She’s only 12 years old, but Lou Lou Thompson already has more awards under her belt than most people could ever imagine.
She started amassing honors as a 3-year-old, when she won the Pike County Champion Showman Award with her goat. The following year, she started showing miniature Hereford cattle and won the county showmanship award again.
“She's super competitive and she works really hard to be good at what she does,” says Lou Lou’s mother, Ammie Thompson. “She's won the county show the last four years, and then she won the Alabama Supreme Breeding Heifer Award in 2022 with a Hereford heifer.”
Lou Lou took her winning streak national in last July. Competing against more than 200 other kids, who had brought nearly 2,000 Hereford cattle to the VitaFerm Junior National Hereford Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, Lulu earned sixth place.
“It was like all my hard work just paid off at that moment,” Lou Lou says. “All the years that I have worked for it just paid off. I was about to cry because I was so happy that I won.”
“It was probably one of the biggest moments in her life,” Ammie adds. “She’s won a lot, and her cows have won a lot, but to win at that level is a huge accomplishment.”
With so much success this early, the sky’s the limit for Lou Lou. She gratefully credits support from her parents, Ammie and Derrick, who have a wealth of experience with cattle themselves.
A Winning Pedigree
Cattle industry observers quickly learn it takes more than hard work on the part of the handlers to win. Cattle genetics and a caring approach for the animal also make a tremendous difference. Luckily for Lou Lou, not only do her cows have good genetics, showing cattle is in her genes, too.
“I had a neighbor who showed cattle,” Ammie says. “When I was 8 years old, my dad sold him a calf, and I started showing cattle because I loved being there on the farm.”
Learning tips and tricks from Ammie, a previous champion herself, and Derrick, a fifth-generation cattle farmer, helped Lou Lou to build a connection with her own animals.
“She and her heifer had a real big bond,” Ammie says. “When she first started showing the heifer it was a little wild. Lou Lou actually got disqualified from one show because the heifer got loose from her three times. It wasn’t always a pretty process, but as they worked it out, they really bonded and learned from each other.”
Creating the bond means Lou Lou puts in in long days on her parents’ 300- acre farm, Thompson Cattle Company, in Pike County.
Most people aren’t exposed to cattle anywhere else, so it’s a good way to teach people about beef and cattle.” – Ammie Thompson
“We start every morning at 5:30 a.m., and we pull cows in the barn to start feeding them,” Ammie says. “When Lou Lou gets home from school, we pull them out and we have big blow dryers to blow their hair out, and then walk and exercise them. Then she pulls them into a wash rack, combs their hair, blows it back out and by then it's time to feed them again. When it’s about 8:30 p.m., we turn them out to the field. It makes for some very long days.”
While the days are long, the Thompson family, which also includes 13-year-old Asa, gladly accepts the challenge as a way to share their calling with others.
“We just love cattle,” Ammie says. “We take care of the animals. They’re pampered and babied, so showing cattle is a good way to promote something we love and educate the public. Most people aren’t exposed to cattle anywhere else, so it’s a good way to teach people about beef and cattle.”
On the Road, Preparing For The Future
As if the attention to detail required to raise cattle wasn’t already enough, showing cattle requires plenty of dedication to travel as well.
The Thompson family is regularly on the road for local, state and national shows, including destinations like Louisville, Oklahoma City and Kansas City, as well as longer drives to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, or Madison, Wisconsin, which are both 14-plus hours in the car.
“We’ll usually come in early to get the cattle settled and give them time to adjust,” Ammie says. “We have a trailer with living quarters in it and that’s made life easier than staying in hotels because it’s better to be right there with your cattle. The competitions and events at the shows are nonstop.”
Even though the miles are long, the family bonding, education and the Thompson’s shared passion for cattle make it all worth it. Ask Lou Lou what she likes best about showing cattle, she’ll likely be grinning ear to ear as she thinks about her answer.
"I like that you can understand them, and understand what they like,” Lou Lou says smiling. “Then, after a while, they understand you and you bond with the cattle.”
The bonds Lou Lou has created with her animals have helped her earn more than $25,000 in college scholarships, and she’s not ready to stop any time soon.
"I want to work even harder and try to win some more,” she says Lou Lou. “I want to raise cows, and sell them, and I want to be a teacher.”
She’s well on her way to making it happen — and she’s got the talent to do it, too. “On the weekend, she might be working with the cattle for five or six hours straight,” Ammie says. “She’s also got real talent with cattle. I suppose it’s like a sports player, some people can work super hard their whole life, but they still don't have that raw talent to help them.”
Equipped with talent, a love for animals and the genes of a champion, Lou Lou is ready for whatever comes next.
“We got our children into cattle for their futures,” Ammie says. “They’ve each already got a good herd going that they’ll always be able to build on.”