Then “from eighth grade on, I started showing steers and heifers,” said Parker, now 24, who has returned to the fair as a volunteer.

“Work ethic is one of the things that children gain from this. That and responsibility,” Parker said. “And the time you get to spend with your family is great.”

It’s not unusual to see moms, dads and kids at the Bell County Expo Center, home of the fair, walking and preparing the animals around the docking station.

Parker is in charge of organizing competitors and their beasts as they arrive. As trailers pull up they are told where to unload their animals.

The show is a culmination of lots of hard work.

While most kids are grabbing their last hour or two of shut-eye before school, these kids are up brushing, washing and drying their beasts. Sometimes their days start at 5 a.m, Parker said.

His upbringing encouraged the football player and Tarleton State University graduate to return to Belton to raise his own family. His memories of growing up in the area are cherished.

“Often, after football training, I would be down at the barn till 8 o’clock,” he said. His wife Holly and 7-month-old son, Cash, now live in Belton close to his parents. “I am a family man. I work at my father’s lumberyard in Killeen. I work alongside my father,” he said proudly.

Parker appreciates everything the fair has done for him. “I can’t believe the friends you meet,” he said, “I am still friends with people that I met from completely different towns. They can live one or two hours away and I am still friends with them. They were in my wedding,”

“If I have to give advice,” Parker said, “I would want to say ‘work hard and give 100 percent.’ We all do. But I want to say, ‘never waste a moment.’ The people you meet, the things you do … you never know when it may come back and help you later in life.”

Faith Arnold, 10, of Salado is showing her pregnant black heifer, Raven, for the second year in a row. “My dad got me interested,” Faith said. “I work twice a week with her, teaching her to walk on a halter,” Faith said.

Faith got Raven when she was a 6-month-old calf, her father, James Arnold, 33, of Salado said.

“In the first three months, it took a lot of time getting her halter-broken and leading and going. Once you get them going you just have to feed them every day and work them twice a week,” Arnold said.

“You can only show them two years in a row,” Faith said. “That is why I want Raven to have a girl.” Faith’s intentions are to keep showing and breeding her cattle.

One thing that stands out among these kids is their impeccable manners. Rarely is an answer given without a ‘ma’am’ or ‘sir’ finishing the reply, and always a thank-you.

“There are usually a couple of kids that still need to learn them, but when you spend so much time around your parents you have good manners,” Parker said.

“These kids are a lot different from a lot of kids that you see.”