The Cowboy Who Out-Judged the College Experts
A herdsman’s personal gamble on a prize-winning steer proves that instinct outshines institutional caution in the competitive world of livestock breeding.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The State College of Washington's judging team won at the Western Royal at Spokane in November. The team included Cecil Compou of Walla Walla county, Leonard LeGrant of Spokane county, Warren T. Love of Whitman county, G. O. Baker of Asotin county, and Frank Rupert of Yakima county. The college steer, Topsman’s Type, won honors at the Pacific International, but when college authorities were hesitant to send the steer to the Chicago International, herdsman Richard Hanna decided to take the animal as a personal venture. Hanna’s confidence was rewarded when the steer was awarded first place in the college steer competition and second in the class open to the world. Mr. Hanna graciously gave the college the credit for the victory.
“Hanna knew that steer, and Hanna is a judge hard to beat.”
This story highlights the tension between institutional bureaucratic caution and individual expertise—a dynamic still very familiar in modern university administration and research circles. The legacy of the State College of Washington (now WSU) in animal husbandry continues to shape the economy of the Inland Empire.
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