-
While onlookers hold their breath, judges measure the tip-to-tip length of on “Sweet Maxi.” The Burnet cow recently etched her name into the Guinness Book of World Records during a contest in Corsicana. Elizabeth Fritz/Contributed photo
Evidently, size matters much in Texas when it comes to judging cattle. One might say, the longer the horns on a Texas bull or cow, the better.
“As a breeder of Texas Longhorns, the question I am asked the most is, ‘How wide are those horns?’” Elizabeth Fritz says.
Fritz manages Fritz Longhorns in Corsicana, where she breeds Texas Longhorns.
And, she is a member of the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America.
Each year, the association’s membership holds a horn measuring contest to give their breeders an opportunity to see how their herds compare to other cattle in the industry.
Fritz says, the judges measure cattle horns according to three categories:
• Tip-to-tip, which measures the straight-line distance from one horn tip to the other tip.
• Total horn, which follows the length of the entire horn set.
• Twist, which follows the twist in horns from one tip to the other tip.
Earlier this month, the annual contest was conducted in person in Wichita Falls, also by satellite in Corsicana, Fritz recalls. During the contest in Corsicana, Guinness Book of World Records officials found one Burnet cow that deserved recognition for a new world record.
The majestic animal took the official Guinness World Record measurement for “Longest Horn Spread on a Cow Living,” Fritz says.
The Guinness award went to Sweet Maxi, owned by Kali and Mike Smith of the Cold Copper Cattle Company near Burnet.
“Her official world-breaking tip-totip measurement was 111.875 inches, well over 9 feet,” Fritz says.
Long exclamation point!
“Sweet Maxi is only 6 years old, and she is expected to live and grow for years to come,” says Fritz. Originally from Kansas, the Smiths moved 15 years ago to the Texas Hill Country.
Only two years ago, the couple purchased their first longhorn from the Texoma Classic Longhorn sale, according to the Cold Cattle Company Web site. “We wanted to start with the best out there and as luck would have it, we found some,” Mike Smith says.
