"He has a nice butt," says Bowie High School junior Brittany Barnett. And she's not talking about her boyfriend, she's talking about her hog.

It is certainly not as glamorous as riding a white horse through a full arena carrying the American flag, or as thrilling as hearing that eight-second buzzer as you watch a cowboy hold on to a 3,000 pound spinning, bucking bull. But if you want to know what the Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo is really all about, you have to make a trip to the barn.

That's where you'll find the kids. As young as three, as old as graduating high school seniors, all competing to win the heart and mind of one single judge. No it's not a beauty contest (well, in fact it sort of is), it's a livestock show, and the kids aren't out there for fun (getting up 3:00 a.m.... in January... in Amarillo... to feed your hog... will never be considered fun), they're out there trying to earn a college education.

Here is where you'll meet Brittany, a junior at Austin's Bowie High School. This is her third year showing barrows (a.k.a. a neutered male hog). Two years ago, she won Best of Breed in the Travis County Youth show, and she's feeling pretty confident today. "He has a nice butt," she says without a hint of humor. "It's bigger than you usually see." She's still not laughing. "I'd like his stomach to be a little bigger, but he walks really well. His shoulders have really good width." Now you start to understand.

She named her hog Lefford after a friend, the boy who took her to prom last year and died six months ago in a car wreck. Anyone can see this is important to her, and she's dedicated a significant portion of her high school life to this pursuit of hog excellence.

But why a hog? Why not, well, rabbits? "I can't picture myself doing rabbits. They're too cute for me. I go for the bigger animals that don't wear a halter or chain or live in a cage. They're more challenging."

The Livestock Show is where all of this Fair and Rodeo stuff started way back in the early 1900s. Then it was often called The Fat Stock Show, no rodeo, no carnival, it's always been about the kids. And once you've met the kids and felt the emotion of the competition, you know this is where the heart of the event and the core of Texas agricultural heritage still lives.

These kids live in this barn, often sleeping next to their animals — then primping, brushing, spraying and bathing them, getting them ready for competition.

And the animals give back. They help the kids get a college education. Winning this livestock show can mean big money. The Grand Champion Steer sold at auction last year for $60,000. His owner took home $25,000. (That's the auction cap for the Grand Champion Steer. The rest of the money assures all Champions get a minimum price at auction.) The Grand Champion Roasters (a.k.a. chickens) boast a payout cap of $4,000 at auction. That's serious college money. Last year Rodeo Austin handed out over $800,000 in auction proceeds to the kids.

"He's easy to work with," says 11-year-old Kaleigh Meador of Bushland, Texas of her hog Pappa Smurf. (Bushland is just outside Amarillo.) Pappa Smurf gets two baths... every day. "He's a baby," says Kaleigh.

"This isn't about the animals," explains Joe Behrens, the Steer Show Superintendent. "Great judges are great about handling the kids. We use these animals to produce great kids. They build character and teach kids to make good life choices."

Steer judge Chris Mullinix is a great kid handler. Mullinix hails form Eldorado, Kansas. He's been around cattle since he was nine. "This is one of the top six or eight shows in the country," he says. He should know, he'll look at over 400 head of steers in two days, eventually choosing Rodeo Austin's Grand Champion on Thursday at noon in an event to be held just outside the gates of the State Capitol.

"There are great young people here. There's a lot of pressure for these kids, and it's tough, but these are great people."

Back in the early part of the last century, they called these shows The Fat Stock Shows. The idea, gleaned by Austin's Chamber of Commerce 75 years ago, was to encourage ranchers to feed and raise their cattle (and other animals) locally rather than send them out of county, or even out of state for feed and slaughter.

So in 1940 the Chamber sponsored the first Austin Livestock show. A judge selected The Grand Champion Steer that year on the corner of 11th Street and Congress Avenue, just outside the gates of the Capitol. That's why the Grand Champion selection moves back there this year, for the 75th anniversary of the show.

Kaleigh Meador showed five-month-old Pappa Smurf in the morning. Kaleigh is 11, but she's a veteran of these shows. She's been in the arena with a hog for eight years. Yes, she started moving these huge animals around when she was three.

Her Dad, Jared, is feeling pretty good about this animal even if he looks pretty nervous sitting in the stands. No need to worry, Kaleigh and Pappa Smurf won their class and advanced on to the Best of Breed competition. "It's his completeness," Kaleigh says. "His shoulders are good and he's got a big butt."

She didn't laugh either.