Local youth wins prestigious national livestock judging contest

            MONONA -- A rural Monona youth has set herself apart as one of the top young livestock judges in the country.

            Macie Weigand, the daughter of Adam and Lisa Weigand and a member of the Monona Junior Feeders 4-H Club, won top individual livestock judging honors at the Western National Roundup in Denver, Colo. Jan. 12.

            The 18-year-old said her personal goal for the contest was to place in the top 20 and that she had never dreamed of placing first.

            “I worked extremely hard day in and day out on livestock judging, but to win a contest like that’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she said.

            “There are some really elite kids that come to this contest,” she said. “My goal for the day was to stay super focused and just not second-guess myself and place every class the way I thought of.”

            Ninety-eight youth from 24 states completed in the contest, which was held at the National Western Stock Show Complex and Coliseum. Contestants judged goats, sheep, swine and beef. They also gave reasons on six classes. All told they judged five different classes of cattle, three classes of swine and two classes each of sheep and goats.

For more of this story see the Jan. 23 Outlook.