(PUEBLO, Colo.) — The State Fair Junior Livestock Sale is taking place on Tuesday, Aug. 26, offering 4-H kids from across the state a chance to be rewarded for their hard work. The auction began at 2 p.m., and you can bid online by clicking here.
Participants, including Cole Spurlock from El Paso County, have spent the past year or so raising their animals in preparation for the event. 15-year-old Spurlock dedicates about eight hours each day to caring for his animals.
“I tried soccer, I tried basketball, I tried all those things, and they never really hit me from a young age… I think 4-H just kind of helped me find my thing and, you know, just learning how to take care of something other than yourself,” said Spurlock. “Jagger (my goat) never shuts up. He’s very annoying, but, you know, we always get along, and he’s always been a favorite in the barn.”
According to the sale’s website, Spurlock made $2,000 with Jagger. That’s well over the goat’s market value of $313.50. Spurlock plans to use the money he earned to invest in next year’s animals and contribute to his college fund.
Adalyn Lee and her cow Bandit also got to be in the sale, after placing third in their class.
“It feels really good… I think I had a pretty tough class, and I didn’t know if I was going to make the top three or not, but I did. So I was really excited,” said Lee.
She said it’s a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun, and also her favorite hobby.
“We call him our big puppy dog because he’s super, super sweet, but he’s massive. So, you know, any little step can break your foot, so you’ve got to be careful with that. But yeah, he’s my favorite cow so far,” said Lee.
Bandit also went for well over his market value of $3,518.13, after selling for $8,000. Lee also plans to invest her funds into future 4-H projects and college, as well as other future expenses like a car or a home.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by FOX21. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by FOX21 staff before being published.