MOSES LAKE - The sounds of sheep, cows and pigs filled the air Friday afternoon as students prepared to show their animals.

Tara Tellefson held her lamb's leg as she clipped back the skin around the animal's hoof. The 4-H member was preparing to show the animal for the market competition at the North Central Junior Livestock Show at the Grant County Fairgrounds.

"I have to show him at 1 p.m.," she said. "For market it's more about how the animal looks. Then after that we have fitting and showing, and I have to get him all cleaned and get his ears cleaned and stuff."

Tellefson was one of between 120 to 150 children showing animals during the junior livestock show.

"We started this show in 1996, because we felt there should be a livestock show for kids from north central Washington," said Lisa Barth, one of board members for the show. "Since that time, we have grown. We have kids from all over Washington and we also, occasionally, have some out of state kids."

Gage Salter traveled from Finley to show his steer, Raccoon, at the show. He named the animal Raccoon for the dark rings it had around its eyes when it was young. He was combing the animal as he prepared to show it. It was his first year raising the animal.

"My sister did it two years before me," he said. "Then my (younger) sister did it, so I figured I would do it."

The steer is about a year old, and he planned to take it to the Benton Franklin County Fair later in the year to show it again, he said.

"We feed him grain and corn mix and alfalfa," he said. "I have to walk him around."

In the Ken Ardell Pavilion, groups of children waited with lambs and cattle as competitors showed their animals in the rings. The swine were led in and out through a fenced walkway. Kelsey Kasparek was one of the six competitors in the sheep competition ring as her lamb was awarded the grand championship for the division.

The FFA member started raising the lamb in December. The high school sophomore started showing sheep in sixth grade, she said.

"I like the animal," she said. "I've always been short so I'm afraid of steer, and pigs, I've never really liked," she said. "I like pigs. I just don't like showing them ... I used to do eight lambs a year - four in the spring, four in the fall - but this year I'm only do seven."

 Saturday featured livestock and meats judging, Barth said. The judging is one of the largest in the state. Following the judging an auction was held for people prepared to sell their animals, she said. The attendees were about evenly split between 4-H members and FFA members.

"The board is just grateful to have this show available, and have this many kids here exhibiting this many quality animals," she said. "It's really gratifying to see."