RED DEER — It isn’t often that city slickers flock to a cattle show, but when the Texas Longhorns come to town, everybody stops for a look.
The Canadian National Texas Longhorn Show held at Red Deer’s Westerner Days July 18 pulled in folks who lifted children onto their shoulders for a better look, while others whipped out their phones to take pictures.
About 50 cattle were shown loose in a pen at the event with the major awards going to breeder Mark Stewart of Ponoka, Alta.
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His cows, bulls and an 11-year-old steer with horns that spanned 96 inches, caught everyone’s attention.
A Longhorn’s horn span is measured tip to tip, each horn is measured for length and circumference. The numbers are then compiled for a composite measure.
Stewart’s steer has the second highest composite measure in North America with horns that probably weigh about 50 pounds.
The breed is receiving renewed attention after nearly disappearing in Canada.
“They died back when BSE hit so some old breeders started it up again three years ago,” said Stewart.
Membership in the association is pushing 50 with most in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Stewart sells some for breeding and some for rodeo stock, while others end up as somebody’s favourite steer with the horns allowed to grow for the lifetime of the animal.
“There are people who just like the look of them. They make great front pasture cattle,” he said.
A more interesting market for Stewart has been supplying German customers with Longhorns. He has shipped about 100 by air freight in crates nine by seven feet. It takes 20 hours from his ranch at Ponoka to Frankfurt.
“People dream of living the western lifestyle,” he said.
The cattle are registered with the International Texas Longhorn Association.
