By Mary Alice Murphy

Cursten Blanton, 13, was riding horses at the junior rodeo Wednesday as part of the Grant County Fair in Cliff.

"I was goat-tying," Cursten said. "When I got off my horse to tie up the goat, the horse stepped on the back of my boot, and I fell, with my arms out in front of me. Then my horse stepped on my left hand.

"Thursday morning, I showed two pigs and placed second and seventh," she continued. "My hand was swollen and hurting, so we went to check it out. I broke three bones in my hand that we know of so far. Friday, I came back to the fair and showed two lambs, which placed fifth and sixth. I also showed my friend, Imelda Martinez's two goats. Her goats got fourth and eighth. She asked me to show them, because I'm more used to showing."

Cursten has a soft cast on her hand and arm, stabilizing the hand, so it can't move much, but she wasn't going to let broken bones keep her from competing.

"Since I was in first grade, I've been showing animals at the fair," Cursten said. "I started with horses, because I've been riding horses since I was little. Then I started showing rabbits and then pigs. I'm working my way up."

She attends Calvary Christian Academy, where she is in 8th grade. "I do 4-H. I'm president of our club and the treasurer and reporter of the 4-H Council. I usually play softball, basketball and any other sports I can, too."

When asked what she plans to do when she grows up, she had a definite career in mind.

"I will become a veterinarian," Cursten said. "When I was little my grandfather owned a farm in Texas. I would help with the sheep, and later got to help with the heifers and steers. I've been figuring out how to help with injuries for a long time. A few years ago, my pig cut a leg badly on the fence. I washed the cut, and we took the pig to the vet. I got to help stitch up the large cut. It was fun, and it's what I want to do.

"I still have a lot more to do in a lot of years," Cursten said, as she went off to sit with a friend.