5-year-old has his heifer under control

Question: Other than anywhere she darn well pleases, where does a 1,200-pound heifer stand?

Answer: Wherever 47-pound Colton Sherrill leads her.

That’s what the folks in Raleigh learned in October when 5-year-old Colton and his family’s 1,200-pound heifer, Pikachu, captured a grand champion award at the N.C. State Fair.

The pair competed in the Junior Santa Gertrudis class, a competition designed to give children between the ages of 5 and 18 the opportunity to show their favorite cattle. The grand champion award is the most prestigious presented at the fair.

Colton, a kindergarten student at Mount Ulla Elementary School, was given the task of leading Pikachu around the show arena, then getting the beast to pose in its show stance.

Colton took pains to make sure Pikachu looked just right, going as far as getting the heifer’s feet set just so.

Once that was accomplished, the beast was compared against the other cattle entered in the competition.

Colton and Pikachu won a preliminary class, then the finals.

“He was the smallest, so we were kind of surprised that he won,” said Colton’s mother, April. “But he just loves working with the cows.”

Colton has been around the big creatures just about all his life.

The Sherrills live in Mount Ulla, on the farm where Colton’s father, Carlyle, was raised. The family has about 35 head of cattle they raise on about 75 acres of land.

Colton’s father said his son helps feed the cattle just about every day. The boy, he said, has been showing cattle at various competitions across the Southeast for more than a year.

In Raleigh, Colton and Pikachu first competed against the other cows, and their handlers, in their class. After that, they competed against eight other class champions.

“He showed an interest in all the cattle, but he really took up with this heifer,” Carlyle Sherrill said. The 2-year-old cow is still not fully grown.

“He can catch her all by himself.”

Carlyle Sherrill said the Santa Gertrudis breed of cattle was developed in the United States in the early 1900s. He said it’s one of about nine breeds of cattle that’s judged at the state fair every year.

Judges are looking for particular qualities when they judge the cows. Santa Gertrudis entries are judged on their body types, bone structures, the size of their rumps as well as the femininity of their heads, said Carlyle Sherrill.

Colton is respectful of, but unintimidated by, the cattle he helps care for, his father said.

“One time, he got butted in the head,” Carlyle Sherrill said. “He watches his step around them now.”

Colton received a ribbon and a pewter plate for winning the state fair competition. His dad noted that Colton’s 16-year-old brother, Scott, has been competing in such competitions all his life and has yet to receive a grand champion award.

“He’s getting a head start,” Carlyle said of Colton.

Contact Steve Huffman at 704-797-4247 or shuffman@salisburypost.com .