The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo is hosting more than 11,000 youth competitors this year.
Sidney Dunkel and her heifer, Mav, are part of those competitors.
"She [Mav] doesn't like to play, she just kind of likes to lay around and be lazy and do whatever she wants," Dunkel said about her heifer's personality.
Monday, Dunkel and Mav competed at the stock show.
"I'm a little nervous because I have 50 heifers in my class," Dunkel said, just an hour before her class began.
To get ready for Mav's competition, Dunkel helped blow-dry Mav's coat. It's a task that Dunkel has performed countless times over the past year.
"We spend a lot of hours in the barn and blowing their hair, because it usually takes close to two hours or a little more to wash and bathe them, then blow them dry each time, so a lot of hard work and dedication, and those skills definitely come in handy down the road," Dunkel said.
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Dunkel purchased Mav back in March, and since then, it's been a continuous effort that has taught both of them a lot.
"You learn a lot of patience when you're working with a young animal," Dunkel said. "Because whenever we first bought her, she didn't know how to lead, she didn't know that I was a safe person, that I was going to be OK to be around."
Dunkel's hard work in a variety of events has paid off. Over the last three years, the Archer City High School senior has won more than $30,000 in scholarships from the stock show. She earned the money through showing horses, judging horses and competing in the calf scramble. The scholarship money, she said, is very much appreciated.
"It helps a lot, because I'm going to attend Texas Tech in the fall, and then after I graduate from there I'd like to move onto vet school at Texas A&M," Dunkel said. "So all the scholarship money I can get will help greatly to help pay for eight years of school."
