Jaleigh Hurst brings Supreme Grand Champion title back to Thomas County
Mar. 12—THOMASVILLE- Eighth grader Jaleigh Hurst is making a name for herself in the show ring. On Feb. 25, Hurst won Supreme Grand Champion for her steer Stetson at the Georgia Junior National Livestock Show, marking the first Supreme Grand championship to ever come home to Thomas County.
A mere week later, Hurst appeared in the Thomas County Junior Livestock Association Show, where she took home Grand Champion for her steer Kirby and Grand Champion for her heifer, Wonder. These wins helped Hurst surpass the goal she set for herself in her early competition days. She had longed to win 50 belt buckles before graduating eighth grade. The most recent wins gave her 55 buckles.
During her state showing, Hurst said she competed against approximately 150 individuals, hoping to get their name on the Wall of Fame.
Hurst said it was a great feeling to get her name called and know she had achieved a coveted spot on the wall.
"The wall has all the champions who have ever won the state show," she said. "It has always been our family goal to be up there and now we finally get to be up there."
The achievement didn't come without hours of hard work.
Hurst explained every morning she and her uncle would get up at 5 a.m. before she went to school and head over to the barn. Once in the barn, she would "blow out" her steer and work him, before working him again in the afternoon when she returned home from school.
While most may not realize, a steer's hair takes hours to fix and perfect before showcasing them at a Livestock Show.
"The month before the show, you're pretty much preparing the cow," Hurst said. "They have to feel good and perfect on show day to win."
When show day finally arrives, Hurst said it takes a whole team to get Stetson's hair ready.
"Months before show day, we have to work their hair in order to have enough to clip it and shape it to how we want it to look," she said. "When we actually get to the show, we use an adhesive similar to hairspray and tease their hair on their legs and right above their tail."
The teasing is designed to make the steer's legs look big, according to Hurst.
The whole process can take hours.
Before teasing their hair, the steer must be washed, conditioned, and blow-dried off.
Stetson didn't always take kindly to the attention, though.
Hurst said the family received Stetson in October and he was wild.
"We had to work with him every day," she said. "He was very wild and liked to run."
His previous owners had told the family not to remove his nose ring; without it, he would cause havoc.
Knowing that nose rings weren't allowed in Georgia competitions, Hurst removed it and began working Stetson, noting he is sweet now and just needed love and the correct training.
"Steers are a lot more work, but I like it more than showing heifers," she said. "At the end, I have to sell him, but I feel like they are a bigger challenge because they have a Wall of Fame and heifers don't."
Stetson will be up for sale this coming weekend at Hurst's family auction, where heifers and other steers will also be available. There, Hurst hopes to find her next winning steer. Although she will be on the lookout for her next steer, Hurst already has her eyes on her next winning heifer. Her prize-winning heifer Wonder, along with her 2023 prize-winning heifer Peaches are expecting calves later this month.
With a new season set to begin in March, Hurst looks forward to showing more steer and heifers alike.
Hurst's dedication to showmanship doesn't go unnoticed.
With her supreme grand championship, she has now been invited to the Farm Bureau Banquet of Champions this summer, where she will receive another belt buckle and a monetary prize.
This buckle will help with Hurst's next goal of achieving 100 belt buckles by the time she graduates.
