One of the young participants of the stock exhibition shares his story

SAN ANGELO, Texas. Exhibitions first appeared in the United States in the late 1800s and have been an integral part of the Texas tradition for some 120 years.

Every February, San Angelo hosts its own exhibition of goats, pigs, longhorns and other animals.

Talon Luke is a high school student who has been showing pigs in Texas and the US since she was only nine or ten years old.

On February 16, she entered the Children’s Stock Exhibition Competition in San Angelo.

“We just fell in love with it and have been going ever since,” Luke said.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Luke spends most of his free time with his little sister preparing for new shows.

However, balancing personal school work and shows isn’t always easy.

“We get up every morning and feed them [the pigs] before school,” she said.

“And then after school we come home and have a bite to eat and then we go outside and pick up the pigs and walk them and then condition them… so it’s kind of like a weekly cycle,” she added.

Luke tries to get most of her homework done before traveling to new places, keeping in touch with her teachers to help her adjust to her schedule.

Once a week, Luke and her sister also weigh pigs in their hometown of Beaumont, Texas.

The couple often travel together, sometimes for as long as two weeks, but they never felt pressured to continue if they didn’t feel like it.

Exhibition life can also influence personal efforts.

“As you get older, sometimes pigs will get in the way of your friends and your social life,” Luke said.

However, despite any challenges, Luke is excited to finish her final year as a junior stock show exhibitor before going to college.

Looking ahead, she hopes to attend Texas A&M University to potentially become an agricultural lawyer or work in commodities trading.

However, for now, Luke continues to work hard and show the pigs.

“It’s a lot of work, but it definitely pays off,” she said. “There will be hard days and then there will be really good days and you just have to be able to get through it and you can’t give up.”

The San Angelo Stock Show runs until February 19th.

Visit sanangelorodeo.com for more information.