If that’s the boot, how big is the cowboy?

If one was to go after cancer with a boot, this may be the one to use.

McKinley Wilson of Wahoo and her grandmother, Kae Pavlik, a longtime board member for the Cattlemen’s Ball, brought a three-foot tall, hand painted boot to UNMC on Tuesday.

The boot and about 50 like it have been created for the 2010 Cattlemen’s Ball, which will be held June 4-5 in Kearney. The fiberglass boots were created in line with the ball’s theme: “Give Cancer the Boot.”

Ken Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center, checks out a three-foot decorative boot that will be on display at the 2010 Cattlemen’s Ball on June 4-5 in Kearney. The boot was painted by Dixie Campbell, right, of Omaha. She is joined by McKinley Wilson, center, an eighth grader in Wahoo, Neb., whose grandmother, Kae Pavlik, is a longtime board member for the Cattlemen’s Ball. Wilson is wearing a unique cowboy hat that will be auctioned off at the ball.

The boots will be displayed at the ball and attendees will vote on the best looking boots with the top three vote-getters then auctioned.

Proceeds from the ball, including those raised at the boot auction, will benefit research at the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center.

Tickets for the ball have sold out and about 4,000 people are expected to attend the event, which annually raises funds for cancer research and showcases beef as part of a healthy diet.