10 SCHOLARSHIP WINNER SPOTLIGHT REAGAN ELLISON There’s no denying that the FWSSR calf scrambles held during each rodeo performance are thrilling to watch, but underneath the dirt and grime that fills every crevice of the scramblers’ clothes is the serious business of winning a purchase certificate for a heifer to be shown the following year and the potential of taking home up to $16,000 in scholarship money. Since the program’s inception, more than $4.5 million has been awarded to more than 1,700 students with $440,000 awarded in 2024 alone. Never one to get a little dirt in the way of progress, Reagan Ellison, who now makes her home in College Station, Texas, found her way to the rodeo floor for the calf scramble as a Johnson County 4-H’er in 2017 where she joined 15 other aspiring 4-H and FFA students hoping to be one of the 8 who would catch. “I had shown pigs my whole life and had never really dealt with cattle besides the cow-calf operation my family has,” said Ellison. “This was going to be my first time putting a halter on an animal. I was so nervous, I called a few people I knew who had either participated in the calf scramble or had worked it as a volunteer and I put together my strategy. I went over my strategy in my head as I was walking out in the arena, and as soon as the hat dropped, I didn’t move. That was the strategy.” The tactic worked as Ellison waited for the other scramblers to push the cattle back to her and she snagged a calf as it tried to slip past. While haltering the calf turned out to be a challenge, soon she was dragging the animal to the square. “I was the second person in the square and the first girl able to bring her calf in, and I had barely even gotten dirty!” she said. During 23 rodeo performances, the 230 youth who catch calves are awarded certificates valued at $500. Certificate proceeds are used to help purchase a beef or dairy heifer that participants care for and prepare for exhibition at the Stock Show the following year. The Calf Scramble’s greatest impact may be a youth’s college education. Those who complete the Calf Scramble program may be eligible for scholarships based on the quality and content of monthly reports submitted to Calf Scramble sponsors, the effort devoted to caring for and exhibiting their heifer and their final essay outlining their Calf Scramble experience. For Ellison, the catch garnered her not only the $500 purchase certificate but a $5,000 scholarship was also earned for her work in raising the heifer and reporting on her progress throughout the year. Ellison’s lifelong relationship with the Show goes far beyond the calf scramble, however. She says the Show always been a family affair, from watching her grandfather Gene Jernigan, an FWSSR director and honorary vice president, ride in the Stock Show parade to going to “Bulls Night Out” for 17 consecutive years for her mom, Cara’s, birthday in January. “My grandpa Gene has served as a beef cattle superintendent for 57 years and worked at the FWSSR Sale of Champions as a ringman for 43 years until he stepped down in 2023,” Ellison said, noting that she is now making her own memories. “From as far back as I can remember, my mom has been a buyer with the Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate and would buy a champion barrow or a steer at the Sale of Champions. From the time I was four, she would take me back to the staging area where we would talk to the kids and their families before they entered the sale ring every year. These experiences got me so excited for the day I would finally be able to show livestock because I got to listen to the older kids’ stories with their animals.” Reagan Ellison captured a calf in 2017 to earn a $500 purchase certificate and eventually a $5,000 scholarship from the calf scramble. James Phifer photo 10 Reagan’s early influences came from her grandfather, long-time beef superintendent and Honorary Vice President Gene Jernigan. Photo courtsey Reagan Ellison
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