Best in Show

In 1935, horses and cattle were still vital to the U.S. economy; in Amherst, they pulled wagons and plowed fields. Deep into the Great Depression, Mass Aggie (Massachusetts Agricultural College) was a major hub for educating the region’s farmers, food suppliers, and scientists.

Few things remain the same after 91 years and a global, machine-powered economic transition. But one tradition born of that time is still going strong: the Bay State Livestock Classic, where equines and bovines take center stage. What started as a competition to train and select the very best in animal husbandry now serves as a community event to exhibit the skills of future veterinarians and animal scientists. Held on the UMass Hadley Farm, the show is judged by local farmers and caps a semester-long course pairing each student with a farm animal. These have included llamas, sheep, goats, chickens, and, of course, cattle and horses.

Over the spring semester, students spend one day a week in the barn to observe the animals’ behavior; tend to their medical needs; and groom, feed, and train them.

“It’s a time to be fully paying attention to your animal and being involved, being present,” says past participant and current program director Meghan Gennings ’13, ’27PhD. “It’s very grounding.” It helps that there’s a no-phones policy in the barn, which allows students to fully focus and provides “a strong antidote” to the sometimes overly digital world that can wear on young learners, Gennings says.

All that concentration pays off. The students “love the showing, and if they’re competing, they want to win,” Gennings says. “But overall, they want it to be a successful event and contribute to the legacy.”

This year, Sarah Ashley ’29 (pictured at the top with the blue ribbon) won not only best-in-breed showing her horse, but also premier show person for the entire year’s competition.