The heat of a Wisconsin summer was no match for 10-year-old Jaxen Birk and his young Hereford, Tootsie. The Gridley fifth-grader stepped into the show ring at the VitaFerm Junior National Hereford Expo in July and walked out a national champion.
Birk, who attends Burlington schools, is the son of Ashton and Brandon Birk and the great-grandson of Iolan Beverly Franklin. He was named the 2026 peewee showmanship national champion during the July 4-10 event in Madison, Wisconsin. Competing against 96 contestants in the peewee division, Birk earned the top honor during his first trip to the Junior National Hereford Expo.
The national competition drew 629 exhibitors across four age divisions, making Birk’s accomplishment particularly meaningful for the young livestock exhibitor who has been showing cattle for only three years.
For Birk, however, the championship came down to knowing his animal, practicing and presenting her with confidence.
“You walk into the ring and try to show your calf to the best of your ability,” Birk explained.
THAT CALF is Tootsie, a young Hereford heifer Birk has been working with since December. She was born the previous January, making her nearly a year old when the Birk family purchased her at the Kansas Beef Expo in Hutchinson.
Her name has a family connection. Her father was named High Roller and her mother was named Candy, leading to the name Tootsie.
The pair had not been together particularly long before heading to Wisconsin, but Birk had already put considerable time into preparing both himself and Tootsie for the national competition.
“I washed her and practiced showmanship a lot,” he said.
That preparation was not simply about getting Tootsie clean for the ring. Washing also helps train the hair so it becomes fluffy and ready for presentation. In the days leading up to the competition, the family washed Tootsie about 10 times over a six-day period.
She is fed twice a day, and Birk works with her several times each week. He estimated that he spends a few hours working with her about twice a week, while practicing showmanship roughly three times a week. His mother, Ashton Birk, said that schedule can sometimes increase to nearly daily attention when Tootsie needs additional work.
SHOWMANSHIP is different from simply having a well-bred or well-presented animal. It’s actually just as much about the exhibitor as it is the animal. The judge is evaluating the exhibitor’s ability to control and present the animal.
Birk explained that exhibitors must position the animal correctly, including placing its feet in the proper locations and positioning themselves according to where the judge is standing. Eye contact and confidence are also important.
“You have to make sure you have it set up right,” Birk said. “They like the feet in a certain spot. And then you’re supposed to kind of stand in specific places based on where the judge is.”
He offered some simple advice to other young exhibitors hoping to compete at that level. “Have confidence, make eye contact and practice,” he said.
Those qualities were put to the test in Wisconsin. The trip itself was one of the more difficult parts of the experience. The Birk family drove approximately nine hours to Madison and stayed for all six days of the event, which ran July 4 through July 10.
