The secret to a Grand Champion finish for Powell-Shoshone FFA’s pen of three competitors? They had fun with it.

Powell’s champion competitors at the Park County Fair consisted of Hadley Cooper, Pratt Wambeke, Abigail Visocky, Kate Mainwaring, Juliana Marquez, Dani Johnson, Shelby Zickefoose, Baylee Croft and Hailee Gorsuch.

“None of us had any idea what we were doing,” said member Mainwaring, who showed steers. “So we just decided to go in and try.”

Wambeke, who showed lambs in the event, quietly asserted with a smile that he had in fact competed in the event before.

Pen of three competitors selected three animals for each livestock category based on similar build and coloring, said Cooper, who competed in the steers division.

“We have to take care of them, make sure they look their best and then we also have to make sure that we pick … whatever the species is to ... [be] the most uniform,” Wambeke said.

Preparation of the animals is the same as for other livestock shows, Cooper said — for steers it comes down to making sure they are market ready, rinsing and feeding them, “just getting them ready to walk into the show ring.”

Livestock judging experience translates into pen of three events because you have to be able to evaluate the animals in the barn and find which ones are most similar, she added.

For steers, all three had the same white spot on their hip, which was unique. “It’s hard to find three steers in the county that have that,” Cooper said, adding that there are two types of show cows, a fast steer and show steer. She describes the former as more “freaky” — they went with fast steers that were market ready.

Next year the competitors agree they need to reach out to other kids farther in advance to see what animals are available. They aren’t allowed to use 4-H animals, so more advance work would make it easier to find better fits for the pen of three events. 

Wambeke likes to check for uniformity in his pen of three lambs — he said it’s about how well they complement each other. Outside of that he’s looking for typical livestock judging characteristics like musculature.

Showing livestock on its own gives an idea of the different aspects of the livestock industry and how to pick out a good animal, Cooper said. 

Wambeke, who wants to have his own club lamb operation following college, said pen of three has helped him learn about the animals’ health as far as shots, health inspections and to watch their feeding in order to avoid bloating. 

For those who aren’t judging or raising, the students recommend buyers check for market ready animals, Cooper said, “that’s a big deal when you’re talking about the animals you eat, because you want the one that’s gouging to hang most meat and bring the most product to your table.”