Soule: Cattle and Children Make Magic at the Hopkinton Fair

Molly Potter and Rose DeFreitas were 11 and 12 the summer they showed up at the Miles Smith Farm Summer Camp in 2022. They met on day one. Each was handed a calf to train, and that's when it started — friendship with each other, and love of cattle.

Four years later, those two young women hauled two pairs of my steers to the Hopkinton Fair.

I've learned that training cattle is a lot easier than training teenagers. Molly and Rose wanted to learn — just not from me. So they picked better teachers: the calves.

All winter and into the spring, Molly and Rose drove to my farm to work their teams.

In cold and oppressive heat, I'd hear them out in the barnyard geeing (right turn) and hawing (left turn)

They'd listen politely to my training suggestions. Then they'd go back to their real instructors.

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Carole Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm in Loudon, N.H., where you can have an Ultimate Cow Experience and hug Highland Steer, Curious Bleu. Carole can be reached at carole@cow-coach.com.