Summertime and the Livin’ is … busy!

Summertime at V8 Ranch is usually a whirlwind of activity – from tending to our Brahman herd… to prepping for our Made for Magic auction… to battening down the hatches from Hurricane Beryl!

But this year, we decided to add a little extra spice to our already jam-packed schedule. 

After all, what’s summer without a little adventure?

From Brahman to the Beltway

This June, Luke, Catherine, and Knox Neumayr packed their bags and headed on a family trip to Maryland for some sightseeing, time with friends, and Knox’s first-ever Shorthorn Junior Nationals. 

Yup, you read that right – Brahman ranchers at a Shorthorn show! 

The event holds a special place in all of our hearts… it’s where Luke and Catherine first met way back in 2004. 

Talk about coming full circle!

Showcasing Shorthorn Smarts

Our adventure kicked off in Timonium, Maryland, at the Maryland State Fairgrounds for the National Junior Shorthorn Show & Youth Conference.

Anyone who has been knows that this isn’t just any old cattle show – it’s been voted the top junior nationals across all beef breeds for four years running.

Nearly 400 kids from 29 states gathered to show off their Shorthorn smarts, making it like the mini Super Bowl of junior cattle shows!

Knox jumped right into the thick of things in the Prospector I category, which is for the under-9 crowd.

That boy was busier than a one-armed cowboy at branding time!

From written tests to quiz bowls, speech contests to poster making, he was all in. The Ferguson Shorthorn written test was his first challenge.

We’d been drilling him with flashcards for weeks, covering everything from Shorthorn colors to NCBA office locations. 

Knox breezed through it… or so we thought. 

Turns out he missed a whole page because it was double-sided! A costly mistake, but a good lesson learned.

Next up was the Quiz Bowl, where Knox and his state of Texas team fought their way to the final four before being bested by Kansas.

It was really fun to watch his (friendly) rivalry with the Kansas team, and he’s already looking forward to next year’s rematch.

New Friends & Old Connections

But it wasn’t all competition and rivalry. The Junior Nationals are as much about making life-long friendships as they are about showing cattle. 

Knox hit it off right away with Piper Cates, which was great to see since Luke, Cat, and the Cates family go way back.

Tyler Cates and his wife Cortney (who, by the way, was Miss American Angus back in the day) hosted us in their stall throughout the competition while Knox and Piper ran around the competition together. And we couldn’t have asked for a better time catching up and reconnecting. 

Sailing into the Spotlight

The opening ceremonies were a sight to behold. This year’s theme was “Sail Away with Shorthorns,” and boy, did the Texas team take it seriously! 

Knox, who started off a bit shy, ended up leading the charge in a shopping cart decked out with leis, a pirate patch, and sunglasses. 

Talk about coming out of your shell…

Knox-in’ It Out of the Park

Next up were the individual contests, and that’s when Knox really took the bull by the horns. (Sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves.) 

His speech about his first Shorthorn Junior Nationals and the trials of raising Shorthorns in Texas earned him first place in the Prospector division. He even mentioned our plans to buy a Shorthorn show heifer this fall—always thinking ahead!

Knox’s creativity was on full display in the promotional poster contest. His marine-themed poster, complete with his signature fish design, hooked the judges and won him another first place.

It should come as no surprise that Knox also captured first place in the photography contest—since both Luke and Catherine are professional photographers—with a striking shot of our only Shorthorn Plus cow, Carmalicious, and her calf, Peggy.

And then there was the Showmanship contest, which was another adventure altogether. 

Without a Shorthorn heifer to call our own yet, Knox partnered up with a petite heifer named Blue Cheese Crumble from Cate’s Farms. 

Watching him out there with that little heifer, you’d never know he was more used to handling Brahmans twice her size!

When the dust settled, Knox stood tall as the second-high Prospector overall. The only one who bested him was his new best friend, Piper Cates.

We had an amazing surprise at the awards ceremony when Catherine’s dad, Jim Williams, showed up. That just made it that much more special for Knox. 

We all agree that we couldn’t be prouder of how he represented V8 Ranch in this new arena.

Capital adventures

In between competitions and awards ceremonies, we were able to sneak into Washington, D.C. for a little sightseeing. 

We kicked things off with a ride on the Acela train – a first for Knox and Catherine. Talk about starting your adventure at high speed! The train zipped us from Boston to D.C. in just 27 minutes, and Knox had the time of his life.

In D.C., we did the usual tourist stuff: We checked out the Capitol and Supreme Court, snapping a bunch of photos like everyone else. We also hit up a ton of monuments—it seems like there’s one on every corner in that town.

Thanks to our friends at the Botswana Embassy, we had lunch at the embassy. We’ve had the pleasure of hosting them at the ranch, so it was nice to catch up and get a tour of the embassy before we had to rush back to Maryland. 

We thought we’d escape the Texas heat, but D.C. in June is no joke. It was so hot and humid that we were all sweating buckets. 

After walking from the train station to the Capitol, we were beat. Our boots felt like lead, and we wished we’d brought sandals (or, in Luke’s case, crocs) instead.

By mid-afternoon, we’d had enough of walking. We called an Uber to drive us around to see the rest of the sights. Sometimes, you just have to admit defeat and enjoy the air conditioning!

There’s No Place like Home

As we flew home on Knox’s birthday, we couldn’t help but feel proud of everything he’d accomplished. He might’ve started as a Brahman kid in a Shorthorn world, but he left with a handful of ribbons and a whole lot of new experiences under his belt.

This trip was more than just a show, though. It was a chance for us to step away from the ranch and see a bit more of the world. From the streets of D.C. to the show ring in Maryland, we packed a lot into those few days.

As we settle back into ranch life, we’re so grateful for this little adventure. It reminded us why we love what we do – the animals, the people, and all the new things there are to learn in this industry.

Knox is already talking about next year’s Junior Nationals in Nebraska (and that rematch with Kansas!). If he has his way, it looks like we’ll be adding a Shorthorn or two to our herd come fall sale season. 

Looking ahead, one thing’s clear: whether it’s Brahmans or Shorthorns, at shows or on the ranch, we at V8 Ranch are all about supporting the future of the Shorthorn breed and the next generation of cattle lovers – and Knox’s time at the Shorthorn Junior Nationals shows that the future’s looking bright.