← The Championdrive Podcast
The Championdrive Podcast
Episode 2.5 - Judging mindset with Scott Greiner & History of Platinum/Shelton with Matt Asmus
01:08:27
We caught up with Scott Greiner, learning more about his judging mindset. As well as Matt Asmus with Platinum/Shelton Livestock to get an insight on what makes up their program.
Loading summary
Transcript108 lines
- [00:02]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Now entering the ring, another episode of the Champion Drive podcast, presented by Novel Designs with your hosts, Kaitlyn Sister Urban and Steva Robinson.
- [00:22]
Steva Robinson
So you're telling me the very first thing you remember about me is handing out T shirts for Champion Drive?
- [00:30]
Matt Asmus
Yeah. At Sedalia. Sweating my butt off. That's the first thing I remember about you.
- [00:35]
Steva Robinson
Nice. So we wrote. I'm assuming Nicole roped you into helping.
- [00:40]
Matt Asmus
Yeah, I had went up to Sedalia with them, you know, to help sell their sheep or whatever. And Nicole worked for you, so it just kind of happened. I was like hanging around, hanging out around Nicole. And I remember you guys needed people to walk around and to see if people had the app on their phone, and then if they did, they got a T shirt. And I remember, like doing that. And that's probably one of my very first memories of you.
- [01:02]
Steva Robinson
Did you ever think when you were doing that, like, huh, I should do this so I can get a full time job?
- [01:08]
Matt Asmus
No, never crossed my mind.
- [01:10]
Steva Robinson
It's funny how that kind of worked out. And I think it's funny. It kind of ties into everything we talk about this week with both of the guests you talked to. You said both Scott and Matt kind of talked about different people they've met across their way or like, interactions with people and what it can lead into future things. So, like, let's talk a little bit about the first guest we're gonna have on, which is Dr. Scott Greiner. What did he have to say about that?
- [01:36]
Matt Asmus
Yeah, you know, I. We just came off of Kansas City and I remember one of the first times I showed to him, I was 12 years old, I had the sheep I called JJ. I loved him. And I remember one of my class at Kansas City under him with that sheep. And it's funny because, like, never at one time did that cross my mind when I was showing to him or even when I showed to him, you know, in the years after that, that like 11 years later I'd be doing a podcast with them. Like, never once crossed my mind, you know, And I think about it a lot. I stand ringside at most of every single show I go to. I'm always there and I'm always watching, you know, like, how kids react. And I think that there's something to say about kids that are just humble. They're humble winners and they're humble losers. And, you know, I, I talk me. I mean, you talk about it often about kind of how kids act or react at a show. And I just thought that, you know, there was a Lot of kids that, that had really good cheap at Kansas City that may just not have had their best day there. And you know, that's okay like that, that just says nothing about anything other than the fact that that just wasn't the judges type of sheep. I just think that, you know, kids don't often realize that some of their peers that are standing ringside could be their future bosses one day or you could be interviewing them for the podcast. I mean, you never know what, what's going to come from the people standing ringside that are watching how, how you react to everything.
- [03:02]
Steva Robinson
Yeah, I agree. Or on the other side, it could be when you get done showing or if you're a parent, you end up, you know, call, you go be a sales rep for someone and you end up calling on some of these people as customers or having to work with them in a professional manner. And I don't remember who I was talking to, but it was someone at Kansas City and it was about like kids missing school and how they'll get more of an education at the or at the shows and meet more people in a network. Those kids almost have like a, you know, kind of like a pre made little network group of people in the agriculture industry if they choose to pursue it. And so it is a really interesting aspect. I hadn't thought about it in a while and it got brought up at Kansas City. And then when we had this week's podcast guest, you know, they talked about, you know, meeting people and how that moved them forward or how your interactions with people can shape, you know, future interactions with them as well. So I thought it was really interesting. Before we get into Scott's, who else do we have on later on we.
- [03:57]
Matt Asmus
Have Matt Asmus with Platinum Shelton Livestock. And you know, his, his was interesting from the standpoint of he kind of talked about how him and Nick Shelton started as just college, college buddies and now they, they turned into running their whole business together. So I thought that was interesting from the standpoint of that. But also, you know, they bought most of Dwayne's used Dwayne Herlimon and I guess Dwayne was only 40 minutes from my house. So it's kind of a small circle knowing that, you know, Matt and them ended up buying out a flock that was only 40, 40 minutes from where I grew up. So it's kind of, kind of a cool, cool little circle there.
- [04:35]
Steva Robinson
Yeah, I'm excited to hear both of these segments. Let's go ahead and get right into Scott's.
- [04:43]
Matt Asmus
Well, Scott, thanks For joining me on this episode of the ChampionDrive.com podcast, do you mind telling me a little bit about what your day to day looks like?
- [04:53]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Well, thanks, Kaylin. It's. It's great to be with you. So, day to day I'm on faculty and a professor and extension specialist here at Virginia Tech. So the nice thing about, about my position and what I do is I'm not sure that any two days are identical, but they are similar from the standpoint that I'm primarily extension. So I work very closely with our industry in the state. Both beef cattle and sheep work closely with extension agents in the field to design and deliver educational programming. I teach a couple classes in the spring, advanced livestock management, as well as a small ruminant course, conduct some applied research and mentor some graduate students. So I'm not confined to my office every day. I'm either out and about in the state, maybe at one of our research units or in the classroom. So no two days are alike. And that's, that's really nice.
- [05:54]
Matt Asmus
Yeah, for sure. And tell me, you mentioned that you do some research with students. Tell me a little bit about what, what all you do with that.
- [06:03]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Sure. So I'm involved in a variety of projects and a lot of those are collaborative in nature. But probably the biggest single area that, that I've been involved with from a research standpoint has been, has been parasite control and sheep. And specifically what we've tried to do is better understand differences in genetics and genetic. What genetics has to do with parasite control. And, and kind of a short answer to a really long story is that regardless of breed, we now understand that there is significant difference between sheep in terms of their genetic resistance to parasites. And, and with all the trouble that we have in the small ruminant industry relative to controlling parasites, genetics certainly is one of those tools that, that we're going to have to use and rely on to help us moving forward.
- [07:02]
Matt Asmus
Yes, absolutely. I agree with that. So kind of changing paces a little bit. Tell me a little bit about your family.
- [07:10]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Sure. So my wife, Lori, Lori's from Michigan. I met her when we were, when I was in graduate school there. And Lori grew up in a farm. Her dad fed cattle in Michigan. And so she also has a strong ag background and she actually showed and was in 4H and all that good stuff. We have two daughters. Kaylee is the oldest. Kaylee went to Texas A and M and stayed on and got a master's degree there and coached the meats judging team. She graduated with her master's A year ago in May and now works for the Texas Beef Council. Our younger daughter, Leah, just graduated from Iowa State, and she now works for Elanco, and she's based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and she's on the Atlantico Swine team. Spends a lot of time kind of in. Mainly in. In Nebraska, in that region with Atlanta.
- [08:05]
Matt Asmus
So growing up, did they show or what species did they show?
- [08:09]
Dr. Scott Greiner
They did. We both, Lori and I were very active and involved in youth livestock programs and. And knew that's the place we wanted to raise our girls, and so they were quite involved. Both of them showed sheep, and then Leah, she also showed goats as well as pigs. They both did livestock judging, and they both did skillathon and. And those kind of things. So we spent a lot of time in the barn.
- [08:43]
Matt Asmus
So, needless to say, yes, for sure. So how do you feel like their time, you know, you mentioned that they showed, and then now they both work in ag backgrounds. How do you feel like that kind of got them there. What was the best thing that you feel like they learned to get them there?
- [08:59]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Well, I. I think, you know, obviously their experience and my own experience, you know, through Youth Livestock Programs, 4H and FFA. I mean, there's no question in my mind. It helped facilitate, you know, where they're at currently in terms of their careers. It facilitated their interest in. In agriculture. It facilitated their interest in animal agriculture. You know, they were, you know, showing around, not just locally but at the state level. And we also traveled to, you know, some national shows, namely Louisville and the American Royal, and got to meet lots of people and. And, you know, make those connections. And so when we think about, you know, the whole experience relative to showing, it's not only do you learn about the species, but you learn a lot about, you know, hard work and dedication and what it takes and how to get along with people. And at the end of the day, you know, life's about people and so help facilitate that, for sure, in terms of where they're at and what they're doing.
- [10:15]
Matt Asmus
Yes, I agree with that. So, you know, you mentioned that you spent a lot of hours in the barn with them. What do you feel like was the hardest lesson that you learned when they showed?
- [10:26]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Oh, gosh. Well, for me, Kaylin, honestly, it's. At times it was hard to just be dad. Right. Invariably, you know, because of my background and. And because of, you know, the topic we're discussing on your podcast today, day as a judge, invariably anytime I'm at a livestock show, I get asked, well, what do you think? And. And the honest truth is what I think is irrelevant. I'm not the judge. And so, you know, it took me a little time to kind of get. Get through that and just, you know, put my dad hat on and stand ringside and enjoy the moment and do everything I could to. To help them do their best and, you know, recognize the fact that not all of us as judges see them the same. Right. And you're going to win some, you're going to lose some, and. And that's part of it, and that's part of the learning experience. And so, you know, kind of shifting gears and getting away from the judge hat, so to speak, and. And just wear my dad hat and. And mainly, you know, helping other people understand that that's not my role. And so what I think really doesn't have anything to do with it. And I'm here to support the kids, so. Which I am when I'm in the ring as well. It's just a different role.
- [11:56]
Matt Asmus
Yes. And I think you made a very good point that. That at times, I'm sure I can see how tough it can be just showing up and just being a dad and probably getting asked by other people, well, what do you think? Or anything like that. So I can see 100% how that can be one of the hardest things you had to overcome.
- [12:13]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Yeah.
- [12:14]
Matt Asmus
Kind of going off that. I know you've had the opportunity to judge a lot of sheep, or not even just that. A lot of shows, not just in sheep, but also cattle and goats. What does that mean when you get the call to judge?
- [12:29]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Well, Kayla, I'm always honored. You know, I've been. As you mentioned, I've been. I've been very blessed to have the opportunity to do. Do lots of shows, ranging from county fairs to jackpots to state fairs to national shows and even a little bit internationally. So, you know, it's always an honor and. And it's a great opportunity. I view it as a great opportunity for me to give back to a program that's done so much for me and done so much for my family and done so much for so many of us. So mean. I'm always, always honored. I'm always humbled and appreciative of the opportunity and. And hopefully it works in my schedule that I get the opportunity to do it.
- [13:14]
Matt Asmus
So what do you feel like is one show that's left on your bucket list to judge?
- [13:21]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Oh, gosh. Well, I had one. It's coming off my bucket list in the spring. I haven't had an opportunity to do oie and fortunate enough to be asked to do the lambs this spring. So very much looking forward to that. You know, another one that, that certainly is would be greatly enjoyable would be, you know, they have the cattle shows in South America as well as Australia and I know folks that have had the opportunity to do that and do it internationally. And, and, and those are ones that I think all of us that judge, you know, would love to do at some point in time just because of, of that unique experience.
- [14:07]
Matt Asmus
Yes, I had wondered if you had been over there to judge at all, but I wasn't for sure if you had.
- [14:12]
Dr. Scott Greiner
No. The only place I've been internationally is Costa Rica, which was a great experience. I've done that a couple times, done steer show down there and, and that was a very unique experience and a, and a neat country to visit and quite interesting in terms of their agriculture. So that was a great experience as well.
- [14:34]
Matt Asmus
Do you mind telling me a little bit more about that experience? Kind of what was it like? How is it different than kind of something that we experience?
- [14:43]
Dr. Scott Greiner
So, yeah, it's, there's a lot of differences and yet there's a lot of similarities. You know, the, the beef cattle industry in, in Costa Rica is obviously that being south and it being quite tropical, they have mainly a cowherd that's, that's boss indicus or Brahmin influenced or the lore influenced. And, and they have, they use heavily AI bulls from Europe. And so a lot of those, a lot of the steers, the vast majority of the steers were from a breed makeup, they were sired by French Charolais or French limousine bulls on these eared cows. Right. And, and so the cattle were extremely stout, extremely terminally oriented. And so, I mean good cattle just a little different than here. And, and so of course their, their grading standards and what they look for from a carcass trade perspective, maybe a little more emphasis on strictly red meat yield as opposed to marbling compared to here. But so the cattle were very unique. You know, I, I would say maybe the best analogy I can give is they're probably in terms of their showmanship and how they approach things and fitting and all that kind of stuff is probably much, much simpler and much different than we have here in the States. And so, you know, very little fitting, to be honest, very little clipping showmanship, very simple. So it was fun. And, and of course they don't speak English and so, you know, you use an interpreter and that all went great. The other thing that was unique. They showed pens of three, where they would bring out a group of three in a group on halter. And so, you know, our listeners, lots of them remember, lots of our. Your older listeners will remember pairs of market lambs or pins of three market lambs. We used to have those way back in the day. So it would be very analogous to that, just on a. On a steer basis. But it was a lot of fun and we enjoyed it a great deal.
- [17:26]
Matt Asmus
Yeah, that does sound interesting. So, you know, we just came off of American Royal, and I remember when you judged there in 2013. How do you think the industry has changed over the past 10 years?
- [17:41]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Oh, wow. I think it's. I think it's. That change has been evolving and started before 2013. I think, Kalin, in my mind, you know, I. I think as we look at the show industry today and we look at, number one, how competitive it is, I think, you know, you go to a show like the American Royal or. Or North American or a state fair, and you just. You just look down the line in terms of the animals that walk in the ring. And that's true in sheep. It's true in goats. It's true. And it's true in cattle. It's true across the board. And you just look at the quality from one end to the other and how that has really evolved over time. I think that's a hugely significant change, and that's a credit to, you know, the breeders and the people, you know, that are making the mating decisions and the genetics and. And we look specifically at the sheep industry. You know, what. What AI and ET has done over the last decade is just phenomenal. And. And you couple that with the technologies and. And what we have today in terms of, you know, feeding and how the sheep are presented and the level of showmanship, and you couple all that stuff together and it's just ultra, ultra competitive. And, you know, there's. I think it's always been true. There's always a number of animals that. That. That show up at a show and probably have a legitimate opportunity to win. And I think that number is bigger now than it's ever been.
- [19:31]
Matt Asmus
No, I agree with that. And just standing ringside at Kansas City, I know that there were several sheep that either got sifted or, you know, towards the bottom end of their class that could go on and win anywhere. And I think that just goes to show just the quality, like, how much better the quality overall has. Has come over the. Probably past 10 or so years, for sure.
- [19:52]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Yeah. Yep.
- [19:55]
Matt Asmus
So what show ring trend has made your job harder as a judge.
- [20:03]
Dr. Scott Greiner
I don't know about show ring trend. I mean, I, I think, I think those, I think those things we just talked about, you know, you could argue that makes it more difficult. You know, I don't know that it's harder to judge now than it was 10 years ago. I, I think, you know, when we get right down to it, I think we're making some decisions based on much smaller differences and, and maybe less obvious differences to folks that are standing around the ring or watching online or whatever, whatever the case, the case might be. You know, one thing I do think for sure, that has changed, has changed. And, and as a judge, I've noticed, you know, you got to sort through and that's the level of showmanship. And, you know, all these stock are presented extremely well. And you know, we, we walk them around and we set them up as a judge and you start looking. I mean, those showmen have them spot on. And that's why I, for one, and I know lots of other judges do as well. I, I probably walk them and move them more than I ever have because I wanna, when I put him in motion, some of those, some of those things go away. Right. And we look at that, that animal in terms of its natural, it's natural presentation more when we get it out and we move it as opposed to being set up on the brace when we look at lambs or goats. And so if I had to answer one thing, it's probably the level of showmanship.
- [21:48]
Matt Asmus
Yeah, I, I do think that it's, it's probably evolved over the last. Even since I've been showing. I feel like every kid just looking from the outside, looking in, it seems like every kid has gotten that much better.
- [22:01]
Dr. Scott Greiner
I feel like, yeah, showmanship is certainly something that's, you know, everybody's worked really, really hard at. We've got, you know, I know, you know, lots of exhibitors that go to multiple camps and spend a lot of time in showmanship, and rightfully so, because that's a, that's a really important component to being successful.
- [22:25]
Matt Asmus
Yeah. And I've always thought that, you know, at the end of the day, that's the one thing that you can control at a show. You can't control if the judge is going to like your sheep or not like your sheep, but you can control kind of how much effort and time that you put into your project. So I think that goes to show of the quality of showmen that, that are showing today.
- [22:41]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Right, exactly.
- [22:43]
Matt Asmus
I agree before you get into a division or grand drive and see all your champions together, what are your. What are you feeling? Do you ever go back and rejudge a class in your mind?
- [22:54]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Oh, I think. I think that happens, you know, from time to time, Kaylin. I mean, you. You always have classes and shows that, you know, you're presented with a decision to make, and you make that decision and. And. And you carry on and. And, you know, I don't. I don't want to leave the impression that. That you look back and say, I wish I'd have done it different. But there's always. There's always, you know, those classes or those shows where you look back and say, wow, that, you know, that was. That was a lot of fun. And. And that was a heck of a set. And, you know, you just kind of redo it in your mind. And, you know, for me, most of the time, you know, the grand drive or division drive, you know, you're. I think what's on my mind is. Is what's, you know, anticipating what's coming and in terms of what's before me, in terms of that decision and kind of weighing in my mind what. How I think it's gonna go and then. And then get them together to. To verify that or. Or sort that out is. Is probably what's in my mind the most.
- [24:06]
Matt Asmus
So going a little bit off that. Is it ever hard for you to use the same kid again at a show? Because I know you've judged a lot. You've judged a lot of kids, so I don't. Just from, like, a judging perspective, do you feel like that's hard or.
- [24:19]
Dr. Scott Greiner
No, I don't. When I step in the ring, I'm looking at the stock and. And I don't. I don't get caught up on who's in front of them. And, you know, I just judge the livestock. I judge the sheep or the goats or steers or whatever it is. And, you know, that happens some. I mean, some of the same exhibitors, you know, rise to the top. You know, if. If they've got the best one, they're going to win the class, they're going to win the division, or they're going to win the show, you know, And I just. You know what? I take it one step at a time, one class at a time, and evaluate every sheep for what they are and compare them and line them up to the best of my ability. And, you know, whoever bred it, whoever showed it, whoever helped with is what it is, that's. That's not my concern, nor have I ever considered that. So I don't know that I'm answering your question directly. But, you know, so, so I don't, I don't even consider who has it from that standpoint.
- [25:28]
Matt Asmus
So I have a few fun questions left for you.
- [25:31]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Sure.
- [25:32]
Matt Asmus
I know that you've judged a lot of different kids. What is it like seeing them at different stages in their life, kind of inside the ring or outside of the ring or wherever?
- [25:44]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Yeah, that's, you know, that's a neat thing that, you know, from several respects, you get to, you get to watch young people grow up. And, you know, obviously, as we talked earlier, our daughters grew up through it, and so they had that. We had kids and families that we showed with and got to watch them grew up. And as I, as I travel around and get to judge, particularly as you get, as I get out of state, you know, I don't, I don't see some of those exhibitors every year, but, but you might, you know, run across an exhibitor or family and they'll come up after the show and say, like you did to me today on the podcast and said, I, I judged you in 2013. Right. And, and sometimes I'll think about it and remember that, and sometimes I won't. And what you didn't say, Kaylin, is I've been doing it long enough that there's actually young people I judged a number of years ago who now have kids showing. So that makes me feel a little old, to be honest. But, you know, going back to as we visited earlier, that's, that's why we do this, right? It's about people and it's about developing young people. And the good show stock we got to work with are just the tool to what we're really trying to do.
- [27:08]
Matt Asmus
Yes, absolutely. Do you feel like you've ever had a bad encounter with a showman? And if so, how has that impacted your decisions?
- [27:23]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Yeah, I think, you know, one thing that comes to mind, I guess, is obviously not, not all exhibitors agree with a judge's placing. And some, some express that more outwardly than others. Some keep it to themselves, as they should, or at least until they exit ring, and others don't, you know, so, you know, I don't, I don't let that bother me. You know, it's, I'm the judge and, you know, judging subjectives, I, I, I realize that and, and I'm not naive enough to think that everybody agrees with what I do. I hope they take the time to listen and and hopefully understand and hopefully I can communicate why I did what I did and that I'm truthful and accurate in terms of my evaluations. But you know, I, I, I don't, I try not to let that impact, you know, if they have another one to show they're competitive, they're frustrated and, and, and obviously they, they should be disappointed if they didn't, if they didn't do as well as they thought they, they might. But at the same time, you know, one has to, has to take that objectively and, and, and listen to what's said.
- [28:54]
Matt Asmus
Yes, absolutely. And my last question I have for you is what is one thing, one thing you try to revolve your grand drive speeches around?
- [29:07]
Dr. Scott Greiner
I, I always like to, to take that opportunity to, you know, reflect upon why we're there and what we're doing. And, and I typically like to remind those in attendance and those, those listening, you know, why we're there. And you know, we spend typically when we get to the grand drive, we spent at least all day or the better, better part of a day doing nothing but talk about the livestock. Right. And, and we don't talk too much about the real reason that we're there and that's to develop young people. And so my grand drive usually revolves around that. I, I, I very rarely say very much about the livestock except in general because by that time I've, you know, we've had an opportunity in class and in division to, to describe them as I see them to a T. And you get to the grand drive and in most cases there's lots of good ones and lots of ways you can go. It's a matter of personal preference, but really to take that opportunity to, for all of us to reflect exactly why we're there and that's, that's because of the young people and, and what it does for, for them and, and, and how great the program is.
- [30:28]
Matt Asmus
Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for joining me today for this episode on the championdrive.com podcast. I really appreciate you taking the time to be on and we look forward to seeing you again soon. Thank you.
- [30:40]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Thank you, Kaylin.
- [30:45]
Steva Robinson
I think that was a really good segment with Dr. Scott Greiner. Thanks to him for being on and good job on that segment, sister. Let's move into the bread you sales. The week between or the weeks between Kansas City and Louisville are kind of what we call bread you sale season. And I think that that's, you know, really going to turn up here the next couple weeks. The few sales that we have coming up. Hobbs's have one on October 28th, which is a busy night over at SC. They're selling several Bread used as well as an open donor. Service sires include Unicorn Jordan, Ride Time, Navajo Compass, Trace, Amigos and Truce.
- [31:22]
Matt Asmus
Also on October 28th. I know you have your bread U sale with your service sires, our Chief Frog and King Kong all at sd. But before we kind of talk more about their other ones, I do want to mention that Novel Designs has video capabilities and I know you kind of use that. You utilize that on your own sale. We can do hype videos, drone videos, catalogs and reels. That's something that we're really excited to offer. So be sure to let us know if you're interested in anything like that. And Then also on October 28th is Diamond Sea on SC. There are service sires are Pale Face, Navajo Flint, Ten Bears and Peyote.
- [32:01]
Steva Robinson
And then on the 29th, Mountain View has their online sale. They're going to be selling past donors, state fair winners and females that have been a staple at their operation. That sale is on October 29th at.
- [32:12]
Matt Asmus
SC as bread used sale seasons here. I know we'll be pretty busy doing ads and social media marketing and stuff for that, but what do we have up for this week? So you suck.
- [32:23]
Steva Robinson
I've got a couple things. We've had a web redesign special or web design special running the month of October and I've gotten a ton of interest on that. Reach out to any of us at Novel Designs if you want to get started on that. Now is a great time to update your website to a mobile friendly site or maybe just give your existing platform a fresh look. If you think about the technology changes just in the last year, much less than the last four or five years, there's a lot of new things we can do and websites still get really good traffic. I kind of look at it as like if you're going to have people come to look at sheep in the spring, you always tidy up the barn and you know, get the pens bedded down. Good for them to come and look. And your website's really no different. I had a really good talk with Brian Reilly of Impact Camps at Kansas City and he was talking about how, you know, that's kind of how he gets an overview of the program and there's still people like him. I'm the same way. Like I want to see the whole picture of what something has to offer. Like social media is great, but it's all marketing mix. So it's important to keep your website updated, now's a great time to give it a facelift and kind of get it modernized and get your winners updated and everything like that. So we do have a special for the month of October going on. You can reach out to any of us at Novel Designs about that. And the other part of so you suck is there's a lot of us that are consigning to the sales in Louisville. So now is a great time to get your signage order. I know we always have a ton of signs that we deliver for people to hang above their pens. If you're needing any apparel, we need to get that in here pretty quick so we can get it produced and brought to you. We do offer free delivery to Louisville as long as you get it ordered in time on some of these things. And then, like, if you're wanting any giveaways for people when they stop by your pens, now's a great time. It's a great way to not only get exposure at the sale, but to get exposure afterwards when people go home. If they see a koozie in their showbox or something that they picked up there, some stickers or cups or T shirts or something, some sort of a giveaway, that's a really good branding experience that helps you not only at the Louisville sales, but, you know, for months on down the road just in terms of a brand recognition. So those are two tips for so you suck. I know I had a lot of good feedback about the so you suck segment. Titus and I talked about it some at Kansas City, and he's like, I just thought it was really relatable because I feel like a lot of people feel like they kind of suck at marketing. And he said he found it really useful. So I hope a lot of you guys like that and it's not just me rambling. If there's anything we can help you with. At Novel Designs, like Sister mentioned, we did start offering video capabilities where we can do hype videos, drone videos, reels, stuff like that to kind of add to your social media or your website content. Reach out to any of us for that. Let's get right into the next segment.
- [35:06]
Matt Asmus
Well, Matt, thanks for joining me today for the podcast. Why don't you tell me about your background in the industry?
- [35:12]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Yeah, no, thanks for having me. I'm glad to be here. So, grew up on a. On a small cow, calf and pig operation in southwest Michigan. Always grew up with cattle and hogs. Showed in 4H and competed in FFA throughout my high school career. And then Got to grad school at Kansas State and that's where Nick Shelton and I met and we're roommates there and worked with Jim Nelson there at Power Cat Club Lambs and got started into. Into the sheep industry. Didn't for biosecurity reasons. Doesn't necessarily work for pig nutritionists to have. Have pigs. So it's a lot easier to go into the. The sheep side of things where there's no biosecurity issues. So we got started there. I guess that was 2010 when we were in grad school out there. Roughly. And anyway, so that's kind of where it started.
- [36:08]
Matt Asmus
And you mentioned that you and Nick were roommates. So how did you guys plan to kind of start a flock together?
- [36:16]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Good question. I think if you'd went back to when Nick and I first met, neither one of us necessarily intended probably to own this many sheep or, or together. But we kind of hit it off. We're really good friends and we kind of started doing stuff together, right? Him building his own flock, me build my own flock with my family here. And we kind of only partnered on rams, right? Back then that was pre semen sales days, right? So we bought rams together and would. Would kind of swap, right. I'd send some ewes to his place to breed the one of the bucks we own in partnership and vice versa. And as we got bigger and things got more expensive, I guess we decided, hey, why don't we, why don't we join this up? It also was a little confusing, right? Michigan's not exactly a hotbed. Probably no offense to everybody else in Michigan or myself even, but when you think of the show sheep industry, right? Michigan isn't necessarily a hotbed for a bunch of traffic, right? You can't accidentally drive through Michigan, right? We're capped by the lakes. It's not like, well, we were going through and thought we'd stop because you were on the way. So back when we had our first sales, I was in Michigan, Nick was in Missouri, and we'd kind of go every other lot, right? Lot one would have been a sheep that was at my place. Lot two would have been a sheep that was in Missouri. Lot three would have been at my place. And we'd have people show up and they'd go, where's the lot two sheep? And it's like, well, that one's at Nick's house in Missouri. And it got really confusing and really challenging for both on our end for management, but also for other people to kind of figure out what was where so it became evidently clear that it'd be a lot easier to maybe own some of these things in partnership, especially as we push forward more to the donor program.
- [38:08]
Matt Asmus
And you mentioned that, like, one of the struggles you face where, you know, you're not a hotspot for traffic. So kind of what did you do to overcome those challenges?
- [38:18]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Yeah, good question. Right? If you build it, they will come, I guess, is that old saying. But realistically, we're not great marketers. Nick and I get. We get crap quite a bit, actually, for not telling more of our story and that type of thing. Realistically trying to win shows. Right. The Hurliman buyout was a big chunk of that. Right. Using some of his notoriety and that clout to get. To get people to want to come here. Right. Was a big chunk of it. Outside of that, I don't know as though there was any real magic to the story. Right. We kind of just started raising sheep and more and more of them, and we've been lucky and fortunate to have some success. And I think as the success built, more and more people started to show up. Right. We're just barely into Michigan. A lot of people do travel across I 80 looking at sheep, and we're only 30 minutes north of I 80, right into Michigan. So we're not, you know, we're not trying to pull people way, way off the beaten path, but it's still not. Again, not where you're necessarily looking for, but I think a lot of it's, you know, success in the ring and honestly, just being really fortunate and really lucky to have met some good people around the way that have helped put them in good hands to make us successful as well. That's helped a lot.
- [39:47]
Matt Asmus
And you mentioned already that you did buy out Duane Hurliman's flock, and I know you did that in 2021. So kind of what led to that decision?
- [39:55]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Oh, man, a lot of things. We kind of saw some of the writing on the wall. Again, coming from a cattle background. We were pretty familiar with the donor program and trying to find as many elite females as we could. Right. As the industry was shifting from everybody having to have, you know, go out and spend all your money buying the best buck you could. The implementation of AI And ET really shifted the industry. Right. It wasn't as. Not that it wasn't about the rams as much, but I could see it coming that, hey, we can now have access to everybody's best ram in the country. We need to find a way to gather the most elite females that we can to differentiate us from the others, right? It goes from that. That paradigm shift of having the most elite buck and being able to breed your ewes, to now you can go get access to essentially everybody in the country's bucks. What's unique or special about your flock. And we thought the female side is where the future of that laid, right? Or lied. So as we went forward, we thought, hey, we started working with Dwayne in 2015, and realistically, the way that went, we had been really familiar with his stuff. We thought those females were incredible. He did a podcast, right, called Just the Donors that his. His base, right? Those yous were elite. And we threw. Thought it was a really neat opportunity and it was one where, you know, there were times where Nick and I would go to Dwayne's and we'd think, man, we've really got to use this ram. That's the best set of babies we've maybe ever seen. And then we tried on our stuff and we're like, man, that did not work nearly as well. And we go to Dwayne and he'd be like, well, yeah, the U carried a good chunk of the weight potentially on that one, right? And it's like, well, at the end of the day, those donor use have helped offset some probably poor decisions on my part as much as anything, right? Really, really good females and consistency from the bottom side has helped offset some probably poor mating decisions on my side. So that was where it became evidently clear, right, as we worked forward with him to try and do that, right? So Dwayne was awesome to work with and we had done it with the ewe Lambs in 2019, right. We had bought his entire ulam crap and crop in 19 and we saw how well that worked, right. And so when the opportunity came up, when Tyler replicated what we did in 19, right, when he bought the U lambs in 21, that got those ulams out of the way so that we could focus on buying the donors and the rest of his brood use.
- [42:46]
Matt Asmus
So you kind of already mentioned, you know, that you kind of figured out early on that their genetics were some that you definitely wanted to be. Wanted to have your hands in. So what do you think was the biggest challenge when learning all the genetics of their flock?
- [43:00]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Yeah, so Dwayne was probably more secretive. Not even secretive is probably not the right word, but Dwayne was probably more guarded about that than anybody.
- [43:10]
Steva Robinson
He.
- [43:11]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
He didn't promote, Right. He was the original. Hey, the sheep need to talk for themselves, right? And that's probably part of why we're bad marketers. We still want to believe, right? If, if you can make the sheep, that can win, right? That should do most of the talking. We don't want to necessarily always encourage somebody to say, hey, ours are the best, or come buy from us. We don't necessarily do that. And neither did Dwayne, right? If you weren't coming to Cordell, you probably weren't going to find them, right? I mean, we joke still to this day that someday we'll be able to be as cool as Duane and not have to put pictures up online with our online sales, right? If you're not familiar, Dwayne really didn't post a lot of pictures, right? He was the one that would, was able to. To put up just the genetics and the ear tag numbers and be able to sell them really, really well. So realistically, we, we kind of had worked with those genetics for a long, long time. We were able to, we were able to start in 2015. And it's a long story, right, but that first year we bought that buck called bandwagon. And little did we know how influential that whole line would be, right? So Bandwagon had a sister, 5087 that ends up working forward into a pile of other stuff, right? Giselle's mom, Legit's mom, Queen's mom. All of those different things, right? Blue lights, grandma. There's a pile of things that trace back to that U. And we were fortunate to start off with it right in 2015, that very first year. So realistically, a bunch of those genetics we were fortunate to have worked with, right? So we had his key donor you families is what he built that whole program on.90 some percent of those use went back to about three, three donor families. So realistically, Nick and I were fortunate to have worked because of Dwayne's generosity to work both off of some of the direct donors themselves, some of their flushmate sisters or half sisters, et cetera. So we pretty much knew the majority of those U lines before we bought him out, right? So like that 5087U, you know, flushed her to body shop, made Uber, bred her back to deal breaker, made Giselle, and then the rest is history, right? Dwayne breeds her to rank, makes Queen and Legit and all of those sibs. Well, then in 2017, we bought, right, a group of 20 use, heavily influenced by the hot mess sire. And those daughters ended up working really, really well. Then in 19, right, we bought all the, all the ewe lambs and then Tyler replicated that in 21. So when that happened, we. We went ahead and took the rest of the donor use. But so as far as figuring the ewes out, we. We pretty much had them figured out. I know that, you know, not to sound cocky or arrogant, anything that way. We just had worked with them for so long. You know, we had six years. And Dwayne was awesome to work with from our regard. He was. He was always helpful. We technically kept him on a retainer to help us along the way. I think he kind of thought we were a little crazy. But realistically, we kept Dwayne on to help with main decisions. Right. There's a lot of pressure that first year especially, right. You buy out somebody who's that successful and I think everybody looks and goes, man, who are these two guys and how bad are they going to screw that up? Right? I mean, I think. I think if you were to go back in time and everybody give their honest answer, I'm sure a chunk of people probably thought we were going to train wreck everything. And maybe, maybe we have. I don't know. We've been fortunate to be successful, but maybe we're not doing it the right way, I don't know. But we've tried to put our own spin on it. Right. Take those used and try and elevate them to the next level, both with, you know, I can't really say pushing any harder reproductively than Dwayne because Dwayne pushed as hard as anybody. Right. That guy had a incredible plan of how it worked. And we replicated that to a point here with what I would call Nick and I spin, if you will. So incorporating some of the key you families that we had and then the majority outright of the rest of all of his and built what we thought was the best foundation possible. And. And we've been pretty fortunate. The rest is kind of history, if you will, I guess.
- [47:51]
Matt Asmus
Yeah. Well, I think you guys have definitely done your part. I think you guys have been very successful and I think that goes to show, you know, you mentioned that Dwayne helped you, but also just the time and effort that you and Nick have put into it as well.
- [48:04]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Thank you. I appreciate that.
- [48:06]
Matt Asmus
So how did the name Platinum Shelton come about?
- [48:11]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Well, that's a good story. So my last name is Asthmas, right? Not a super common name. You'd think. You'd think that there wouldn't be a lot, let alone that are in the sheep industry, but guess what? There's an Asthma's club. Lambs already. Right. So Realistically, when we first started the Platinum side, which is my portion, that would have been actually thanks to my sister Kristen, my younger sister. Right. We always did stuff as a family here. My family was involved and still are to this day. Maybe not as actively as they originally were, but my mom, my dad, my siblings and my sister had the great idea to name it Platinum. She's like, that's better than Gold, right? It's Platinum. That's what we need to be. Platinum. Platinum Club Lamb. So that's how it started. Nick's is a little more straightforward, right. His last name, Shelton. It was Shelton Club Lamb. So when we merged, we just took the two names that already existed and made them Platinum Shelton. Right. And again, that was for overlap. Right. On the, on the early days, I think there's a good amount of people who probably thought I was Jet Asthma's, right. That there was a. Some serious confusion there since it's such a rare last name. So that's why we've always operated as Platinum and then just made it Platinum Shelton.
- [49:30]
Matt Asmus
Interesting. So what do you feel like was your biggest challenge you face when you guys partnered up?
- [49:38]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Oh, good question. So not only, I guess, to fully describe it at the same time that we fully partnered, right. Because we had been working together. We'd been working together for years, right. Since grad school. Nick finished his PhD at K State, went to Missouri to start working just outside St. Louis. I came back closer to home to finish my PhD at Purdue. And then so I was living in Michigan, he's living in Missouri. We were working together. But you both were kind of your own boss, right? I ran things my way as far as management. Nick ran things his way. When we merged to Platinum Shelton, not only did we merge in name, but we also merged in location. Nick moved from St. Louis to Michigan. Right. So those who have never been here, my wife and I, my wife Abby and I have built a new house right next door to my old house. Nick bought my old house. The farm's right behind us. Right. So we're right next to each other. That was probably the hardest part. Nick and I pretty much agree on 95, 98% of things when it comes to mating decisions. Bucks we're going to use what ones we're going to sell. That type of stuff's pretty simple. The hardest part probably was the management on the front end. Nick has a very specific certain way he likes to do things, and I'm used to doing things kind of my way. So it kind of. That was probably the hardest Part was finding a way to where we weren't getting in each other's way. Right. He had an idea of when shots needed given versus my idea might have been different. And you know, I'm not trying to overplay that. Right. Nick and I are really, really good friends. We work together really, really well. I'm fortunate there, but that was probably the most challenging part, was just trying to navigate each other. Right. We both are. We both are kind of used to being the one making the calls. And then from that regard, now we're both trying to figure out how we share who makes which call, if that makes sense.
- [51:43]
Matt Asmus
Yeah, no, for sure. So how has raising sheep with Nick helped you guys in your overall success? Do you feel like?
- [51:51]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Oh, I think realistically it's helped a lot. I mean, you know, that old mentality of two heads are better than one. There's times where there's things that I'll not think about or Nick will not think about and the other one of us usually catches it. Now, I'm not going to say that we don't make mistakes, right? Because anybody that's been here knows that that's not the case. And I'd be lying. But. But realistically, between the two of us, we catch a lot more stuff, right? Different ways to do things. Right. We used to always joke, just because I only knew the path was this way didn't mean it was the right way. Right. There may be five other ways around that are better. I just didn't know what they were. So working together has been really beneficial from that standpoint. Again, like I said, in terms of two heads are better than one. Thinking through ideas and it helps a lot when it comes to trying to have a better work life balance, if you will. Right. Nick and I both have full time day jobs. I've got a wife and four boys. As far as trying to have that time spread between, you know, this industry, it's year round anymore, right? With fall lambing and breeding and flushing and lambing and picturing for sales and live sales, etc. Having two people that can be visible, right. It doesn't always have to be just me that's there and it doesn't always have to be just Nick. So letting us be able to divide and conquer, right? And hey, you know, my, my oldest boy has been wrestling. So that means every Sunday morning when lamb sales, you know, people are wanting to come see sheep if they come before noon, pretty much Nick's going to be the one showing them babies on Sundays because I'm at a wrestling tournament somewhere. Whereas if Nick wasn't here, that'd be a lot more challenging. So it's really been, it's been a good thing probably 99 out of a hundred times versus a setback, right?
- [53:46]
Matt Asmus
Yes, absolutely. And you mentioned now that, you know, this whole sheep thing is pretty much year round. So what's your favorite time of the year when it comes to raising sheep?
- [53:57]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Oh, is it bad to say right after the. That set sold? No, I'm. I'm just joking. Realistically, you know, realistically, going into lambing season is probably my favorite. Right. You get to see the outcome of all the genetic decisions that you made. Right. So Nick and I are pretty big on the genetic side, right. Tracking you families, consistency, etc. A lot of thought and a lot of deliberation goes into our mating decisions, right. We don't just kind of willy nilly throw it together. This is who we think might work. Like we're very deliberate. A lot of time and energy goes into those decisions. And then, you know, just like anything, right. You get a best laid plan and then a buck's not fertile and then you re rack. Right. So trying to figure that out. The best part for me after that breeding's all done, we get to see them live and on the ground. About two week old babies. That's probably my favorite time. Getting to see what they look like, how things went and then obviously not. It doesn't stop there at two weeks, right. I need to watch them all the way through and then hopefully the success. But to me that's probably the most exciting time, right. Getting to see what are those matings worked, what didn't and how good that next crop is going to be. That's probably the most exciting time.
- [55:22]
Matt Asmus
Yeah. And I'm sure that there's a lot of people that feel that same way. So you've mentioned several times already that you place a heavy emphasis on your females. So why do you guys believe that?
- [55:34]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Oh man. You know, realistically, I think. I think there's a lot of weight on it because of it. You know, we can have those outliers, right. We've all had it and we used to see it more when we did. AI right. You'd breed a ewe to a buck and she'd have a great one and then you'd breed her back the same way and it'd be just kind of average or common. There's some of these ewes that lay down and have good ones pretty much every time. It really didn't matter what you bred them to. And a lot of this industry is around those high end ones, right? People want, people want ones that they know they can put on feet and have success. Those females that have reputations for producing really good ones and do it consistently. That's, that's where we're at, right? We debate this all the time. Is it better to have one champion at a state fair or to have 15 division winners at 15 different state fairs? What's better, the consistency of having multiple wins that consistently in different hands and under different judges and different feeding conditions can still be successful and highly successful? Or does it matter to have just that one big banner? We like the consistency. We think a lot of that comes from the bottom side. Now don't skew that for. Don't think that I don't want to win, right? We all want to win the big banner. We all want to be champion. But it's tough in today's world, right? Everybody out there is pushing to be champion. Everybody wants to win. Everybody wants to be successful at a high level. Those females, we think that we've tracked their success, right? Even if, you know, hey, I just said I like seeing them at two weeks old because I like reading them in the jugs at seven to ten days two weeks old. And I know a lot of people probably think I'm crazy for that. You know, people got away from that. You can find some quick maturing ones realistically watching those things then track through if they're out of certain use. Those donor ewes you pretty much know the majority of the time they're gonna track upward, right? They're gonna get better with time with days on feed. That's why we focus so hard on those females, right? We won't leave a ram intact if it's not out of a donor U family, right. We just from a consistency standpoint that's just, that's just how we operate.
- [58:06]
Matt Asmus
So what do you feel like are your two favorite females of all time?
- [58:10]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Oh, two favorite females of all time. Does it have to be one that I own? Raise. What's the, what's the requirement there?
- [58:18]
Matt Asmus
Whatever your favorites are.
- [58:20]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Oh, I mean it'd be really hard. It'd be really hard to argue that 5087 probably wouldn't have been my favorite, one of my very favorite use of all time. That. So for those who don't know, that would be. I talked about her earlier. That'd be Bandwagon's Bandwagon's flushmate sister. She'd be A Bravo Revolution. That'd be the mom, like I said to Giselle Queen legit. And then those females were also equally influential. Right. And you just have that question of how far do you trace that back? I probably stop it at 5087. I think that you herself was incredible on foot. Her Flushmates were incredible. When we bought Bandwagon that year, right, we were down to five buck Lambs, Bandwagon, three of his Flushmate brothers, and then another buck you might have heard of called Crinkle. Justin Nathan had first pick that year. He got Crinkle. We took Bandwagon and. But it was impressive to us, right? Again, going back to that consistency that hey, four of the top five we found were Flush mates, right? Those are, that was the consistency. So that 5087U would be one. And then I would probably argue that 1060 or Bravo's mom would be the other. Those two were probably two of our very favorite U's that have been extremely, extremely influential in building both Dwayne's program and our continued program as we move forward. But those are, you know, that's being selfish. That's focusing on two that we've utilized. There's some other incredibly impressive females out there across the country as well. Those are probably just two of my favorite.
- [60:06]
Matt Asmus
So in a fast paced world that we live in and everyone's chasing the newest, hottest buck, do you ever think that you would go backwards and use some old school bucks on your use?
- [60:16]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
I feel like that's a loaded question. I, I want to thank whoever came up with that question because that's a great one. We, we actually did go back old school. There's a big debate. Like I told you, 99% of the time, Nick and I agree. This is probably the 1% of occasions where Nick and I don't agree. Me coming from more of a cattle background, liking to go back and using some of the old bulls that made incredibly good females. I like going back and kicking it old school, if you will, from time to time and trying stuff that used to work really well and had had unique pieces. Nick thinks we always need to just keep pushing forward. Right. Everything we make is better and so each year should be better. And I agree with that logic. Right. If, if we're doing things right, the next generation should be better. That being said, sometimes maybe we aren't always making them better every step. And some of the pieces, maybe that got left out, right. Like maybe an area that the industry wasn't focusing as hard on. Right. So like Right now I really want to go back and use a buck that was taller, fronted, right. Bring them back up in their front end, make them more elevated at the point of their shoulder, make them longer necked and maybe attach that neck better off the top side of their shoulder blade. I chose to do that this year. So there's going to be some here on the ground. I went back to. I've mentioned him once or twice before, but the bandwagon buck, I went back and actually fluffed a few used that way. Nick was fine with that as a whole, except for the fact that I wanted to flush one of the very best young donors. So bloodline and gringo's mom, the 22140 Saban Queen. You right, she goes to bandwagon in the late set, which is a neat lineup to me. I like, I like doing that, right, Going back and using some old stuff every now and then. So. So yes, I do and yes we did. But it's not always the most popular, right. Because sometimes they hit the ground and you go, man, that's not exactly what I remembered. That didn't work nearly as good as I thought. So everybody, I joke, it's me against everybody on this one. So hopefully the bandwagons are good because if not, I'm never going to hear the end of it.
- [62:46]
Matt Asmus
Yeah, I'm sure you won't. Well, that'll be interesting. I'm interested to see how that turns out for you. So what would her. Who would you consider your most influential person to your guys's operation? Because I feel like you've mentioned quite a few people that have helped you to your success. I'm interested to know who this would be.
- [63:03]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Yeah, I mean, I think, I think realistically the easy choice for me is Duane Hurliman. He's been the most influential in terms of what we've done. And that's hard to say because there's been a ton of really influential people that have helped us along the way. Right. I mean, had I not. Had Nick and I not went to grad school at K State, met Jim Nelson, neither one of us may be in the sheep industry. Right. So some guys could argue that, you know, talk a lot with Brad Dale and his impact and the way he sees sheep and the way he looks at things from terminal sires and making them more busted open in their chest floor and bigger fore ribbed and center caged my sheep trying to implicate that and. And make them more that way. But I think realistically, Dwayne Hurliman has been the most influential in terms of. He. He was kind of like a mentor to us. Right. Nick and I both. He took a chance on a couple young guys that maybe didn't know exactly what they were doing. Right. Saw something in us, wanted to work with us. We were very fortunate then to kind of learn under him and use what we did. Things maybe again, a little bit different spots, but a lot of that would be coming from Dwayne's influence and because of Dwayne's generosity and willingness to work with us.
- [64:21]
Matt Asmus
Yeah, and I kind of agree with that. I think Duane has been a pretty influential person in this industry, just in general. So I think it's really neat that you guys got to work with him. So to end this up, I have a few fun questions. If you could be anyone in the world, who would it be?
- [64:36]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Oh, that's a. That's an interesting question. If I could be anybody in the world, you know, I guess I'd probably stay just being me. I'm pretty comfortable doing what I do. I like what I do here. You know, the popular pick. You know, you could. I could pick some sports model, athlete, person that, you know, makes millions of dollars doing what they do. But realistically, I'm pretty happy doing what I do. I probably don't want to be anybody else other than me, because realistically, I don't know what anybody else's story is. Right. I think a lot of times things look great from the outside. Right. And you may think, man, that'd be great until you get over there and try and live that life. And then maybe, maybe you wouldn't want to be that anymore. So maybe that's not the answer you were looking for. And maybe that. I don't mean that in any egotistical way. Right. I just. I probably. If I could choose to be anybody, it'd be just me, you know, just plain old Matt.
- [65:36]
Matt Asmus
And earlier you mentioned that, you know, you and Nick sometimes see things differently. So I just came up with this question a little bit ago. So who's the actual boss between you two?
- [65:48]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Oh, man, I don't think I can answer that one. I think realistically, I'll call it a wash. We're even now. There are times where we joke, and it may be probably me that jokes more than Nick, but today I own 51% and I'm going to make the decision. So we may joke like that from time to time internally, but realistically, it's a 50, 50 split. And if I'm being fully honest, My wife's probably the boss.
- [66:16]
Matt Asmus
That's who I figured it would be.
- [66:18]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Yeah. I mean, realistically, my wife is probably the boss. At the end of the day, everybody that comes here and knows, at the end of the day, my wife's awesome. Couldn't be here without her. She's. She's incredible. To do what she does and manage our. I mean, my four boys are crazy. Love them to death, but they're nuts. And she sacrifices a lot to be able to. To take care of the boys. That allows me to go do the things that we do on the sheep side. So realistically, she is the boss.
- [66:49]
Matt Asmus
And I hear that you're quite the matchmaker. So how many dates have you set Nick up on?
- [66:55]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Well, I'll answer it this way. I don't. I must not be a very good matchmaker. And it hasn't been enough because he's still not married. So I'll. I. Realistically, I guess not enough is the right answer.
- [67:08]
Matt Asmus
Well, thanks, Matt, for joining me today on this episode of the ChampionDrive.com podcast. Be sure to check out Platinum Shelton Club lamps when you're on your travels to Michigan. Thanks again, Matt.
- [67:20]
Kaitlyn Sister Urban
Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
- [67:26]
Matt Asmus
I thought that was a really good episode with Matt. I know you mentioned earlier about impact camps, and you know, Brian's daughter Tierney actually judged the showmanship at Kansas City this past week, and she. Her recap interview is up on Champion Drive. I personally really like the recap interviews. I think that there's something different and questions that I kind of always want to know. So if you ever have any questions for any of the judges, we're always looking forward to updating those questions as we go throughout the year. I know that Bright U sales will continue to be posted on Champion Drive, so be sure to check those out and show results as well. We're really looking forward to seeing everybody again at Louisville.
- [68:04]
Steva Robinson
See you guys.
- [68:11]
Dr. Scott Greiner
Sa.