Ryan Borer of Buchanan and his team recently placed third overall at the National 4-H Skillathon Contest at the North American Livestock Exposition (NAILE) in Louisville, Ky.
The Virginia Skillathon Contest is essentially the state stockmen’s contest, which is a comprehensive test of livestock knowledge including identification classes of meats, feeds, equipment, and breeds; evaluation classes of meats, hay, sheep, swine, and beef; a knowledge-based quiz; and an applied team problem.
Borer was born in Indiana, but his family moved to Buchanan a couple of years later. He graduated from James River High School in 2021. He is currently attending Hutchinson Community College in Kansas on a full-ride scholarship for the Hutchinson CC’s livestock judging team.
He began his 4-H career in Botetourt at the age of 9. Borer started working with pigs and sheep, which developed his love of showing pigs and sheep at livestock shows. He then started working with Angus cattle.
“Along with (judging) cattle, I met some people that helped me out a lot with judging and judging in the Skillathon, which is the contest that I just competed in,” Borer said in a recent interview. “They helped me out with everything and got (Borer and others who wanted to judge livestock) comfortable where we grew a local project at the county fair into showing cattle and pigs across the country.”
When preparing for a Skillathon, judges that meet the junior or senior division requirements practice for two hours every week. Borer mentioned that his teammates in Buchanan practiced every day for a week and a half.
Borer is appreciative of his time in 4-H.
“(4-H helped me) develop people skills—communication skills and team-building skills—and gives you a lot of future connections,” Borer said. “It’s taught me how to grow up and take responsibility. There are so many things you can do within 4-H. Just find something you love and keep building on it. It’ll come back to reward you at some point in your life.”
After Borer finishes up at Hutchinson CC, he plans to attend Texas A&M to become a livestock chiropractor. Down the road, Borer hopes to continue his involvement with 4-H helping the youth coming up in the program to achieve similar goals Borer set for himself.
“Ryan has had an incredible 4-H career through his involvement with the livestock program on a local, state, and national level,” 4-H Extension Agent Tyler Painter said recently. “Ryan has grown and matured through the years and has become a remarkable showman and very knowledgeable, as is evident with his recent successes with the state Skillathon Contest.
“Ryan has been a member of the Botetourt 4-H Livestock Club and has been a great role model for our younger club members. We are excited for the successes that Ryan will continue to have and are proud of all of his accomplishments.”
For more information about 4-H’s Livestock Club, visit https://botetourt.ext.vt.edu/programs.html.
