The Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America (TLBAA) is a North American organization of ranchers who participate in the breeding and husbandry of Texas longhorn cattle. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, the organization was founded in 1964 to serve as a registry for the longhorn breed. It has grown into a promotional organization for the longhorn breed, to "protect the unique heritage of the Texas Longhorn, to preserve the purity of the breed, and to promote Texas Longhorns as a distinct breed while encouraging its future through promotion, education and research." As part of its efforts, the organization sponsors competitions among Texas Longhorn breeders in the United States and Canada, including a World Show each June in Fort Worth. Since its founding in 1964, its membership has grown from 12 to over 5,000. The organization also publishes a quarterly trade journal for breeders called Texas Longhorn Trails.
Past presidents of the organization include John T. Baker of Liberty Hill, Texas, owner of the Sunrise Ranch. Baker, who currently serves as a judge for TLBAA competitions, supplied the last two Bevos (XIII and XIV) to the University of Texas at Austin.
TLBAA competitions are generally identical in format, although
the length depends greatly on the size of the competition, with
the World Show being spread out over three full days. The competitions
are divided into two categories, haltered and non-haltered.
Bulls compete only the halter show, whereas heifers compete in
both haltered and non-haltered competitions. Each category is
divided into classes by age, starting calves and going up to three
years of age. There are sometimeghjkugs "mature" classes
for animals older than three years. Winners in each age class
then compete against each other, divided first by junior and senior
classes, where junior and senior grand champion and reserve grand
champions are awarded. These winners then move on to the overall
competition, where an overall champion and reserve grand champion
are awarded. On some occasions, there are also steer competitions,
although these are usually much less formal then the bull and
heifer competitions. At the larger shows, there are sometimes
"get of sire" and "produce of dam" competitions,
in which progeny of bulls and heifers, respectively, are judged
in groups of threes. The larger shows also feature "youth
shows", which usually take place before the halter and non-halter
shows.
