Photos Provided Last year’s longhorn show, held at the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Wooster, Ohio, showcased cattle from across the country.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Ohio River Valley Texas Longhorn Association will host its 26th Annual Longhorn Show from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at the Belmont County Fairgrounds.

The event is free and open to the public.

Over 120 cattle will be arriving at the fairgrounds from 30 different exhibiting ranches from across the country. According to the Belmont County Fairgrounds Facebook page, this will be the first time Texas longhorn cattle will set foot on the fairgrounds.

The two-day show brings breeders to exhibit their registered animals in Showmanship, Youth Haltered, Open Haltered, Loose shows and in the Buckeye Classic Futurity.

The youth show will take place at 9 a.m. on Friday, starting with the peewee and showmanship categories and ending with the youth haltered classes. Around 1 p.m. directly following the youth show, the Buckeye Classic Futurity will start with heifer classes and then move into bulls.

The halter show will start at 9 a.m. Saturday and is open to all ages. The non-haltered show will start at 1 p.m. and will feature loose heifers, cows and steers.

Several food trucks and concession stands including Kona Ice, Rhododendron Ice Cream, Slumdogs and West Street Coffee Bar will be at the event.

The event will also feature a silent auction, coloring contests, water balloon wars and barn walk-throughs.

Those who attend the event can also participate in a bingo game to win a registered Texas longhorn calf donated by Burris Cattle in Cambridge.

Samuel Faske, a bovine hoof specialist from Hoof’n It Solutions located in Burton, Texas, will be at the event to make sure that all of the cattle are groomed and show-ready.

ORVTLA will be bringing official judges who have been approved by the International Texas Longhorn Association. The judge selection committee has picked Keith Berkeley, doctor of veterinary medicine from Ranson, West Virginia, as the open show judge. Berkeley has been involved in raising, showing and judging Texas longhorns since 1994. He is a practicing veterinarian and a major producer of quality Texas longhorns. The halter show will be judged by former ITLA President Mike Tomey of Bedford, Indiana, one of the leading longhorn producers in the Midwest.

Qualifying animals will be invited to the 2023 ITLA Championship show on Oct. 5-7 in Duncan, Oklahoma.

Last year’s event was held at the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Wooster, Ohio.

The Ohio River Valley Texas Longhorn Association, founded in the fall of 1998, is a branch of the International Texas Longhorn Association based in Glen Rose, Texas. ORVTLA’s mission is to preserve and promote the Texas longhorn breed of cattle and to provide for fellowship among members. This may be done by sales, tours, field days, shows and other means.

For more information about the Texas longhorn show, visit orvtla.com, send an email to show@orvtla.com, call 740-680-5973 or visit the Ohio River Valley Texas Longhorn Association Facebook page.