Community Corner
VIDEO: Half Moon Bay Youth Wins Steer Showmanship Competitions
Kelly Noland, Future Farmers of America member, wins first place for both junior and senior competitions at the San Mateo County Fair.
On Tuesday, Half Moon Bay dominated the Steer (Cattle) Showmanship competitions at the .
Noland, a 2011 Half Moon Bay High School graduate, won first place in both junior and senior competitions with Duke, a 1,140-pound steer she bought at a Napa ranch in November.
In May, Noland also in a county horse riding show.
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Both of Tuesday's steer showmanship competitions had strong representation from the Half Moon Bay FFA organization and the Half Moon Bay 4H club.
One senior FFA member, Emma Francis, placed first in the Novice Showmanship competition for steer, and fifth in the junior competition.
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Francis is a four-year FFA veteran. This year was the time that she entered the steer competitions.
"It was a good experience," she said of her 4-year run after Tuesday's competition. "It taught me patience and a lot of responsibility," she said.
"You have to be there at 6:45 in the morning to feed your steer, and again at 6 p.m. at night," she said of the six-plus months she took care of her animal. "I also cleaned his stall every day, and gave him a bath or rinsed him off every few days."
Francis credits her FFA experience with giving her direction as what she'd like to pursue after her recent : she'll be starting the Veterinary Technician program at Foothill College this fall.
Like Francis, Kristine Gomez also competed at the San Mateo County Fair for many years. A San Carlos resident, she participated from the ages of 11 - 20 with the San Carlos 4H club.
"It made me fall in love with the animals," she said.
Now 20, Gomez also says that the experience was influential in choosing a career. In the fall, she will begin a large animal veterinary program at Oregon State.
Watch the video of the senior showmanship competition here in the video posted to the right. A list of the winners for both Junior and Senior showmanship competitions will be posted soon.
To read more about the Half Moon Bay youth competing in livestock contests at the fair, click . Read more about Kelly and Duke in a story published earlier this month on Half Moon Bay Patch .
