Members of the Castle Country Livestock Show visited the Carbon County Commissioners during their meeting on Wednesday evening for a presentation and subsequent request.
The first to speak was Walker Hyatt, who stated it is a jackpot livestock show for Carbon and Emery kids, that is not sanctioned by 4H or FFA or funded by any source other than sponsors. 2024 will mark the fourth year that it will be hosted and each year, growth and improvement is apparent.
There were 137 youth participants in 2023 with 171 animals to be shown. Currently, they are looking for sponsors for the 2024 show. Ava Crossland then spoke, informing the commissioners that they also host a beginning showmanship for the younger children to give them a chance to compete as well. They excited to continue this and last year they were able to give memorabilia to everyone that participated. This is something they are hoping to do again.
The theme for this year is Hawaiian and the committee ensures that they get a judge from out of state in order to ensure that the judge does not know any of the kids that are participating.
Thanks to sponsors, last year there were 49 trophy buckles for the contestants, as well as 9 peewee buckles. Many that were in the competition were able to win their first buckle at the show, which Crossland stated was very exciting.
Following Crossland, Deegan Westover was the final presenter for the show, who said that they would like to be able to provide opportunities for the contestants this year and said that they appreciated any amount that the commissioners were able to donate for this year’s event. Without donations, the show does not happen, and each year the show continues to grow.
Commissioner Casey Hopes said that he believes that there is huge value in the show, which seems to be growing. The show is only hosted in Emery County at the Ferron facility at this time, as it is the only one that can handle the caliber of the stockshow. However, the goal for the future is to get the show on rotation between Carbon and Emery counties each year.
It was estimated that the donation from Carbon County in 2023 was around $1,500 and Commissioner Tony Martines motioned to donate that same amount this year, which was approved.