OKLAHOMA CITY, Oct. 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hundreds of breeders and collectors of Texas Longhorn cattle will gather this weekend at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, to find out who owns bragging rights to the cow and bull with the longest horns in the world. Longhorn aficionados will also have an opportunity to purchase new breeding stock at the October 26 auction.
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For the first time, the Longhorn World Championship is being held in conjunction with the ITLA Convention & Championship Show in a combined event called the Longhorn Extravaganza. The fifth annual Longhorn World Championship celebrates the accomplishments of a broad range of breeding programs, recognizes outstanding individual achievements and gives attendees the opportunity to acquire some of the best Longhorn cattle in the country. Hosted by the Texas Longhorn Marketing Alliance (TLMA) and the International Texas Longhorn Association (ITLA), the Longhorn Extravaganza runs October 26-27.
"This weekend, hundreds of Texas Longhorn breeders and their beloved cattle from across the nation will gather in Oklahoma City," said Wes Chancey, CEO of the TLMA. "Our goal is to bring Longhorn breeders together on a regular basis to make the industry ever bigger and more vibrant. This year, we expect to see records shattered in the cow and young bull categories for horn length, a testament to the outstanding breeding programs we're seeing for Longhorn cattle."
Texas Longhorn cattle with the longest tip-to-tip length are highly regarded by breeders and collectors. While some Texas Longhorns sell for under $1,000, registered animals with the widest horn spans—those approaching 70 to 80 inches or more—can sell for tens of thousands of dollars, and a few have sold for over $100,000. For example, at the Texas Longhorn Legacy Sale in March 2008, three-year-old SDR Candy Cane sold for $170,000 to become the highest selling Longhorn cow in modern history.
Cattle will complete in three different horn measurement categories: Tip-to-Tip, Total Horn and Complete Horn. Last year, Shadow Jubilee took top honors in the Female Tip-to-Tip competition with a measurement of 88 inches, and Respect Me won the Bull Tip-to-Tip honors with a measurement of 85-3/8 inches. The grand prize is the coveted "2012 Ultimate Longhorn World Champion," which will be awarded to the top bull and top cow as selected by a vote of peers.
Horn measurements on bulls will be taken from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm on October 26. Heifers and cows will be measured from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm on October 27. The cattle auction begins at 6:00 pm on October 26. The public is invited to attend these events at no charge.
More information is located at www.thelonghornalliance.com or by calling 1-512-556-0300.
More about Texas Longhorn Cattle
The first cattle introduced to the New World by Spaniards in 1493, Longhorns are the only breed of cattle to evolve without human management. They freely roamed West Texas for hundreds of years until American settlers discovered them in the 1830s. From 1866 until 1900, enterprising cowboys rounded up an estimated 10 million head of Longhorn cattle and drove them up the Chisholm Trail to railheads in Abilene and Dodge City. Because English breeds of cattle have fattier beef and Longhorn meat is leaner, the breed was largely ignored as a meat source by the early 1900s.
By the 1920s, the Texas Longhorn breed was nearly depleted. The United States Forest Service is credited with saving it by relocating a small herd of breeding stock to a refuge in Oklahoma. A few years later, people like J. Frank Dobie and others began gathering Longhorns in Texas state parks to preserve the breed and its place in Texas history. Today, there are over 250,000 registered Texas Longhorns in North America and other continents and thousands of Texas Longhorn breeders in the U.S., including actors Matthew McConaughey and Janine Turner, General Tommy Franks (Ret.) and Texas entrepreneur and philanthropist Red McCombs. The best Texas Longhorn cattle sell for tens of thousands of dollars, with a few selling for over $100,000, including a bull that was syndicated for $1 million. A more detailed history of the breed is located on the TLMA website.
About TLMA
The Texas Longhorn Marketing Alliance was established in 2007 to promote the dignity and integrity of Texas Longhorn cattle breed and to serve as voluntary stewards of the Longhorn legacy. Headquartered in Lampasas, Texas, TLMA's growing membership is comprised of thousands of dedicated Texas Longhorn breeders. The organization produces and sponsors several sales events each year. More information about TLMA is located at www.thelonghornalliance.com.
