Hollister brother and sister take top honors at Santa Cruz
County Fair
Martin Pulido, 15, and his sister Isabella Pulido, 12, pulled
off a rare feat two weeks ago at the Santa Cruz County Fair when
Martin won grand champion for his steer and Isabella took the
second-place slot by winning grand champion reserve.
Hollister brother and sister take top honors at Santa Cruz County Fair
Martin Pulido, 15, and his sister Isabella Pulido, 12, pulled off a rare feat two weeks ago at the Santa Cruz County Fair when Martin won grand champion for his steer and Isabella took the second-place slot by winning grand champion reserve.
Martin competed in the FFA category while Isabella competed in the 4-H group. When they both won their categories, they came into competition against each other for the overall champion award.
“Martin has worked six years raising the steers and he has never had an award that’s the overall (award,)” said their mother Jeannette Pulido. “That’s the top of the line winning at the county level. For him to even accomplish that at the county level was a big accomplishment.”
Jeannette said that he had come close two years ago when he won reserve grand champion in Monterey. Martin also won the “bred and fed” category at the Santa Cruz fair this year. Isabella has been raising steers for three years, and it was also her first big win. Jeanette said Isabella helped her brother with his animals, until she turned 9, the age when Ausaymas 4-H members are allowed to work on livestock projects.
“This is her first major award,” Jeannette said.
The animals the two showed at the Santa Cruz fair were purchased from local breeders, including Jim Prewitt in Gilroy and from Susan Modic and Jackson Schwabacher, who run Santa Anita Ranch in Hollister.
The siblings will both be showing animals at the San Benito County Fair this week, and they moved their bred steers to the fairgrounds on Tuesday for weigh in. Jeannette explained that though the two have purchased some animals and raised them from calves, this year they bred heifers in hopes of having a calf they could raise for steers.
“They’ve been working on this project for quite some time,” Jeannette said. “They bred their own heifers and that they would actually drop a bull is a 50-50 chance. The chance of them both dropping a bull was unusual.”
Martin and Isabella bred the only two heifers they owned and each had a bull. Isabella is also showing lambs at the San Benito fair. The kids pick how many livestock projects they want to do a year and how many fairs they want to enter. The commitment to caring for the animals is a year-long endeavor.
“It’s every day, twice a day,” Jeannette said. “In the morning before they have to go to school, they have to feed them and sometimes groom them depending on the time of year. In the afternoon they have a feeding time and possibly groom them, and they exercise them every day.”
For a purchased calf, the students have to work with the animals for eight to 10 months. For a bred calf, the commitment is a year.
Martin and Isabella keep their animals at their great-grandmothers ranch in North County. Their father Mark helps them with the projects to make sure they are safely handling the animals.
“He’s the one that drives them out there every day and helps with the animals,” Jeannette said. “He makes sure he is around to see them work with them.”
Jeannette said it is the first year that a lot of San Benito kids bred and raised their own steers, because of the economy and how expensive it is to purchase an animal.
“A lot are taking their own animals they bred to alleviate the cost of buying an animal,” Jeannette said. “There will be a lot of competition in the bred and fed categories.”
She said her kids are excited to show their animals at the San Benito fair because they have a chance to share it with their friends and classmates who attend.
“They get to show what they do when they are not in school and doing sports,” she said. “They get the glory of showing their animals. It’s kind of more of a family fair and they are comfortable being there every day. They look forward to this fair the most. It’s our local fair.”
Martin and Isabella will use the money they earn by selling their animals for upcoming projects for the fair circuit in 2012.
San Benito County Fair
Friday, Sept. 30 is Kids’ Day, during which children 12 and under can attend the fair for free. Oct. 1 is Senior and Armed Forces Day, during which seniors 60 and over are charged $4 for admission and armed forces members with a military identification can get in free.
Gates are open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. The carnival runs noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Friday’s featured event is the mud drags in the pavilion at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the gate. Saturday’s main events are the junior livestock auction at 10 a.m. and the truck pulls at 4 p.m. Fiesta Mexicana begins at 2 p.m. Sunday.
For more information about the fair, including a full schedule of events and admission information, visit www.sanbenitocountyfair.com.
