Hayla Howland, Kate Swain and Starlyn Schnitker, three West Texas A&M students, started a business called Firm Foundation Showmanship to mentor young show-ring exhibitors in the Panhandle.
The trio works with younger 4-H and FFA members, helping them build their skills with livestock. Their motto is "building champions from the ground up." This week on KFDA's All Things Ag, they called the work "so amazing for us."
The idea started when one founder spent her senior year as a teacher aide in an eighth-grade principles of agriculture classroom and in the barn. Two of her students won novice showmanship. She noticed something missing. "I saw the gap that we needed to fill of growing exhibitors' character and growing their integrity and growing their willingness to work," one founder said. "And I wanted to take that and combine that with the desire to win."
The pitch to kids and their families is blunt. "It doesn't matter how expensive your animal is. It doesn't matter how good your animal is. It's genuinely just how much practice you've put in," one founder said. The founders say "every kid can have the opportunity to win."
Common questions
Who started Firm Foundation Showmanship?
- Hayla Howland, Kate Swain and Starlyn Schnitker, three West Texas A&M students, started Firm Foundation Showmanship. The business mentors young show-ring exhibitors in the Panhandle. They described the work as "so amazing for us" this week on KFDA's All Things Ag. Their motto is "building champions from the ground up."
Who does Firm Foundation Showmanship work with?
- It works with younger 4-H and FFA members, helping them build their skills with livestock. The three West Texas A&M students mentor these young show-ring exhibitors in the Panhandle. One founder says the gap they saw was in growing exhibitors' character, integrity and willingness to work.
How did the idea for Firm Foundation Showmanship start?
- The idea started when one founder spent her senior year as a teacher aide in an eighth-grade principles of agriculture classroom and in the barn. Two of her students won novice showmanship. She noticed a gap in growing exhibitors' character, integrity and willingness to work.
