Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsIt’s about 5:30 p.m. in the barn on Jan. 22, and Tenley Weathers carries a bale of hay into the livestock trailer. Hay, food, stall equipment and animal care products all get loaded between the time Tenley and her brother Ty get home from school in Yuma, and when dinner goes on the table up at the house.
The Weathers kids, Ty, 14, and his sister Tenley, 12, get out of school in Yuma late on a Wednesday afternoon. It's getting dark. A sharp wind makes the 15 degrees on the thermometer feel a lot colder. They throw on overpants and coats, pull up their hoods and head to the barn, a stone's throw from their house. Time to pack the livestock trailer before dinner, and before Ty's basketball practice.
Hay, feed, a rolling steel cabinet full animal care tools and products, a folding grooming platform, air compressors and dozens of other can't-do-without items from the barn get packed. They check on their two yearlings: Ty's steer Doug and Tenley's heifer Francis. Then they head up to the house. Their mom, Nikki, is prepping meals ahead of two nights in a Denver motel. Nate, their dad, is making tacos for dinner. They all say grace at the table and tuck in.
By 4:45 the next morning they've loaded the cattle and headed West to the National Western Stock Show in Denver. The next three days are a whirlwind of work, play and tradition.
Nate Weathers grew up on this farm, on land that's been in the family for almost 100 years. Until he married his wife Nikki 17 years ago, it was, by and large, a farm rather than a cattle operation. Now it's both. Nikki grew up on a ranch in Bayfield and the couple wanted to start their own herd in Yuma County; it now runs about 400 head. While she runs the livestock business, Nate farms with most of his grain under contract to two area feedlots and an ethanol plant.
They're bringing up their kids to learn the family business. Part of that involves learning how to raise and show cattle for auction - along with schoolwork and sports. And on Thursday morning, Jan. 23, long before sunrise on the High Plains, they secured the two yearlings in the back of their packed trailer and headed to Denver.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsPart of the Weathers Farms cattle herd of 400 or so Black Baldies — a cross between Hereford and Angus beef cattle. The family runs about 3,000 acres in Yuma County, with an equal amount of native grass. The white-face cow in the center is one Ty Weathers, who was 13 at the time, bought at the National Western Stock Show in 2024. It’s a different breed, a Maintainer.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsIn their kitchen on the evening of Jan. 22, Nikki Weathers preps food for the family’s two-night stay in Denver. Ty, left, periodically checks the Stock Show livestream on his phone. Tenley, 12, in a red sweatshirt, helps Nikki while Nate, right, is ready to put tacos on the table for dinner — made with beef from the family herd. Ty’s mom will take him to basketball practice in Yuma after dinner.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsAs her dog Louie shuffles over to take a look, Nikki Weathers gets ready to hook the stock trailer to Nate Weathers’ pickup truck on Wednesday evening, Jan. 22, at the family farm in Yuma County. The Weathers pack the trailer the night before the National Western Stock Show, then put two yearlings in the trailer early the following morning.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsAs his dad watches, Ty Weathers wheels a folding platform and a plastic grass mat into the trailer. The yearling cattle will stand on the platform, while tethered, as they’re prepped for the show.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsThe Weathers family Bible sits on a table below snapshots of the kids at different shows, in the family’s living room.
Thursday, January 23: Driving, unloading, washing, weighing
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsWith the cattle loaded, and the rest of the family on board, Nate Weathers drives the truck and trailer out of the barn at about 4:45 am. on Thursday, Jan. 23. The family has about a three-hour drive to Denver from Yuma County. They’ll stop for gas and breakfast burritos in Keenesburg.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsNate Weathers, left, Ty, Nikki and Tenley move their yearlings from the trailer into the barns at the National Western Stock Show, Jan. 23, 2024.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsFrom the moment they back the trailer up to the barn door in Denver, the family is in motion, getting unpacked and getting the yearlings washed, dried and weighed in. Ty Weathers unrolls a rubber mat in their designated stall at the National Western Stock Show on Jan. 23. The family’s brand is printed on the tarp in the background.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsNikki Weathers has spent most of her life raising cattle, first on the family ranch in Bayfield, and then on the Weathers ground in Yuma County after marrying Nate 17 years ago. Parts of the Weathers farm ground goes back almost 100 years. It’s where Nate grew up, and his grandparents’ and parents’ homes still stand. Its wasn’t until Nate and Nikki married that cattle came into the family business.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsWhile his parents and sister continue to unpack and get settled at the Stock Show, Ty takes his steer Doug for a wash.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsAfter the yearlings are washed and dried, they’re taken to the weigh-in. Here, Tenley Weathers, 12, in the turquoise coat, leads her heifer Francis onto to scales on Jan. 23. Francis weighed in at 880 pounds, putting her in a class with nine others from across the western United States. Ty’s steer Doug weighed 835 pounds, in a class of 13.
Friday, January 24: Ty preps and shows Doug, the steer
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsIt’s about 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 24, and the Stock Show barns have already been a hive of noise, dust, humans and cattle for a couple of hours. Neighbor and mentor Levi Zwirn, at right, and friends start prepping Doug, the steer, for show. Levi sold Doug as a calf from his own herd to Ty Weathers last year and has worked with Ty and Tenley to teach them how to raise and show their yearlings.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsTy Weathers pays a attention to a few final details on Doug’s left foreleg before changing and leading his steer off to the show ring.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsNate Weathers watches as Levi Zwirn dresses the yearling steer’s tail top so that it sits up and can be clipped evenly with scissors. All manner of products are used on the show cattle’s coat and hide in an effort to better show the animal’s natural posture, structure, size, balance and more. As soon as they are brought back from the show ring, it’s all cleaned off.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsAll manner of products are used on the show cattle’s coat and hide in an effort to better show the animal’s natural posture, structure, size, balance and more. That includes Lectric Shave to keep the cattle smelling good. As soon as they’re brought back from the show ring, it’s all cleaned off.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsRegular dish soap gets used on show cattle to get to the dirt and grease, along with extra whitening soap for Tenley’s heifer for the white spots on his head and legs. At home, the Weathers use vinegar to take care of dandruff in their cattle's backs. Tail adhesive and a thick hair spray get the hair to stand up and make the legs look thicker. Black paint sits alongside other products.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsShow cattle must be tied up closely for a while to hold them still as they’re prepped for show — no water breaks. Instead, family friend and neighbor TJ Rice frequently squirts hydration liquid into Doug’s mouth.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsAs TJ Rice looks on, Ty Weathers leads Doug to the ring.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsTy Weathers watches the judge as he looks over Doug the steer, Jan. 24, 2024 at the Events Center ring at the National Western Stock Show. It's over in just a few brief moments. Doug placed 3rd in his weight class, competing against yearlings from all over the West.
Saturday, January 25: Tenley shows Francis and the family hits the road home
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsAfter a second night in a local hotel, the Weathers family returns for another early morning at the Stock Show, Saturday, Jan. 24. Now it’s 12-year-old Tenley’s turn to prep her heifer Francis. This morning, her grandparents Byron and LaLani, backs to the camera, came from Fort Morgan to support their grandchildren.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsTenley, in the pink shirt, leads her heifer Francis into the show ring early Saturday, Jan. 25.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsTenley Weathers keeps her eyes on the judge as he inspects the line of competing heifers, including Francis, Saturday at the National Western Stock Show.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsTenley gets a fist bump from her dad Nate back at the weathers stall. Her heifer Francis took fourth place in a class of nine competitors from across the West.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsTenley Weathers’ boots sit in the dust back at the stall after she changed back into everyday wear to help clean things up, pack the trailer and head back to Yuma.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsAs others pack the trailer, Tenley blows air on Francis to keep her cool.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsNate Weathers carries a feed container through an empty area of the barn, to the waiting trailer, Saturday morning, Jan. 25.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsAs snow falls, Nate and Nikki Weathers watch as the kids load the trailer for the trip home to Yuma. The family spent all of about 72 hours at the National Western Stock Show, rotating in and out just as all the other competitors do.
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