MINOT, ND ( KXNET ) — Children and adults come from all over the state to compete and show livestock at the North Dakota State Fair.

From beef cows to sheep and goats, it’s apparent that livestock shows are more than just shows.

“My dad’s had sheep his whole life my grandpa has had sheep his whole life and I just been around it my whole entire life. For us, it’s like a family deal like come out, kinda like our vacation is coming out to stuff like this,” said Colton Breahl, a livestock showman.

For those showing livestock preparation isn’t just important it is everything

“It starts at day one sometimes when your sheep are born you know it’s a good one and then it’s just finding the best one either you raise it or you buy it or you know feeding it the correct nutrition and just growing them out,” said Courtney Wolff, a livestock showman.

Livestock, such as sheep, can be seen in the livestock barn, while cows will be shown all week in the All-Seasons Arena and 4H horse shows can be found in Arena 2.

Judging at these events is critical for these showmen to know what to look for in order to get the best score, the young riders of the 4H Horse show know it well.

“So we have two different judges so they will judge differently so like they have their own preferences, English riding is a lot different than Western riding, so if you ride like you ride English instead of Western then you’re going to get docked,” said Audrey Musser, a 4H rider.

With the many different livestock shows happening recognizing the impact that it has on young people is important.

“This is their sport they work hard and try to be the best that they can be and really put the time in cause a lot of people don’t realize the time and the commitment it takes to raise livestock, and you know if someone wants to be good at a sport there just gonna keep working and getting better and it’s the same with livestock,” said Wolff.

Livestock shows will be happening every day of the fair with shows starting as early as 8 a.m. and as late as 5 p.m.

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