Daily Record photograph by Sarah Nader The Parker brothers — Quinten, 13, left; Ethan, 10; and Lincoln, 16, of Hiwasse will show dairy cattle at the Benton County Fair this year.
GRAVETTE - For Tammy Parker, watching her three boys - Ethan, Quinten and Lincoln - show their dairy cattle at the Benton County Fair is one of the highlights of the year.
"(Showing at the fair ) is something they enjoy, and I feel very blessed to be able to provide them with the opportunity to do something they really enjoy," Parker said.
As the fair approaches, she and her husband, Doug, will begin helping their sons prepare for the big day by loading all of the supplies their cattle will need for the week they will be at the Benton County Fairgrounds. Everything the Parkers do while the fair is in town will be done together.
"It makes it easy to have all three (boys ) involved. Everything is a family involvement, so that makes it nice, and when it is show time, we will all be together for all five days," Tammy said.
For Ethan, 10, the youngest of the three boys, the fair means he gets to spend a little more time with his friends from 4-H.
"My favorite thing about going to the fair is I get to meet some of my 4-H friends that are from other clubs, and it gets me away from school," Ethan said.
The fourth-grader will show three of his dairy cows - Karla, Cheesecake and Muffin - at the fair this year.
Karla, who is named after one of Ethan's favorite teachers, is, by far, Ethan's favorite of the three cows. He got Cheesecake when he traded one of his older cows and named her Cheesecake for a simple enough reason.
"Because we do not have a cow named Cheesecake yet," Ethan said. Muffin, a tan dairy cow, got her name because when she was a calf, she reminded Ethan of the tasty treat.
The thing Ethan is looking forward to the most about showing Cheesecake, Muffin and Karla is the possibility of beating his brothers.
"I hope I beat them. I really do. It will be good if I do," Ethan said.
Ethan's brother Quinten has a different idea about how the competition at the fair between him and his brothers will go.
When asked if he will be able to place better than his brothers, Quinten gave an assured and simple "yes," although one of Ethan's cows did edge out Quinten's at Dairy Days.
"I have been showing dairy cattle since I was 6 or 7," Quinten, 13, said. "My favorite thing about showing at the fair is just being around the people that know what they are doing and getting to watch, and being with all of my friends."
One of Quinten's cows, Glitter, who is also his favorite, has already won Supreme Champion twice and Grand Champion over all breeds since he has been showing her. Quinten hopes to repeat his success this year.
In addition to Glitter, Quinten will also show Glamour and Priss at this year's fair.
Even with the competition between the boys, Quinten said one of the best things about showing the cattle is knowing his parents and brothers are right there with him if he needs them.
"It is a little bit easier knowing that everyone is doing this with you and knowing that you are going to have help if you need it," Quinten said.
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