By JORDAN STRICKLER

Kentucky Correspondent

CYNTHIANA, Ky. — Will Banks maybe be young, but he can put on one heck of a livestock show.

Banks, a 16-year-old from Cynthiana, was the primary coordinator for the inaugural 4-H Wildcat Classic Livestock Judging Contest at the Harrison County 4-H Fairgrounds on March 30. The 10-class show, which included junior and senior divisions, drew 123 competitors from three states.

“I’ve always loved the livestock industry,” said Banks. “The unique thing is that I got to do something really special like this at age 16. As someone who loves to compete in livestock competitions, I felt really honored to do something like this, especially with everyone who helped putting their trust in me that I could accomplish this.”

In the show, junior entrants had to answer three sets, while seniors had four sets of reasons. Open to kids in 4-H and FFA programs across the region, the goal is to teach them the best way to select animals for breeding and market programs.

“Will’s a good kid,” said University of Kentucky (UK) Extension Agent Mike Meyer, who helped mentor Banks through the show’s organizational process. “I’ve known him since he started 4-H in fourth grade. He’s very livestock-minded and that is what he would like to make his career out of. When it comes to livestock judging, that is his life; that’s what he does.”

Banks, who has his own herd of Red Angus cattle, has been judging livestock contests since he was 9 and is on UK’s silver livestock judging team, with expectations of making it to the gold team soon. No stranger to the livestock judging world, he wanted to put on a high-quality show that would not only bring students from around the country but be a show they would get excited about.

Getting such a complex show together wasn’t an easy task. With other events, including the Midwest Elite in Indianapolis going on at the same time, Banks and Meyer had to really make this show stand out. For winning contestants, awards would veer away from the traditional plaques. For the Wildcat show, prizes ranged from engraved bourbon barrel tops for the winners to luggage, hanger bags, and hanging banners.

This helped attract competitors from around Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana, with clubs from Maryland and North Carolina also expressing interest.

“Will really went the extra mile to get this contest up and running,” said Meyer. “Some of the stuff that he first did was locate the livestock, then making sure they got here, getting the officials together for the contests, and finding sponsorships.

“He’s a great kid with a lot of ambition and is really focused for this year. I think he did an excellent job of taking the reins. It was an extraordinary job for a kid his age.”

Meyer said the Harrison County 4-H, which traditionally has a respected livestock judging history, tries to go a step further than the average club. He said its vision is for the long-run.

“One thing we like to do in this 4-H group is to try and help them tie what they do to a career and help them make connections. I think that this was a really prime example of that. Too many times, adults can just say that the kid is too young to do this and we take charge, but we try to put our trust in the kids,” he explained.

Banks, who plans to go to community college before moving to a four-year school, said he is most grateful for those who helped him put the show together. “The best lesson I picked up is that you really find out who your friends are. There were a whole lot of people who took time from their schedule to help me accomplish my goal. I am grateful to so many. My friends certainly showed up for this.”

He hopes to make this event a regular stop on the show circuit and said in a few years, he and his brother, who is currently in college, hope to have one of the better shows in the region.

“My brother and I have always had a vision of putting something like this on. When we both get out of college, we should have something really started and going.”