three days, and that was. That was really cool. And the experience that those breed champions get to go into the rodeo that night, I have never been a part of something that gets your heart pumping like that. It was. It was pretty cool. I was telling Dr. Ferris whenever we were out there, I said, hey, you. You're costing these families a lot of money trying to get out here in this. In this rodeo, because it is one of the neatest, most memorable experiences that you could have. It is. It was awesome. So I love. Love the show. I love the. The crew at San Antonio.
- [93:19]
Blake Nelson
It.
- [93:20]
Spencer Scotten
Looking back, it. It just couldn't. Couldn't have been any better. And, you know, going and selecting those two steers that we did, I. I couldn't be happier leaving a show, you know, with the quality that we had and finding the champions that we did felt like the classes were deep. I mean, all in all, I mean, I'm not just saying this. It was. It was a great experience.
- [93:48]
Host
That's awesome. That's awesome. What's your thoughts, Blake?
- [93:52]
Blake Nelson
Well, definitely is along those same lines, and I've been very blessed and fortunate to get to judge some pretty neat shows. But standing there in that prep time before we walk into the rodeo, I mean, that. That just is another level. You know, we've already told them what we like for champion reserve because we had to turn that in early. And so that pressure's off, but we're still just pumped, excited, getting a chance to walk out there with those kids as an exhibitor. I never experienced anything like that. And that's got to be something extremely special because I know as a judge for both of us, it's something we'll never forget and was extremely special. And, you know, I knew San Antonio was going to be good and be tough at times, and it probably even exceeded my expectations, particularly on the top end. But also the quality of cattle we had all the way through, we didn't have a bad steer make the sale. It didn't matter what breed, how many holes you were taking that breed. We did not have a bad animal make the cell. There was that kind of quality and good. And like Spencer said earlier, we, we definitely, we were aware and Dr. Skaggs did an awesome job, him and Dr. Skest letting us know how many were taking each class. So we knew where the money hole was. And I don't know if y'all noticed, we would always take a little extra time once we got down to that decision and make sure we were good with it before we proceed online up the rest of the class because, you know, as a show dad now, and I've got a daughter that's a senior, so she's shown since she was 4. It's made me a better judge because when I was younger, it was all about making sure I got those animals lined up right, which is a huge part of the job. But also now I try to do my very best to making sure every kid gets their due diligence from me in an evaluation and interacting with them because I know how much work and effort and time and sweat and tears go into that. And I know Spencer does too. And that's why it was so much fun judging with someone that not only like the kind of animals you did, but valued those parts of this program that stick with us for the rest of our lives when we forget about what the animals look like. So that was pretty special. It was one of those things. And like he said, that San Antonio crew, the staff, the volunteers, all the helpers are top notch, great people. They're in it for the right reason. So it makes us fun to go out there and as judges and do what we do. And at the end of the day, just reassuring, hey, we're done it for the right reasons too. So it was an outstanding opportunity, the blessing of a lifetime.
- [97:13]
Host
And one thing I want to say is I loved the co judge system, the two judge system. Y'all did a phenomenal job with making sure everything went right, making sure every or try to make sure every steer and every showman got recognition, whether it was on the mic or just Handling a steer. And also what I'd like to say is this post game interview type episode that we started up, I'm starting to love it even more, especially being able to watch y'all reflect back to the show and just whole overview. And so with all of this said, I do appreciate y'all coming on and trying to help us all see what y'all thought and what y'all saw. And it does mean a lot to me as well as anybody who supports this platform. And so with all this said, we forgot to do a Bible verse at the end of Marco's Fort Worth post game. And it was about 11:30 at night. We were about hour and a half in. I was really, really, really tired. But I'm not now. So we're gonna. I remember now. I'm not ashamed. It's okay. It happens. But we're gonna end out the episode with a verse this time. That's something that I think is important to keep God at the number one priority and know that we couldn't do any of this if it wasn't for him. So Augustus is going to read us the Bible verse to end out the episode and then that'll be it.
- [98:41]
Augustus
All right. This verse is Matthew 10, 32, and 33. It says, Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. That, folks right there tells you, always keep God number one.
- [99:07]
Host
Yep. With that said, Blake Spencer, I appreciate y'all coming on and taking time out of your day. It means a lot something that it's new, but I'm it.
- [99:18]
Spencer Scotten
I.
- [99:19]
Host
It's showing a lot of. Of pride of what we're all happy to do, and it's just been awesome. I appreciate you guys coming on.
- [99:29]
Spencer Scotten
You bet, fellas. It was fun. I appreciate you having us on.
- [99:32]
Host
Yes, sir.
- [99:33]
Blake Nelson
Yeah, guys, thanks for opportunity. And I think it's neat what you're doing too, because you hear the judge's remarks to show and getting to go back and relive through some of this for us too, is kind of neat. But hopefully can let folks know the mindset of what it's like to be standing in the ring making those decisions. It's. It's not anything we take lightly, and we take it very serious. And glad to have the opportunity, but thank you guys again. And I think this is really cool what you're doing.
- [100:03]
Host
I appreciate it. So with all of this said, this will be empowering you with post game interview of the San Antonio Steer show with Spencer Scotten and Blake Nelson. We will see y'all next time.
- [100:20]
Sponsor
Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram @empowerup pod for episode sneak peeks and merchandise updates.
- [100:29]
Augustus
But also go take a look at our new website, empowerupod.com where you'll find our team's story, sponsor updates and much more. Once again, we just want to thank y'all for tuning in. And please follow us on Spotify or Apple Podcast and leave a five star rating. If you like what you hear, have a blessed day.