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The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo is now entering its first full week at Freeman Coliseum.
So, what does a judge look for in a winning animal during the livestock competitions?
As many as 15,000 students from the area and across Texas will be showing as many as 25,000 livestock animals during the stock show.
They are each hoping to win some of the millions of dollars in scholarship money by doing so. But what makes a cow or a hog a winner?
Brian Faris, who is in charge of competitive events during the stock show and rodeo, said both are "meat animals." So, judges look for a sturdy build and defined muscles in an animal, and they want to see some fat, but not too much.
But, Faris said, that's not all.
"And then of course, this is a livestock show," he said. "So, beauty pageant for the lack of a better term. ... They've got to have the aesthetics of the prettiest animal out there as well."
Faris said what is not mentioned enough in judging is the showmanship the young people bring. He said the kids and animals spend so much time together during the raising and training process, they easily work in unison while in the show ring, making it fun to watch.
Seventeen-year-old Parker Dugan, from the North Central Texas town of Itasca, who has entered his heifer named Billy Jean, hoped to finish in the money.
"The ultimate goal is ... obviously, to win a show," he said. "Get that slap. Get that handshake."
It's a livestock judge that slaps the back of the winning animal and shakes the hand of the winning student.
Dugan, with his family by his side during the livestock show, said he names all his animals after songs. The name Billy Jean comes from the name of the Michael Jackson song of the same name.
