On Tour ~ The Show Circuit

One of the great SBL promotional tactics was to tour Parisien to the various shows where his impressive size and unique appearance were guaranteed to attract attention. Don Jensen, SBL’s first employee and a man whom Travers greatly admired for his expertise and dedication, was Parisien’s chief handler. Don, a fine cattlemen in his own right, logged tens of thousands of miles with Parisien. With all the travelling required, Don sacrificed much in the cause of Simmental and the SBL men were immensely grateful for his loyalty and dedication.

The premier showing in the U.S. took place in December 1969, when Don and Parisien travelled to the 1st Annual International Cattlemen’s Expo in Las Vegas. In January 1970 they continued on to the Arizona National Show in Phoenix; and the National Western Show in Denver. (ref: BBB:Nov1969:3; WLJ:Jan.1970:68; CU:Dec.1969) The circuit took them also to Dallas, Fort Worth and many other places. The most convincing part of the Simmental story was told by Parisien himself. Fenton Webster recalled:

That first year, in Denver [at the National Western Show], there were hundreds of people going by the main pathways. Hereford and Angus breeders would go by in a big group. You could spot them coming by their badges and hat bands. They’d laugh and poke fun, but later they’d come back, one by one, to have a closer look and ask questions. Travers could really get that job done, because he was about as converted a Hereford man as you could find anywhere.¹

As the enthusiasm for Simmental spread, it was not long before Parisien found himself being transported via freight elevators up to the top floors of grand hotels where he would be escorted into packed ballrooms of cattlemen—to be gazed upon by the admiring and awestruck dinner guests. It was the beginning of an incredible golden age in the cattle industry.

The Phoenix Gazette of January 1970 reported on this first tour as follows:

NEW BREED FOR U.S.Simmentals To Be Seen At Livestock Show Here
When they tell you there's something new at the Arizona National Livestock Show Jan. 5-11 … you’d better believe it.
It’s a brand-new breed for U.S. shows … the Simmental.
Harold Watson, a director of the Simmental Breeders of Cardston, Alberta, Canada, was the first arrival for the 1970 show yesterday at the fairground.
He brought along three head of pure-bred stock and two cross-bred heifers. …

At year’s end (1970), they were again at the International Cattlemen’s Expo in Las Vegas, and in January 1971, they continued on to other shows and events such as the ASA 3rd Annual Convention in Denver where Parisien was a star attraction. By February they were at the Fort Worth Stock Show, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, and the Houston Show. Travers’ second son travelled some on that circuit and received page 2-F coverage in the San Antonio News of Friday, February 19, 1971. The report claimed that 5-year-old Parisien had netted SBL some $1,200,000.00 in semen sales since he was purchased in France in 1967 [1966].

Don and Parisien were on the road again in the summer of 1971. From Travers’ Daytimer, we read that on August 25, 1971, Parisien cleared the border on his way to Colorado.

Although Parisien got much of the press, other SBL bulls, like Gallant, Granit and Mars, as well as some females, were also taken on some of the show circuits, usually accompanied by Don Jensen. A listing of the SBL Show Circuit for 1971 shows that between August and November, bulls were shown at major fairs in Montana, Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming.

From two interviews with Fenton Webster and Don Jensen, respectively (reported and written by Ted Pritchett), we read:

Parisien became the most travelled and talked about bull in the cattle industry. “It was remarkable how well he travelled—he seemed to enjoy it.” … / “Don and I [Fenton Webster] were in Kansas City and a local TV station had us on for a half-hour show. That went out to over 35,000 people in the immediate area and we had an old fellow come down to the barn on crutches. He’d been in hospital and seen the show and got his doctor talked into letting him out so he could come down to the barn. He said he just had to see that bull!” (BTY’77:84)

… Everywhere he went, Parisien was the talk of the barn and attracted huge crowds. It was an exciting time in the cattle business. / “He enjoyed it. It didn’t matter how many times a day you got him up, old Parisien would look his best for the people and never batted an eye. After 10 days at a show, he’d sense when you were packing up to leave and he’d get restless. I [Don Jensen] remember once when we were packing, we had the trailer close by so we just let him go and he walked over to the trailer, went up the ramp, and walked in all by himself.” (SC:Aug’87:44)

In a small publication celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Simmental in Canada, entitled, Simmental Breeders: 1992 Special Feature (Simmental Digest 1992), Gaylene Groeneveld wrote:

Jensen recalls on one occasion, he had the bull [Parisien] at the Denver Stock Show and took him outside the building to show him off a little. The crowd that gathered for that two-hour period never stopped flashing their cameras. The response was unreal. (p. 20)

From Ted Pritchett:

Don [Jensen] admits other bulls could have done what Parisien had done, but feels there has not been another bull to do it overall so well. / “Fortunately for all of us, he was good in all the important traits for getting a new breed off the ground. He was an impressive bull that liked to be on display and we received excellent press coverage everywhere we went. At three years, he was 2,500 pounds and that was about 500 pounds bigger than anything else and you didn’t have to be an expert to see he was something special. Just the size and eye appeal endeared him to a lot of people. Then after that, he was an easy calver that dispelled the notion you couldn’t get a Simmental calf out of a commercial cow.” (SC:Aug1987:48)

The SBL “Fullblood Cow, Bred Heifer Dispersal and Bull Sale” catalogue of April 21, 1981 gives a brief history of the pioneers of SBL and makes these references to those travellin’ days:

The late Travers Smith, President of S.B.L., was the “Daddy” of the Simmental breed in North America. … / Don [Jensen] and Travers traveled thousand of miles convincing cattlemen of the merits of Simmental. Parisien himself traveled over 100,000 miles, Don reckons, attending all major State fairs in the U.S. Travers would stand in front of the display for 18 hours straight until his ankles were like stove pipes explaining the advantage of Simmental to anyone who would stop even for an instant. He would then invite anyone showing sincere interest to his room to see slides that were taken in Europe of Simmental cattle and halfblood calves at the ranch at Cardston. / Travers was dedicated to the expansion and betterment of the breed across North America. The greatest evidence of this was his determination that everyone should have the opportunity to use the best Simmental bulls. (IBC)

There were others also, besides Don & Travers, who did some touring and promotion at the shows and meetings: chiefly, Fenton Webster, Harold Watson, and sometimes Dale Lynch.