The roar of the crowd is deafening as she leads her lamb around the pen. The judge’s unwary glance and furious scribbling on a notepad make her more nervous than ever before. This is stock show.

Freshman Autumn Kirchner is involved with the Gillespie County Stock Show. She works hard to attend the county’s stock shows every year with her trained lambs.

“I have been in stock show every year since I was five,” Kirchner said. “Stock show has taught me how to work hard and has taught me some valuable lessons.”

Kirchner shows Dorper lambs that her family raises. She tried to show other animals, but nothing has captured her heart like the Dorpers.

“I have tried pigs and chickens,” Kirchner said. “I didn’t like those, so I have stuck with lambs.”

Kirchner hopes to show heifers, specifically Broman, one day after she is finished with showing lambs.

“I have always wanted to show Broman,” Kirchner said. “It is usually a grayish brownish color cow with a hump on its back, and it has really long ears.”

As soon as Kirchner picks her lamb to show, she jumps right into working with the lamb to create a connection with the animal and making sure it knows who is the boss.

“I would halter the lamb and walk it around every day,” Kirchner said. “If I don’t work with the lamb, then it will not respect me or know who I am.”

Kirchner doesn’t just see her lambs as an object to be shown at stock show but as an animal that she bonds with.

“They are very stubborn animals,” Kirchner said. “It is kind of hard to get attached to them, but I have had a couple of animals I have bonded with.”

People donate money to Kirchner and her family, so they can continue with their winning in the county or possibly state.

“Usually every year I get first or second,” Kirchner said. “I always go in competition for Grand or Reserve.”

Kirchner has gone to stock show out of the county’s stock show, but she would rather say at the small stock show in Fredericksburg.

“I have gone to San Antonio and Kerrville,” Kirchner said. “It is really big and takes a lot of work and a lot processes and there are sometimes where I would wait in line with my lamb for forever.”

Kirchner has enjoyed working and showing her lamb around the county. She has decided continue showing through the rest of her years in high school.

“I will continue to show until I graduate,” Kirchner said.  “It will be sad when I stop showing, and I will miss it.”