The Gold Merit Award recognizes individual members of the Texas Longhorn Breeders of Tomorrow for outstanding achievement with respect to their project(s) and their promotion of the Texas Longhorn breed.

Each year at the National Show, the TLBT holds the Gold Merit Awards. Designed to recognize skills outside of the show ring, participants compete in record keeping and speech giving. A belt buckle is awarded to the winner in each age category.

Record books are kept for each participant’s animal of choice and must be turned in at check-in at the TLBT National Show. At that time, exhibitors sign up for the speech contest, held the following day. After calculation of the record book and speech, the winners are determined and announced at the TLBT Awards Banquet.