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2B Daily News – Thursday, September 22, 2011 CLASS Continued from page 1B junior and senior will get $40 in cash and prizes. "This was our home- town fair so even though it's 2,000 miles away we wanted to do something to honor my dad," Groscup said. "My dad was a strong believer in 'teach the children, don't just give it to them.' This is a chance for them to have fun, learn something and laugh and relax." The winners will get their name on a plaque that will go in the fair office and a picture of themselves with their pro- ject in a special frame. One of the prizes is a steer roping dummy with the logo for the class burned into it, she said. "The whole point is to promote the industry and education," Groscup said. "I've been all over the U.S. and I've never seen a class like this." While there is no entry fee, participants must be registered this morning. The class is supported by donations and sponsor- ships along with T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts and hats sold. Any participant being helped by an outsider will be immediately disquali- fied, Groscup said. Judg- ing will be Thursday with presentation of awards about 7 p.m. on Friday. For more information or to donate to the class, call Groscup at (918) 961- 1805. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews. com. FARE Continued from page 1B events going on each day. The first will be the Slow Foods Dinner for $20 at 6:30 p.m. today, with the wine tastings in the wine garden that start at 4 p.m. and go to 10 p.m. daily, taking place simul- taneously. The exception is Sunday when wine tast- ing is 4-8 p.m. Cost for wine tasting is $2 for a two ounce taste. The dinner is being sponsored by Crain Wal- nuts, one of several local CATTLE Continued from page 1B ures. On rare occasions, people have gone to extreme lengths to win. In 1994, eight people at the Ohio State Fair were caught drugging steers with clen- buterol, which makes animals put on muscle, and injecting vegetable oil between their skin and mus- cle tissue to give them a smoother look. Such tales dismay Vietheer and Hansen. Cheats, they say, taint the reputation of this close-knit club, where rivals share paper towels when a contestant takes an ill-timed potty break. "If you can't do your job with clippers and prod- uct, you don't deserve to be here," Hansen said as he combed the hair on Chumlee's neck. This year's state fair in Sacramento, where Friesian horses dance and vendors hawk maple- bacon sundaes, is the men's latest stop in their annu- al tour of half a dozen summer festivals and farm shows in California and elsewhere in the West. . That circuit is growing smaller. California's slug- gish economy and consolidation in the livestock industry have caused some stock shows to close and purses to shrink. In Sacramento, the supreme cham- pion bull will walk away with an award buckle and a $1,000 prize, about the same as cattle kings did a decade earlier. Only the contest entry fees and price of straw bedding for Chumlee have grown. Turning a one-ton bull into a barnyard pin-up is a Hansen family tradition. Hansen's father, Mel, spent a lifetime as a ranch manager in California, fitting cattle and winning enough shows to paper his dining room walls with victory banners. He used methods ranchers have relied on for generations: To smooth out a cowlick, brush the hair up, then forward. To condition hair, massage on bay rum after-shave and flower oils. He handed down this knowledge to his only son, Darrell. The boy had steady hands and a sharp eye. Like his father, he could spot a single hair out of place from 20 paces. But the younger Hansen grew tired of the long days and the occasional kick from a four-legged diva. In junior high he put down his clippers, though he still attended shows. Fairs were fun. His friends were there. Then, in 1991, he offered to help a classmate — he thought she was cute — groom her Holstein at the Healdsburg County Fair. On show day, the judges objected. They knew him and his father from the show circuit. "They said he was too good, practically a pro, so he couldn't help her. He didn't like that, nope, not one bit," recalled Mel, now 70. "They kicked him out of the fair. Me too. After that, there was no stop- ping Darrell." He joined the stock circuit out of high school. Vietheer, the son of a milk-truck driver, grew up in Petaluma and joined 4-H, raising his first Here- ford cow when he turned 9. He loved the quiet and letting his mind wander during hours of brushing products being featured in the market. The company is a first-time participant, said Crain CFO Michael Wallace. "We weren't aware of it last year, but I think the idea is definitely a positive one," Wallace said. "I like that they're arranging it to add to the event. Eventual- ly, they'll be showcasing all of what Tehama Coun- ty offers." Tehama County's eco- nomic backbone is in agri- culture so it makes sense to expose people to what is available locally, Wal- lace said. "We're very much looking forward to partici- pating in it this year," Wal- lace said. "It will be fun to mingle with others in our industry." The marketplace will be a part of Education Day today, and there is a sec- tion on the history of wal- nuts and their health bene- fits sponsored by Ander- sen and Son and Haleakala, Eidman said. "We are going to have an amazing event thanks to them," Eidman said. "Really to all of our spon- sors. None of this could have happened without his charge. The boy became a man. People on the show cir- cuit started calling him Big Jim because his lanky 6-foot-5 frame towered over the biggest bulls and his hands could palm a watermelon. The Vietheers and the Hansens met at fairs and farm shows and became friendly. "Big Jim" started working for Mel as a ranch hand. He was there when Darrell was born, and watched over him in the barn when Darrell was a toddler. Big Jim also worked the stock show circuit as a hired hand, lugging his metal chest packed with a hair dryer and hair-conditioning treatments. Eventually, Mel, Big Jim and Darrell went into business together. In 1993, they bought their first heifer. Now, they run a herd of 75 animals at the HAVE Angus Cattle Ranch in Wilton, Calif., a farming town 17 miles southeast of Sacramento. But money was tight. The men kept their jobs off the ranch. Big Jim, who recently retired from work- ing in Sacramento's department of transportation, now sells livestock equipment. Darrell sells animal feed. The summer sun was glaring when Hansen and Vietheer arrived at the California State Fair's live- stock show barn around 7 on a weekday morning. The barn was packed and smelled of hay and baby-powder-scented shampoo. Clouds of hair spray wafted over the 645 beef cattle lounging on thick beds of straw. Near the dirt show ring, the partners' 10 Black Angus stars waited in a line of portable stalls. Ice Princess chewed her cud. Miss Emma yawned. Chumlee eyed the heifers. The two men have high hopes for the bull, which they own with another rancher. Officially, the ani- mal's name is HAVE Midland 107 H049, but who can holler all that across a field? Chumlee — named after a particularly beefy character in a reality TV show about a pawn shop _ won the title of supreme champion bull here last year. Hansen's wife wore the award buckle on her zebra-print belt on this show day as a good-luck charm. It sparkled as she shoveled Chumlee's stall. In the world of livestock, and particularly during show season, Chumlee lives the good life. During the hot summer days, Chumlee and the other show cattle rest inside the HAVE ranch's barns, which are lined with fans. The animals are bathed several times a week. Cattle hair is thinner in summer, so the animals are brushed daily to encour- age the hair to grow. More hair allows cattle fitters to hide tiny imperfections. Does the head seem small? Cut back the hair on the ears to make it look bigger. Is one shoulder a few millimeters higher than the other? Let the hair stand up higher on the shorter side. Vietheer glanced at a thermometer hanging on a nearby pole. It was 95 degrees in the shade. Sweat matted Vietheer's thinning hair. Hansen's blue plaid shirt stuck to his back. "It's gonna be a long day," Vietheer told Hansen. "Yup," replied Hansen, as he picked up the clip- pers and walked over to Chumlee's tail. The tail can make the difference between a win and a loss. A meticulously groomed tail extends the lines of a bull's body, making him look strong and sleek. Hansen sprayed the top of Chumlee's tail with an industrial-strength hair spray and combed the hair straight up. He then moved his clippers along the animal's rump, inch by inch, to catch strays and clip frizz. Then, Hansen sprayed the tail's bottom tip and smoothed the hair into a ball. The coiffed pendulum highlights the animal's symmetry, a key feature for a champion. It took Hansen 20 minutes to make the tail per- fect. He stood up and stepped away from the bull. Vietheer studied the animal one last time. Hooves buffed? Check. Coat shiny? Check. Tail 331 Oak Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080 (530) 526-4545 tasteoftehama.com 15% - 75% off excludes Oakley & Ray-Ban 15% off all prescription sunglasses 910 Main Street, Suite C, Red Bluff (530) 527-2510 1-800-481-LENS (5367) gummsoptical.com 1/2 OFF EVERYTHING This Week Only! Except lunch menu $5.00 Cozy Diner fluffed? Neck smooth? Check. The two men bumped fists. Vietheer gave the bull a final squirt of hair oil. Hansen tightened his grip on Chumlee's leather lead and walked the bull into the show ring. Rolling Hills and the Tehama District Fair and their commitment to agri- culture." On Saturday, Lucero Olive Oil is sponsoring an olive oil tasting at 6 p.m. and at 4 p.m. Sunday, Fair- board Director Ray Bianchi of Bianchi Orchards will be present- ing a walnut tasting and pairing event. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews. com. Burgers 11AM-6PM week of fair except Monster or Prime Rib Bugers 10% off for all 4-H & FFA members Try our new Salad Bar 259 S. Main St. Red Bluff 528-8777 OPEN: 7 days a week 5:30 am - 9 pm