La Muneca Hosts 27th Annual LMC South Texas Jr. Roundup & LMC Futurity

La Muneca Cattle Co. hosted its 27th Annual LMC Jr. Roundup and LMC Futurity on October 4, 2014. Over 110 participated in the judging contest and approximately 175 more individuals attended the field day. Every junior won at least one door prize and there was over $2,000 awarded in door prizes, premiums and buckles to the juniors. Buckle donors were Scott Martin, Santos Escobar of La Escoba Cattle Company and the Benny Cano Family of Top C Cattle Company. The field day is a one of a kind, fun filled, family oriented educational event open to the public for free.  The Special Award donors were the families of Doug Lightfoot. The premium sponsor for the field day was the Darryl Raub Family.” “Each year we are humbled by the support of the community and those that we do business with in an effort to contribute to the development of the youth of Texas.  We were blessed this year with a beautiful day, a great group of attentive and energetic kiddos who enjoyed a motivational set of speakers on various topics.  We want to thank all the volunteers, our staff and all those who had a hand in making the field day the success that it was,” stated Carlos X. Guerra, owner of La Muneca Cattle Company.

The Field Day Contest winners were: Junior – 1st – 3rd – Adrian Cepeda, Logan Montalvo and Cassie Guerra. Intermediate – 1st – 3rd – Ashlyn Martinez, Marco Pena and Beth Quintanilla. Senior – 1st – 3rd – Eloy Cantu, Alexis Gonzalez and Erin Steglich. Adult – 1st – 3rd – Irma Marmolejo, Brian Emmel and Abel Garcia. Over $2,000 in door prizes were given away THANKS to the following donors – Martin’s Farm & Ranch, Farm & Ranch in San Isidro – Kito & Letty Saenz, Hidalgo County Farm Bureau, Mueller Inc. – Frank Trevino, Chorizo de San Manuel, Creative Awards, San Isidro FFA – Raul Hinojosa, Rio Grande City FFA – Randy Lee Lara, Tandy’s, Ful – O – Pep Feeds, La Muneca and the families of Dr. Oscar Alvarez, StarLite 4-H Club, Benny Cano Family, Benjamin Hill Family and Doug Lightfoot.

Speakers for the Field Day were Teah Barrientes (FFA Creed), Itza Garza (4-H Motto & Prayer), Dr. Joe Mask, Bailey Scogin, Steve Atzenhoffer, Brad Cowan, Jack Pearl, Michelle Martin, Chris Shivers, Tonya Hill, Dr. Jenny Richter and Victor G. Guerra. Topics covered were – The Correlations & Similarities to Life and Selecting a Champion Show Animal, There’s A New Weed In Town (Tips on Public Speaking), Basics of Livestock Judging, Basics of Hay Judging & Native Grass I.D., How You Can Make Your Dreams Come True, Getting to Know the Real You, Why I Became a Game Warden, An Update on the Star Gala, Showmanship – Where Preparation Meets Opportunity and The $80,000 LMC Junior Program.  Over 225 Simbrah and youth enthusiasts were treated at the Eighth Annual LMC Customer Appreciation Dinner prepared by Chorizo De San Manuel, Benny & James Cano after the LMC Futurity.

The 2014 LMC Special Award Winners were – LMC Volunteers of the Year – James and Sharon Cano Family and Benjamin and Tonya Hill Family, LMC Educator of the Year – Steve Atzenhoffer and the LMC Supporter of the Year – Curtis Gruetzmacher. The 27th Annual LMC Futurity had over $9,000 awarded in premiums, largely in part to our juniors who did a great job of selling raffle tickets and our gracious donors. The Jaime Flores Family won the $1,000 credit for next year by selling the most number of tickets. There were 60 head of cattle shown in the LMC Futurity by 47 different 4-H and FFA students. Judges were Dr. Joe Mask of Texas A&M University – Cattle and Chris Shivers Executive Vice President of American Brahman Breeders Association – Showmanship. Winners are pictured below.

The Champion Simbrah females were exhibited by Morgan Thomas and Caleb Fuchs with heifers sired by LMC Arcadio and 6GLMC Rajin Cajun. The Champion AOB heifers were shown by Natalie Martinez and Payton Cox with heifers sired by LMC LF Braveheart. The Champion Simbrah/Simbravieh Steers were exhibited by Kace Owen and Cassie Flores with steers sired by LMC LF Braveheart and LMC RFI-Smith Uno. The Champion Brahman females were exhibited by Leandra Flores and Victor Moreno with heifers sired by LMC Apollo and LMC LF Ambassador.

There was $4,500 awarded in premiums and awards in the showmanship contest with the following winners: Senior Division (Champion – 7th Overall):  Victorial Villanueva (buckle and $350), Morgan Thomas (buckle and $300), Bailey Scogin (banner and $250), Kaitlynn Miller (banner and $200), Amelia Stavinoha (banner and $150), Jane Hunt (banner and $100) and John Paul Rodriguez (banner & $50).  Intermediate Division (Champion – 7th Overall): Natalie Martinez (buckle and $175), Robert Stavinoha (buckle and $125), McKenna Tschirhart (banner and $100), Zoe Rosas (banner and $75), Caleb Fuchs (banner and $65), Claudia Kirk (banner and $55) and Andres Villanueva (banner and $45). Junior Division (Champion – 7th Overall): Cassidy Fuchs (buckle and $140), Lorelai Hill (buckle and $80), MaKayla Sanchez ($60), Angelina Carlos ($50), Kace Owen ($40), Matthew Sanchez ($30) and Tyler Tschirhart ($25).
La Muneca again hosted a Registered Purebred Brahman Steer Show open to all Rio Grande Valley Juniors in conjunction with the LMC Futurity. As more and more Registered Brahman steer shows are established, the market for Brahman bulls will improve plus the public will appreciate how good and how important these cattle are. The Champion Brahman Steers were exhibited by Adriana de los Santos and Cassie Flores with steers sired by LMC Polled Authority and LMC Poll Aussie bred by England Cattle Company and La Muneca.  $1,000 in premiums plus banners were awarded and sponsored by the RGV Brahman & F-1 Association and La Muneca.

Upcoming EVENTS will be the Simbrah Synergy VII Sale and $15,000 Showcase on October 25th and 26th at Smith Genetics in Giddings, Texas, Simmental/Simbrah Superbowl during the 2015 San Antonio Jr. Show and the $10,000 + LMC Jackpot held in conjunction with the LMC $ellabration Sale and $20,000 + Show IV on March 28th & 29th, 2015. LMC Juniors will compete for $80,000 in awards and premiums to be given out this next year at LMC sponsored events. Call or email on how you can get involved in one of America’s most supportive junior programs.

A BIG HEARTY THANKS goes out to all of our juniors, their families, our speakers, donors and VOLUNTEERS for helping to make our 27th Annual LMC Jr. Round Up and Futurity the best ever. For more information please call La Muneca Cattle Co. at (956) 383 – 7566 or (956) 802 – 1641 or email lamunecacattle@aol.com.