02/11/2026
Jennie Goza Kerlick
🐮 The Empty Show Halter
The empty show halter hangs quietly now.
It may not hold a calf anymore, but it carries the weight of a year’s worth of lessons. Early mornings before the sun rose. Late nights when exhaustion set in. The hours of brushing, walking, feeding, and simply standing in the barn — learning patience one day at a time.
It represents love and compassion — learning to care for something that depends on you completely. It represents frustration — when progress was slow, when tempers were tested, when things didn’t go as planned. And it represents grit and resilience — choosing to show up anyway, to work harder, to try again tomorrow.
But more than anything, the animal taught lessons no book ever could.
It taught responsibility — because no matter how busy life got, that calf still needed to be fed.
It taught patience — because growth can’t be rushed.
It taught humility — because some days you win, and some days you learn.
It taught perseverance — because success is built in the quiet, unseen hours.
And it taught heart — how to lead with gentleness, consistency, and trust.
The banners will eventually fade, and the barn will grow quiet, but the character built during this journey will last far longer than any show season.
The halter may be empty —
but the hands that held it are stronger because of it.
