one thing you could change

[AAOK]

when a judge gets to the Simmental division and says all these great things about class winners and cattle and then constantly says "sure wish i could clean the front end up" or not clean fronted enough",  i mean if you are selected to judge a show it means you have some sort of knowledge of cattle and the business so wouldn't you know that simmis are not super cool fronted or trim necked....
JWW

Sorry, but I would be just like the Judge you mentioned.  It's real hard for me to find the overall femininity in a trashy necked heifer. The heifers below are an example of what I expect to see in a Simmental heifer.  The top heifer is the Dam of the one below.  Both are Purebred Simmental, and have smooth, extended, feminine necks. ( Pre-Digital age cameras)

 

[Cowfarmer65]

Couldn't resist and had to add another 2 cents.................does anyone hear a judge use the expression " breed characteristic" anymore or is it just me missing something...........most shows you go to now there are very few traditionally coloured cattle in some breeds. Guess that's why they quit looking for it.

 

[sjcattleco]

2 things

one during the Heifer calf futurity at Louisville a heifer selling in the ring... Bidding just died!!! Cagwin stops the sale says a few words and then turns to Doc Hunsley and asks for a few remarks... Doc who was paying noooo attention what so ever stutters and stammers for about 10 seconds.. stares at her pedigree for 5 seconds and then proclaims that " This heifer will go home to do some VALUABLE DAMAGE."  I could not help my self I started to laugh !!! I thought what the hell is valuable damage and I surely don't want any of that!!! But it stuck in my head and since then we have named several bulls that!!!

I think the BEST thing I have ever seen a judge say/do was at the Ohio State Fair Shorthorn show. Judged by Jimmy Williams several years ago.. It was for a division or calf champ something like that... This young adult girl repeatedly pulled her heifer out of line and proceeded to cover up a young boy who was doing a great job showing his heifer... Jimmy stopped the show grabbed the mic and commenced to chewing her out right in front of GOD and everyone... He said " The Ohio State Fair hired Jimmy Williams to fly up here and judge these cattle and I believe he can get that job done... young lady if you pull that heifer out of line one more time I will dismiss you right then and there!!"  Coolest thing I have ever seen in the showring!!!!

 

[CAB]

This thread is one of the best that we've had here for awhile. Some of you should do stand up. I have gotten some real good laughs out of these. It's easier to laugh at some of these the older you get and have no one involved.

 

[farmin female]

I stood second one year because the judge said the heifer didn't have enough "panache" (not even sure if that is a word)....

But, I show in 2 days, so I am sure I will hear several!!! 

You brought back a great memory; the day my son was showing a couple of steers and the judge said they lacked "pizzazz".  My husband and I looked at each other and said we've got to run down to the feed store and pick some of that up pronto!

 

[colosteers]

Ever been to a show where you can see the cattle placed by color ( the best blacks at the top down to the middle, then the best colored cattle in the middle and placed on down to the bottom)? 

I was a spectator at a show where the judge had a real problem placing anything but blacks at the top.  Somebody led in a shorthorn steer that stood out as the top steer in this class--  this judge about vapor locked and took about 10 minutes to sort out the top 3,  he finally used the shorthorn for first --  but just trashed talked this steer in his reasons.

hope I never see this guy judge again

 

[jlingle]

The worst thing a judge can ever do in my book is just sit back and look. We've had judges who never put their hands on one calf the whole day. Then at the end of the class comment on how finished or how much cover the calf has. How in the heck does he know how much fat is over those ribs ???

A fairly well-known young man judged our county show last year & he never laid a hand on a steer.  Our county spring show is a market show, with steers weighing 1250-1350 usually winning.  This is no prospect show, and it's EXTREMELY competetive with many of the steers going on to do very well at OYE a couple of weeks later.  Not only did this young man never lay a hand on a steer throughout the show, but he never spoke to a single kid during the showmanship classes.  His approach seemed rather hurried, and I got the impression that he had someplace he needed to be.... as quickly as possible. 

All that being said, I feel like he found the best steer in the barn to win the show.  Then again, 99% of the people in the barn knew which one was the best that day.  It was the other 17 animals that made up the sale order we were worried about.  The good news is, this young man will never pick up a microphone in our county barn again. LOL....  he had folks fired up.  One of our beef superintendents asked him during the show why he wasn't handling the cattle & he said "When you're as good as I am, you don't need to."  I don't have a real hard time believing that, but I think those kids did enough work and put in enough effort for him to take the time to feel their calves & ask them each a few questions during showmanship.  Not every kid in the county had a chance to win grand at that show, but every one of them should've been given a fair shot at winning showmanship.

 

[Torch]

When my son and his steer, leading the class in and pacing his steer perfectly but not going fast enough for the kid that is behind him who continually is poking my son's steer in the butt with the point of his show stick. To the point that finally the steer has had enough and begins jumping like a donkey. One of the poorest displays of showmanship I have ever seen.

 

[DLD]

A fairly well-known young man judged our county show last year & he never laid a hand on a steer.  Our county spring show is a market show, with steers weighing 1250-1350 usually winning.  This is no prospect show, and it's EXTREMELY competetive with many of the steers going on to do very well at OYE a couple of weeks later.  Not only did this young man never lay a hand on a steer throughout the show, but he never spoke to a single kid during the showmanship classes.  His approach seemed rather hurried, and I got the impression that he had someplace he needed to be.... as quickly as possible. 

All that being said, I feel like he found the best steer in the barn to win the show.  Then again, 99% of the people in the barn knew which one was the best that day.  It was the other 17 animals that made up the sale order we were worried about.  The good news is, this young man will never pick up a microphone in our county barn again. LOL....  he had folks fired up.  One of our beef superintendents asked him during the show why he wasn't handling the cattle & he said "When you're as good as I am, you don't need to."  I don't have a real hard time believing that, but I think those kids did enough work and put in enough effort for him to take the time to feel their calves & ask them each a few questions during showmanship.  Not every kid in the county had a chance to win grand at that show, but every one of them should've been given a fair shot at winning showmanship.

We got a pretty well known, not real young man that was extremely arrogant to judge our county last spring, too.  He did handle the steers, and worked the showmanship classes pretty well, but he did the entire sale order standing in front of the kids and cattle, and in the county bred steer champion drive and a couple of heifer breed champion drives, he never moved from the spot he was leaning on the fence in front of the announcers table.  I (and many others) found that behavior pretty much inexcusable - I don't care if his mind is already made up, those kids deserve another look at least.

 

[knabe]

This heifer has the most natural volume (the most hair and artificial access to feed and just been tubed before going in the ring)

 

[simba]

About my bull: "This bull is the stoutest yearling in his class, he just isn't deep enough"
About another bull in the class: "You can tell he's masculine because he has a thick tail"
The judge didn't really impress too may people, but his comments were priceless to listen too.

 

[Limiman12]

It absolutely kills me to hear a judge say "this calf is really THREE DIMENSIONAL, and that's why they win the class." If that judge is seeing in 3D, what is he taking??

We all see in 3d......  Depth perception, horizontal and vertical.

 

[Limiman12]

I was once told that my heifer was too deep in the flank.......  Was a very growths heifer that I did not expect to win the class with for a variety of reasons, being too deep was not one of them



My last year showing FFA, I had raised a purebred limi steer.    He was going to be a light weight from the day he was born, smallish framed cow so we managed him to make fair at his ideal weight......  He weighed I in December light, low 400s I think, we fed him out and he was perfect on show day, about 1100 pounds with a adg over 3.3.  In a class of five, two did not make minimum weight, the other two needed to be 1300+ to be finished and had gained less then 2.5. We're flat muscled and fine boned.....  Standing in the holding area I knew I had the class won.....  We stood third. "This calf is the heaviest muscled, most properly finished and structurally correct but lacks the frame to go on to heavier weights and does not match the type of cattle I have been picking today"  then look at the top two, ". I would like to see some more muscle and bone I. These two, but I feel that with another 60-90 days on feed they would hang a nice carcass......"    I remember making eye contact with the beef superintendent and his jaw was on the arena sawdust...........    Watching the championship drive I really think we could have been in the hunt for reserve, apparently "the type of cattle I have been picking today" was code for black as out of the 30+ steers and heifers to make the drive the only non black was heifer that came out stood second in a class of four in which there was a Charolais and two reds.........

 

[Bulldaddy]

It's when the judge doesn't say anything at all that bothers me. Justs flips through the bottom of the class. Maybe they are green or really not show quality but the kids deserve some feed back.

 

[BTDT]

I found this thread this morning and chuckled several times.  Here are a few from the past that I will never forget.

"I'm going to start with this heifer even though she isn't the most complete heifer in the class, and I do have serious concerns about her udder and teat structure...."

"I can't put my finger on it, but I really like this calf....."

"Sometimes you just have to go with popular opinion..."

"As a judge, you should find something nice to say about every animal, so I like this steers eye's. They are really bright."

 

[Acts1:8HFF]

"This heifer appears to have a lot of bone but she has a lot of hair so that doesn't mean a lot to me."

Don't they judge them by how they look? They nock you for too little hair, now I'm getting discounted for too much! ;D  (This was at a major stock show)

By the way, I am having a great laugh with this thread.  (pop)

 

[cowman 52]

The phrase of the minute gets old fast, she covers her track, he is a little roached when he walks, and the best, she is plenty feminine, ( not knowing they have been breeding on her for a year)

 

[aj]

To me it seems like judging 150 head of cattle would be a bitch. I remember judging contests and having to do 6 sets of reasons.....or whatever it was. At the end of the day......you are drained......sitting in the motel room exhausted......drinking bourbon straight. If you show your calf and see him everyday for 5 months......honestly you probably know your calf very well. The judge has what 3 or 4 15 second glances at your calf. He probably isn't going to be able to talk everybodies calf. He may not get it right. It probably is a canned comment half the time. He or she definitely doesn't have time to evaluate you calf like you do.

 

[knabe]

you forget the stress of learning reasons, the reality of not being on the team.

judges get better and improve.

probably the only thing missing from judging is a debrief session with another judge rather than the people who hired the judge.  the employer can reinforce talking to all the kids and defining what it means to earn their money which is appropriate.  they can hire who they want.

most judges i've been around actually have seen more calves than all of us will ever see.  most yes, won't see feedlot cattle on the hoof and on the rail after college. 

probably only then will people realize bone is antagonistic to carcass quality.  since no one really knows, it there is no reason to select against excessive bone and leg hair to give the appearance of more bone.

cattle shouldn't have cankles any more than people should.

 

[Barry Farms]

I didn't like it when in my first year of showing the judge  said "This heifer has the straightest and best topline, best structure by far, but doesn't have the hair, power, or weight to compete with the rest of this class" This was a BREEDING class. Hair power or size shouldn't have much weight in judging a breeding class. It was also quite clear that it was my first year showing, I showed up with only a modified horse halter and a leather show halter to keep my heifer tied with. Other people there gave me a show stick, rope halter, neck tie and offered to help me at any time I needed it. Judge didn't look at my heifer after he realized she was 200 pounds light of the rest of the class then when he finally told me to leave he came up with an excuse of why she was still good.