A Show Mom's Perspective

Navigating the world of Livestock Showing through the eyes of this show mom. In this episode, discover essential tips for parents entering the livestock showing world. Learn how to foster relationships, build knowledge, and support your child effectively. Entering the world of livestock showing can feel overwhelming for parents, especially if they didn’t grow up in the industry. In this episode, we’ll explore insights from Baden Shackelford, a seasoned & successful livestock show parent, who shares her journey and advice for families just starting out. Whether you’re looking for practical tips or just getting a feel for this world, this episode provides valuable advice on how to navigate this exciting yet challenging endeavor.

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SPEAKER_01 0:19

All right, so now I want to get the parents' perspective. Um, I have uh Baden Shackledford with us. That's Kendall's mom, who um we interviewed as one of our uh senior girls. And um Baden's Baden and her family story is a little bit different. Uh you said that Jason, your husband, kind of showed growing up at the county fair. Yes. Um, but that you didn't show. No. And so um we we we hear a lot right now about trying to get families to participate and families that maybe didn't grow up in a generational setting of showing. Um, so what advice would you give a family that was starting from the ground up just like you guys did, and y'all found success? What would your advice be to them?

SPEAKER_00 1:04

Um, uh my advice would be to find your the person that you look up to the most in the industry, someone that has had success, and learn from them. Listen to that one person, um, ask questions, but then also do your own homework and your own research and be a sponge and soak up every amount of information that you can.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

Yeah, and I think that's such a good point of finding help and that it starts there, but it's not it's not having your hand held constantly. I mean, you know, you'll ask us questions, but but y'all have you guys have learned absolutely on your own, um, you know, to the point to where um you know, y'all can handle a lot of it, a lot of it on your own throughout the years, um, just just learning and and you and I learn a lot from each other. Absolutely. Um, on on skin and hair stuff or just daily care things. Um we talk a lot about about products to use and and management tips. So um you talked about getting help and whether you are going into your FFA chapter 4-H Club or you decide to join a show group, it can be intimidating, especially if it's you know, a larger chapter or a larger group. When you guys came in, we had a lot of people. Yes. Uh, how did y'all handle that coming into because I know that's one of the things that the new families tell us is that it's really hard. Like these people have been together for years, and then we come. How did y'all handle that?

SPEAKER_00 2:44

Well, when we started, we um traveled with a smaller local group, but there are not a lot of people locally that wanted to um go at the level that we were ready to go at.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:00

So um we just came to the layover and and it only takes one person to reach out for us. That was Dustin Smith at Layover. He just started talking to Kendall, made her feel comfortable, and then when she felt comfortable, it was easy to just make those relationships and those bonds. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:21

And you dove in, I mean, head first, you got the weight chart, you got, you know, you found your role in the whole situation.

SPEAKER_00 3:30

But just like if um Kindle, like in anything that we parents do, if Kendall's happy, then I'm happy and I want her to thrive in that environment. So I yeah, I just found a role that needed doing and I did it to help her be successful. But if she, you know, didn't enjoy it, then we wouldn't have stayed. Like she she hated T-ball, she hated basketball, like we tried all the things.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

Going back to like we're not generational, we tried all the things this fit like a glove for her, and so we ran with it.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Yeah, yeah. Um, how so speaking about uh approaching showing as a family, um, layover situations, you know, where we bring the bears um to a fairgrounds a couple days ahead of the show to try to get them ready. Sometimes it can be stressful, sometimes it goes perfect. Yes. Sometimes, but sometimes um there's opportunities that come up and you get to troubleshoot with your kid and do all, you know, try to problem solve. Um bear goes off feed. All of a sudden he starts acting dumb. He runs in the barn at San Antonio.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

You change from wave one to wave two last minute. That happens.

SPEAKER_01 4:48

I'm sure it never happens when you can't change your hotel reservation.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

Um, yeah, I think all that is a great learning opportunity for the kids and the parents, how to communicate well together, how to not uh fly off the handle and lose your temper, how to um just manage stressful situations because let's be real, life is stressful.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

And the better we prepare them for the future, the more successful that they'll be. Um, but again, at the end of the day, we got to do what's best for the pig. So if it goes off feed and we're at layover, we're gonna manage that together and we're gonna make a decision together on what's best for the pig and and the kid, but yeah, mainly the pig. And then smoking like a true shell. And then um, yeah. It it just helps them learn stressful situations, and you have to be flexible in life, especially like my husband as a business owner. If you are not flexible and cannot adapt to stressful situations and changing times, then you are not well prepared for the future, and this definitely can prepare you.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

This being Josh Brockman prepares you. Showing. Um, so that leads into uh showing as a family. And I know you grew up as an athlete. Um, just talk about that some.

SPEAKER_00 6:18

Okay. So, yes, so we started out putting the kids in the things that I did because I assumed that they would be like me. And we tried T-ball and we tried little dribblers, and Tracy was picking flowers, and Kendall told me that she had more fun at home, and I just didn't understand that. Then we put a pig whip in her hand or in his hand, and that they just found their thing. And I have always loved the fact that I'm not taking them and dropping them off at practice, that I'm in the barn with them, that dad is in the barn with them, that every Sunday we are spending several hours together laughing, cutting up, sometimes crying, but we're always doing it together.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

Right. Yeah. No, and that's um I've thought about that a lot lately that I know let's just say a pig's not eating, and you what other situation could you have with your kid where it's pretty much out of your control? I mean, we can't always control when they're gonna eat or not, and you get to work through that together.

SPEAKER_00 7:26

Yeah. Anything that doesn't involve an animal, I'm not sure that there's a another situation like that. Yeah, yeah, no, other than work situations.

SPEAKER_01 7:35

And you get to depend on each other.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

Absolutely. You know, problem solve together, work through it together, know that I mean you're that you're there for each other.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

Yeah, yeah. So um you and and I are really similar show moms, um, very involved. Yes, yeah. Uh what advice do you give to maybe other show moms that that haven't found that niche yet, that haven't become the real involved parent. You know what I mean? Um I know that we even have some families that maybe that mom just hasn't found her place in the in the barn yet. Right.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Um, for me, I think that anything that my kids were interested in, I was gonna find a way to be involved in that, just because that's my personality type. That being said, um I think that there are so much more going on than just showing pigs here or being good at feeding a pig or being good at skin and hair, but the individual relationships with the kids here. If someone um has an upset stomach, the mom that they can go to when theirs isn't available, or the person that goes and grabs pizza for everybody, like every role is an important role, and it takes every mom to fill that role. And this is the type of co-parenting that we have for for our family. Like I count on you for things and I count on the other moms for different types of things, and all of those roles are great.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

Yeah, they're all very important, just as the the mom that goes and gets the pizza for everybody is just as important as the mom that has the weight chart at the scales. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 9:20

Yeah, yes, and that we we feed off each other's strengths so that we don't have to do it all.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Yeah, no, exactly. Yeah. Um, so last question. Um Kendall and I talked earlier, and she started showing with us when she was in the fourth grade. Uh Tracy, your oldest son, showed with us. So y'all have been showing for 10, 11, 12, 12, 10. Yeah, started with the shaved pigs at Dallas. Yes. Um, and we learned, like you said, you watched and you learned. Yes. Um, what's gonna be the hardest thing to say goodbye to?

SPEAKER_00 10:05

Uh, the people. For sure, the people. Um, before I say what it'll be hard to say goodbye about, let me say what is great about it. Uh Kendall's planning on leaving me very soon and moving several hours away. And not only does she already have an established friend group to call home when she gets there, but I have an established friend group of adults that I would have never met without this show industry across the state. That if she has a flat tire, I can call and one of these show dads are gonna go help her. Yeah. So the people is what's gonna be hard. All of it's gonna be hard just because we we've always loved it so much. But the people is gonna be hard. Yeah, I won't get to see them. Won't get to, I mean, we'll we'll continue those relationships, but I won't necessarily get to be making the new ones with the younger ones. I personally try to have an individual relationship with every child on the team, from the senior kids all the way down to the little ones. And that for my heart is gonna be very hard.

SPEAKER_01 11:21

Um we love you. I love y'all. You have always helped. Anyway.

SPEAKER_00 11:35

I always will. I just gotta talk Dyson and to let him come back.

SPEAKER_01 11:40

Yeah, that's gonna happen. Um, but no, thank you. Seriously, you were anytime anybody needs anything, you'll do it. And um I love what you said about the relationship part because I mean you and Whitney talk a lot, and a lot of it doesn't have anything to do with pigs. Absolutely. So um those have been relationships that I'm very thankful for. All of us of a pig.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

Yeah, that would not have happened without showing pigs.

SPEAKER_01 12:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:12

I will go one step further. I remember the first Linder show camp that Kendall and Jason and I went to. Kendall and I were so nervous to talk to Carrie Brockman. Like she was the George Strait of the Show Pig Camp. And now I can say that she's one of my best friends, and that's a pretty cool yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

Yeah. Even though our crazy feeds off of one another. It does sometimes. All right. Thank you for everything. Thank you, all.