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One amazing kid
By MARIE DAVILA
Cassidy James Hayes is more than just an ordinary teenager.
The Calhoun High School senior is no longer involved in sports at school. He is, however, incredibly busy. Cassidy has been involved with showing animals through 4-H for ten years. He started out showing a pig at the Calhoun County Fair when he was just eight-years-old.
From showing animals, he created a growing business for himself that has proven very productive. At 13, Cassidy’s father asked him what he would like for his birthday. Cassidy’s answer: two bred sows to start his own show pig production business. Over the past three to four years, Cassidy’s business has grown to a 25-sow herd that allows him to sell pigs nationwide. His initial goal was to fund college.
His herd has won shows in Matagorda, Jackson, Calhoun and Willacy counties. He has also had several class winners in many major shows, including San Antonio, Houston and Fort Worth. With these sows, he has gained the opportunity to show nationally, including Louisville, KY.
But for Cassidy, and all the others involved in 4-H clubs, the organization is much more than showing animals. “4-H gives you self-confidence and the ability to lead others to success, not only yourself,” said Cassidy. “[These clubs] open the door to fellow youth and older people that are intelligent and have a lot to teach—you just need to be willing to listen.”
Cassidy is very involved in the local community, being a member of 4-H, where he is currently the president of the Calhoun County Council; Future Farmers of America, where he is the vice-president; and a member of the local leadership advisory board. The local leadership advisory board is a board of mostly adults that oversee happenings throughout the community.
Over his lifetime of being involved in these clubs, Cassidy has won countless titles, awards, belt buckles, trophies, jackets, shirts and much more. Last year, he even earned the opportunity to be one of a select few who were representatives for congress. This opportunity, which only occurs once every two years, allowed these members to assume the rolls of Texas congress for two days. Throughout these two days, they learned the process of bills and were able to search through the bills that were up for election.
When asked what he took away from this opportunity, he knew the answer instantly. “I learned what I'd like to do—law and politics. I got to meet some of the smartest people from around the state.” This opportunity opened the door to a new path in life for Cassidy.
Cassidy aspires to pursue a degree in Agricultural Communications, with which he wants to write for agricultural magazines. When finished, he hopes to either work towards his PhD in veterinary medicine or attend law school. In the end, he hopes to become the Secretary of Agriculture for Texas.
Cassidy is also involved in livestock judging. He is the member of a four-person team, comprised of himself, his sister Everleigh, Matthew Pfeifer and Holly Behrens. Livestock judging is where a team evaluates animals and places them within their category. Whether or not they place them right is not a top priority. What matters is the reasoning behind their decision.
Members develop valuable public speaking skills through explaining their logic on why each animal should be ranked where they are. In livestock judging, Cassidy has been named high individual twice this year and has been ranked third, twice. This year, the team has judged seven times.
“It’s a challenge. It takes a lot of logic. You have to think about what’s most important about that particular class and notice the animals’ strengths.” Cassidy makes a good point a little later. “Reasoning, a skill you develop through livestock judging, is no different than high school debate. It’s about placing a good argument on what you think is right.”
The team leaves at the end of March for a three-day trip to judge animals at Texas Tech University, West Texas A&M University and Clarendon College. According to Cassidy and his mother Paula, these judging shows are comparable to sports games—it’s where colleges go to scout for persons that could be an asset to their school.
Through these shows, Cassidy has obtained three offers for full-rides to college. Right now, he’s at a standstill between attending Blinn College in Brenham or Coffeyville Community College in Kansas.
He says his greatest accomplishment was earning recognition for the Supreme Champion Gilt in 2005 (a gilt is a female pig before it’s been bred). “I couldn’t have done any of this without my family. We’re gone every weekend from mid-November to mid-January for shows.”
Cassidy Hayes has proved himself to be more than an ordinary teenager.
The Calhoun High School senior is no longer involved in sports at school. He is, however, incredibly busy. Cassidy has been involved with showing animals through 4-H for ten years. He started out showing a pig at the Calhoun County Fair when he was just eight-years-old.
From showing animals, he created a growing business for himself that has proven very productive. At 13, Cassidy’s father asked him what he would like for his birthday. Cassidy’s answer: two bred sows to start his own show pig production business. Over the past three to four years, Cassidy’s business has grown to a 25-sow herd that allows him to sell pigs nationwide. His initial goal was to fund college.
His herd has won shows in Matagorda, Jackson, Calhoun and Willacy counties. He has also had several class winners in many major shows, including San Antonio, Houston and Fort Worth. With these sows, he has gained the opportunity to show nationally, including Louisville, KY.
But for Cassidy, and all the others involved in 4-H clubs, the organization is much more than showing animals. “4-H gives you self-confidence and the ability to lead others to success, not only yourself,” said Cassidy. “[These clubs] open the door to fellow youth and older people that are intelligent and have a lot to teach—you just need to be willing to listen.”
Cassidy is very involved in the local community, being a member of 4-H, where he is currently the president of the Calhoun County Council; Future Farmers of America, where he is the vice-president; and a member of the local leadership advisory board. The local leadership advisory board is a board of mostly adults that oversee happenings throughout the community.
Over his lifetime of being involved in these clubs, Cassidy has won countless titles, awards, belt buckles, trophies, jackets, shirts and much more. Last year, he even earned the opportunity to be one of a select few who were representatives for congress. This opportunity, which only occurs once every two years, allowed these members to assume the rolls of Texas congress for two days. Throughout these two days, they learned the process of bills and were able to search through the bills that were up for election.
When asked what he took away from this opportunity, he knew the answer instantly. “I learned what I'd like to do—law and politics. I got to meet some of the smartest people from around the state.” This opportunity opened the door to a new path in life for Cassidy.
Cassidy aspires to pursue a degree in Agricultural Communications, with which he wants to write for agricultural magazines. When finished, he hopes to either work towards his PhD in veterinary medicine or attend law school. In the end, he hopes to become the Secretary of Agriculture for Texas.
Cassidy is also involved in livestock judging. He is the member of a four-person team, comprised of himself, his sister Everleigh, Matthew Pfeifer and Holly Behrens. Livestock judging is where a team evaluates animals and places them within their category. Whether or not they place them right is not a top priority. What matters is the reasoning behind their decision.
Members develop valuable public speaking skills through explaining their logic on why each animal should be ranked where they are. In livestock judging, Cassidy has been named high individual twice this year and has been ranked third, twice. This year, the team has judged seven times.
“It’s a challenge. It takes a lot of logic. You have to think about what’s most important about that particular class and notice the animals’ strengths.” Cassidy makes a good point a little later. “Reasoning, a skill you develop through livestock judging, is no different than high school debate. It’s about placing a good argument on what you think is right.”
The team leaves at the end of March for a three-day trip to judge animals at Texas Tech University, West Texas A&M University and Clarendon College. According to Cassidy and his mother Paula, these judging shows are comparable to sports games—it’s where colleges go to scout for persons that could be an asset to their school.
Through these shows, Cassidy has obtained three offers for full-rides to college. Right now, he’s at a standstill between attending Blinn College in Brenham or Coffeyville Community College in Kansas.
He says his greatest accomplishment was earning recognition for the Supreme Champion Gilt in 2005 (a gilt is a female pig before it’s been bred). “I couldn’t have done any of this without my family. We’re gone every weekend from mid-November to mid-January for shows.”
Cassidy Hayes has proved himself to be more than an ordinary teenager.
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