Joe Bryce and his family; wife, Lacy, son Brenden, and daughter Briella; have found joy in showing beef cattle together. Joe showed cattle when he was growing up, and although being a pretty decent showman, he simply didn’t do a lot of showing like the kids do now. According to Joe, “Showing cattle is more than just something to do together. It is a passion full of life lessons we fully embrace.” Brenden and Briella have always liked to show cattle, but it has become more than just a fun thing to do. They are competitors and showing cattle is where they love to “train” and compete. The commitment to early mornings and late evenings teaches them a level of drive, hard work, and teamwork that will carry on well into their futures.
A few years ago in the fall, Brenden applied for a MYBEP heifer. Brenden was one of the fortunate kids, in fact, who received a heifer, named Legacy. Brenden created a bond with Legacy due to a lot of time spent together in both feeding her and training. That winter, at 14 years of age, Brenden suffered a very unfortunate head injury while wrestling, resulting in a traumatic brain injury, (TBI), and leaving him unable to compete in contact sports. Brenden also found himself needing to rely on a wheelchair to get around. Our Minnesota winter was in full effect that year and there was too much snow for Brenden to be able to get out to the barn to spend time with Legacy. Due to these events, it had been about 2-3 weeks since Brenden had seen Legacy. Legacy started to get out of her electric fence and wander the yard. Joe said, “I told my wife I thought Legacy was looking for Brenden, because why else would she be getting out and not going anywhere? I finally put Brenden in his wheelchair, wrapped him in blankets, and wheeled him out in front of the house. I put Legacy on a halter and brought her up to him at the house. I’m not sure who was more excited, Brenden – knowing I was indeed still doing chores for him, or Legacy – knowing Brenden was around here, just getting taken care of.” Joe went on to talk about how cool it was to see the bond those two had built in their time working together. Joe continued, “I will also tell you that was the last time Legacy got out of her electric fence.” Coincidence? You make the call.
Briella also has had her own difficulty competing in sports, due to a hip issue she’s had since birth. Both Brenden and Briella are very competitive kids. So, what happens to two Bryce kids each being armed with a fierce competitive drive and being plucked out of participating in sports? Well, show cattle of course! As a result, the show cattle became therapy for the entire Bryce family. “It gave my daughter an outlet from everyday life, when it was hard for her to watch her brother struggle. It gave Brenden a reason to keep fighting to get better, to keep trying to get out of the wheelchair and walk again.” The kids were not only learning how to care for and show an animal, but also how to pick out the right ones, and do all the other things that go with showing cattle like growing hair. Plus, the cattle didn’t care if someone was having a bad day. They loved to be brushed all hours of the day. According to Joe, “1,000 brush strokes a day seems like a lot until the mindless repetition and calm animals ease your mind, creating an emotional escape from all the hard stuff happening.” Brenden’s physical and occupational therapists soon realized the cattle were everything to Brenden and as a result, they created therapy sessions centered around being in the barn and walking an animal. The goal for both the therapists and Brenden – to get back in the show ring.
The ag industry, and more specifically, the show industry, is a pretty small group of people. But this small group of people are willing to step up to teach and support the next generation of kids who want to be involved, sharing all they know. There were several people in the show industry who watched Brenden work so hard to get back into the show ring and observed Briella do everything she could to help make Brenden’s dream come true. These families saw the drive in both Brenden and Briella, and they knew what it meant to these kids to be in the ring, with their animal, competing. These incredible people stepped up and helped my kids in ways I only could have dreamed. They provided opportunities for Brenden and Briella to learn about the advanced skills in animal care, feeding, clipping, fitting, and showing. The families of the show industry have taught Brenden and Briella not only to become better showmen, but even better people. Joe reflects, “The camaraderie developed with so many other show families has made showing cattle an activity for our entire family we look forward to all year long.”
Through some hardships, have come many opportunities for Brenden and Briella. They have worked hard, absorbing all they can to become better at their trade. They’ve put in many early mornings, late nights, and much attention to detail to put forth the best animals possible. They strategize together and we travel around as a family to several shows a year. “As parents, it has been fun to watch the kids achieve some success, but the camaraderie our family has been blessed with is quite amazing.” Brenden and Briella both achieved some success both in and out of the show ring this summer. They are developing lifelong friendships by working with other show families, helping one another achieve their goals. Showing cattle is about learning all you can about the beef industry and having confidence to share it with folks who don’t know much about the beef industry. It’s about working together to help one another achieve goals and finding joy when your friends also have some success. But it’s just as much about learning to brush the dust off, pick yourself up, and congratulate your competitors when the results don’t go your way on a particular day. Then going home, learning from your results, and getting ready to do it all again. But perhaps most importantly, understanding that there have been many people who helped Brenden and Briella get where they are today and paying it forward to help other kids gain confidence and experience success with their beef projects.
