As reported in High Plains Journal, Bailey Ballou, from Elgin, Oklahoma, was comfortable from the start and his calm demeanor paid off big.
Ballou won the recent 2023 King of the Ring contest at Winter Livestock. Besides winning $15,000 for the King of Ring he was also voted the Col. Roger Emigh Champions Choice, which netted him $1,500.
Ballou, the 2012 World Livestock Auctioneer champion, sold cattle for many years at Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City, but is now with Superior Livestock, Fort Worth, Texas. He has sold cattle on several occasions at Winter Livestock but this was the first time he had competed in the King of the Ring.
He literally was a last-minute entrant. Longtime friend Robert Fisher Jr., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who was being inducted into the Cattle Marketing Hall of Fame, had asked Ballou if he could attend the ceremony. Ballou thought the contest might be something he should try as an added experience.
“Even though I’ve never been to the King of the Ring contest it was something I always wanted to do” he said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
His key to success was his relaxed style and with a plan to treat it like a regular sale. During the first round he was told that some of the sound was not as clear as a result of a loose wire and organizers asked him to hold the microphone a little closer. Ballou was told he sounded good on the internet broadcast and that eased any fears that he might be behind the other seven competitors.
In the past a problem like that might have bothered him, but Ballou’s thought was that he was there to honor Fisher first.
“It felt very much like a regular sale and I was very comfortable,” as he noted the quality of cattle and how the event was organized. “The Winter family made it easy for me to do the job.”
Like his fellow competitors his task was to focus bringing top dollar for the cattle and to serve customers. It was a busy day as the eight auctioneers sold 6,000 head of cattle.
Ballou said the icing on the cake was winning the Col. Roger Emigh Champions Choice—meaning he got the rare “double-double.”
“Roger was a friend of mine and I always admired how he wanted to have a contest to bring the best auctioneers to the Winter sale ring. Roger always believed in giving back,” Ballou said. “When it was announced it really got to me and I choked up as I thought about Roger.”
Besides his $16,500 in winnings Balou also received two belt buckles.
Ballou said it capped a memorable weekend. When he told his mom that he was coming to Dodge City to honor Fisher and that he was thinking about entering the King of the Ring contest, she wanted to give him more incentive.
“My mom wanted to research it and see what prize money was available and then she was going to tell me,” he said, then quipped. “I told her not to. She never told me. If she had told me that might have made me nervous.”
Reserve champion was Sixto Paiz, Portales, New Mexico. Paiz earned $5,000 and received a belt buckle. The second runner-up was Kenneth Wilcox, West Fork, Arkansas, who pocketed $4,000 for his work. Other competitors were Neil Bouray, Webber, Kansas; Dakota Davis, Waukomis, Oklahoma; Philip Gilstrap, Pendleton, South Carolina, Jay Romine, Mt. Washington, Kentucky; and Barrett Simon, El Dorado, Kansas.
Judges for the contest were Mike Cantrell, Greg Foote, Joe Frazier, Clay Myers, Russele Sleep and Corbitt Wall. Master of ceremonies was Dustin Focht, a 2013 LMA world champion auctioneer.
In addition to Fisher, those inducted into the Cattle Marketing Hall of Fame this past weekend were Jack Hunter, Jackie Moore, Gerald “Beef” Palmer, and “Cowboy Jack” Steinmetz.
