INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) -- About twice a day, the Dickerson family lines up the brushes and blowers in their barn, working through a careful routine to prepare their heifers for the show ring.
“I’m conditioning this heifer because it helps replenish their skin and their hide,” Graham Dickerson said, who has learned the process step by step alongside his family. “Her hair’s special, so there’s a certain way you comb it. Once you get them blown dry, it just makes them look so much better, because they’re clean and they’re done.”
The regimen — washing, combing and blowing out the hair — is equal parts discipline and showmanship. For Graham, presentation matters as much as pedigree. “It doesn’t matter how good your heifer is; it’s about how you present it, so it’s all up to you,” he said.
Graham's mother, Aleesa, says the work is about more than banners.
“We are using cattle to raise our kids instead of raising cattle with our kids,” Aleesa said. “We feel passionately about the agriculture industry, and the cattle are just a vehicle and a tool for us to raise hopefully good humans.”
Graham and his brother Tucker grew up in the aisle of the barn and the aisles of livestock shows. “This is what I’ve been taught to do, and I just know them the best,” Tucker said. “I know these and goats the best.”
The family has hauled to events including Beef Congress, the Oklahoma City shows, the Kentucky Beef Expo and the State Fair, earning wins along the way. But Aleesa notes the ribbons follow the routine. “They’ve had an incredible summer, but not every summer’s like that, and so they have to show up and do the work,” she said.
The State Fair is their next stop. “We work really hard, but when people show livestock like this, this is what they’re doing,” Aleesa said. “This is multiple times a day. It’s lots of hours sacrificed, but it’s so much fun.”
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