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Cattleman Park was the place to be on Memorial Day Weekend …for “kids” who love farm animals.

Young people of different ages and from all directions competed for awards with cattle, goats and lambs.

The Pike County Jr. Cattlemen/Cattlewomen Show was game time for the 148-plus young people who had “trained” their animals for the summer competition season.

The early morning feedings, the washing, brushing, grooming, the training, the dedication and the commitment all culminate when a youngster and his or her animal enters the ring.

“Sure, it’s worth it,” is the collective answer.

The Pike County Jr. Cattlemen/Cattlewomen Show, which originated in 2007, has grown to be one of the largest junior cattle shows in Alabama.

“The Pike County Cattlemen and Cattlewomen hosted one of our largest shows to date with more than 205 kids exhibiting three different species of livestock,” said Aimee Thompson, Pike County Cattlewomen member. “We had more than 230 head of cattle shown, 110 lambs and 22 goats from multiple states across the Southeast.”

Thompson said this year was the first year for the Pike County Jr. Cattlemen/Cattlewomen to host a multispecies show.

“We are able to host events like this, in large part, to our extremely supportive Pike County Cattlemen and Cattlewomen,” Thompson said. “Both go above and beyond for the youth in agriculture.”

Pike County Cattleman Heath Wesley said the Pike County Jr. Cattlemen/Cattlewomen Show was a success in every way. Even the weather cooperated.

“We had a great turnout and it was a great show from beginning to end,” Wesley said “With the addition of goats and lambs, the show should continue to grow.  Many of the those who participated in our show will show throughout the summer and into the early fall.  There is a lot of interest in goats and lambs as show animals and we want to continue growing our show.”