From Calf to Show Ring
Makayla Comer is a junior at Catoctin High School and a member of the Future Farmers of America (FFA). She is serving as the 2025-2026 Thurmont & Emmitsburg Community Show Ambassador and currently serves as Social Media Coordinator. In this monthly series, Comer will take readers behind the scenes of what it takes to raise both market and breeding cattle, sharing her journey as she prepares to show at the Carroll County Fair and the Thurmont & Emmitsburg Community Show in 2026. Comer and her family own and operate a cattle farm in Rocky Ridge, Maryland. Readers are invited to follow along as she shares the dedication, responsibility, and hard work involved in raising cattle.
For my 2026 market and breeding projects, all animals were born and bred on my farm. The steer I plan to take to the Thurmont & Emmitsburg Community Show in September is a Maintainer named Fort Worth. Forth Worth was born on March 25, 2025, and was the last calf born on my farm in 2025. I also plan to bring two heifers to the community show. My Maintainer heifer, Montana, and my Shorthorn Plus heifer, Daytona. We finally had our last calves born on April 26. They were both healthy heifers, and we are officially done with calving season.
On May 9, I brought Fort Worth and Montana to the Jefferson County Spring Classic in West Virginia. I used Fort Worth for showmanship and ended up winning Reserve Champion Senior Showman.
Then there was the heifer show. Montana was placed in the Shorthorn Plus division and won Reserve Champion Shorthorn Plus. Fort Worth ended up third in his class. I am very proud of those two.
On May 14, we had the Catoctin FFA Banquet. We had over 205 members and guests attend! During that banquet, we announced the achievements of the members and the places they will go. At the end of the banquet, I was announced as Chapter Reporter. I am so thankful for Mrs. Poff, who has helped me throughout the years and has pushed me to keep trying and doing my best, not just in the show ring but outside.
Last month, I talked about what the judges are looking for, especially in showmanship.
Well, this month, I want to talk about what it’s like to be in the show ring. Not just me, but many other showmen across the states get nervous before walking into the ring. There are different ways everyone deals with those nervous butterflies. One way that I do it is to just keep myself busy by either watching the show or focusing on getting my animals ready. But once I walk into that ring, I calm down and act like everything is fine. In showmanship, when the judge is selecting his top showmen, it gets a little nerve-racking. But once you get placed or you are in the top drive, you will be stressed out, but look completely fine on the outside. There are many emotions inside and outside of the ring. The first time I won my showmanship class at my county fair, I came out crying tears of joy because I had finally reached my goal of placing first in my showmanship class. All of the people who believed in me outside of the ring were so excited that I had won.
To anyone who feels defeated anytime they go into the ring, I want you to know that it took years for me to get to where I am today, and I want you to never give up and to keep pushing yourself. You will reach the goal you set and achieve it if you never give up.
