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Steamboat Springs — A hammering rain eased just in time for 4-H members to hop into a corral next to four British white cross heifers Wednesday afternoon.

The Routt County livestock judging team appraised muscle, structure and volume as part of practice for this weekend's contest in Fruita. Eight youths took a look at the animals on Larry Belton's ranch in North Routt County. They started with four of the heifers, ranking them best to worst. Afterward, they defended their choices to coaches Rod Olinger and Rod Wille.

Morgan Hatfield told Olinger about her picks, discussing femininity, chest structure and stride. Hatfield, 17, is one of the team's top judges. She won a recent competition, and it was clear why. She ran through her reasoning thoroughly and smoothly.

Larry Belton observed as Hatfield judged his cattle.

"Do you agree with her?" Olinger asked.

"I don't have a clue," Belton said.

Olinger laughed. "Did she sound good?" he asked.

"She sounded great," Belton said.

During competition, livestock judges are given sets of cattle, pigs, sheep and sometimes goats to analyze. The main focus is muscle, or meat, Wille said.

Explaining the reasons for rankings has gotten easier with practice, Hatfield said. But loads of knowledge can make ranking the animals tougher.

"It actually gets harder to place because you start overanalyzing," she said.

Abbey Horn, 14, agreed that some things become clearer with time.

"I've been judging for six years, and the only thing that really gets easier is reasons," she said.

The team competes in Fruita and Nebraska before the state contest at the end of the month. If they win state, they get to compete in nationals in Louisville, Ky. Wille said Hatfield could end up on the all-state team. She must place in the top 10 at three competitions, and she's already done so at two. So has another member, Catharine Koroulis. The team placed third at state last year.

For the younger judges, outlining the reasons for the rankings can be a challenge.

Tell Belton, 10, said remembering terms and reasons was tough. But he's glad to have the practice as a livestock judge "to help with the herd - make the herd better."

Tell, after removing his cap, explained the reasons for his rankings to Olinger.

"I placed one over two because she had structure, she was deep-ribbed and she had volume," he said.

Olinger and Wille listened to the 4-H'ers' comments and provided feedback. The judging team practices for a couple of hours the week before a competition and then stops on the way to competition for another practice, Wille said.

Not only do the judges learn how to tell good livestock from not-so-good livestock, they also gain confidence, Olinger said.

"It takes a lot of guts for these little rascals to stand up, but they'll never be afraid to speak in public," he said.