How now, brown cow?

There I am in all my glory! I won't tell you which lovely lady I might be, but you can probably figure it out for yourself. When I was in third grade, I was enrolled in 4-H (Mercer county, Ohio). I LOVED taking projects and crafting and cooking, all that stuff. My second year in, I begged and begged to take a cow to the fair. I really wanted to show a pretty dairy heifer and spend time with my friends.
Now, for those of you who have experienced the dairy heifer dilemma, you understand how much hard work is involved. The first step is to pick out your animal. For me, it was easy. I had my eyes set on a pretty little intermediate who I quickly named Diamond. The next step is to break the animal. This doesn't mean causing physical harm, it just means to train her so that she can be led and does so without agitation, anger, and most importantly, without hurting you or anyone else around you.  All of the before mentioned must be done while showcasing the animal's dairy-ness. For the most part, Diamond was very well behaved. We tied her up in the barn and gave her the softest bedding possible with straw and sawdust. It was my job to clean up after her after each and every pee and poop, make sure she always had fresh water available, keep her well fed, brush her, keep her clean, and ensure she got enough exercise.
When it came time to bring Diamond to the fair for the show, we loaded her up into the trailer with the neighbor's fair cows and we were off! Now, you may ask, what are people learning about? I will tell you, I learned lots! I had to learn the names of each of the most well known breeds, body parts, how to properly feed and care for animals, and I learned the beginning traits of good animal husbandry.  For my intense studying skills, I was given the award of best first year dairy project (that means I was a know-it-all). 
My heifer, Diamond, didn't fair as well. The animals on my dad's farm are not bred for their breed characteristics anymore, but rather to make sure they are able to birth easily and get enough to eat. Typically Holsteins are large, bony, and sometimes delicate creatures with long, narrow muzzles (white and black or white and red/roan in color). The ladies on my dad's farm are short and stocky with wide muzzles to help them to eat lots of yummy pasture grass.  At the fair, each cow is compared to others her age and the best looking one will win an award. My heifer was well behaved, but not what the judges were looking for.
There is something very special about participating in the fair. It may not matter to anyone else but the participants, but that little bit matters more than anyone can imagine.