Showmanship Question

[PeeWeeChamp]

Our daughter (age 9) has won showmanship twice at our fair at ages 6 & 8 and has been in the top 6 of much larger shows. She is a perfectionist and very competitive.  This past summer we attened a state show and nationals where all we took was a cow/calf pair.  For showmanship she used the calf  both times.  He never acted up once, never made a sound, and walked like a true champion for her.  At the state show the judge placed her int he middle of the pack and his comment was "she could be a great showman, but bringing a calf into the ring is not a smart choice, however you can see that she has worked with the calf. Because of the calf I have to put her in the middle."    At Nationals the judge never said a word about it being a calf.  I know it's one mans opinion on one day, but this leads us to a choice for our county fair and just a general showmanship question.  For the fair we are taking the cow/calf and her market steer.  Her steer has been acting up lately and she is having trouble turning him, so she's asked to take the calf (now 5 months old)  in for showmanship.  Her agruement to us was "at age 6 I won showmanship with Cassie (a lowline calf) and it's going to be the same judge!."  After she said that we realized this is her showing, not us. We told her that it's her choice and explained that she'll have to live with the outcome, good or bad.  (yet another life lesson learned in the barn)

1)  She's questioning why the judge looks at the size of your animal?  Isn't showmanship about me and how well I show the animal?

2) if you had the choice what would you pick: a cow, a calf, or the not so nice steer for showmanship?

Thanks for your input.

 

[russfarm]

Wow...that's a tough one.  Our son did this one year, taking a dairy feeder in for showmanship over his steer and didn't do very well either.  I suppose the judge thinks a steer is harder and cold bring your better showman to the top?  I personally don't think what you bring matters.  I've always told my kids to take whatever they wanted, but to make sure it was one that wouldn't give them grief in the ring.
I agree with your thinking though.....let her show what she wants and deal with the outcome.  It's all about making their own choices and learning from them, good or bad.  Good Luck!

 

[pjkjr4]

In my honest opinion, there is no choice. Let her show the one that she is the most comfortable with. If it's the calf, fine. If it's the fat steer, that's ok too, but ultimately she needs to be able to go into the ring relaxed, and not worrying about what the animal is going to do. If you have some time before your fair, have her work with the fat steer before feeding in the morning and evening, with them being able to see the feed pan with feed in it. My kids work on that every evening that we mess with them and it's given us great results. The steers know that when they get set up perfectly, the halter comes off and they go eat. My 9 year old son now has his steer where when he stops, there are at the least 3 legs set up. He wants to get to the point where he can let go of the lead rope, and walk around him to check his legs (lol)!!!

 

[Dozer45]

I agree with pjkjr4, let her make the choice. Not only will it make her more comfortable in the show ring it is also like you said allowing her to learn a lesson about decission making.

At our fair we have two showmanship classes, market and breeding. If you show a steer you have to show it in the market showmanship. If you show a heifer or cow then you have to use it in the breeding showmanship.

 

[rackranch]

I also agree with letting her make her own choice.. We have a TJLA official showmwnship show this weekend and I stay out of which calves my daughter picks to show...

But, I have seen this very thing happen to a friend of mine in the other two official shows this year.  This young lady is one of the best sticks you will ever find and in my opinion is sometimes to anal about it.  The judges have nocked her back to second or third in both shows for showing a calf.  I think a child should be rewarded for showing the ability to break a new calve and getting it ready for showmanship and don't really understand why judges do it.  It would be nice if a judge on this board could give us some insight.

Bottom line, let her make the choice, go in there and do her best, and if she don't come out with the buckle she is at least going to have the experience gained through her decisions. G-LUCK

 

[lightnin4]

I don't know why a judge would place her down for showing a calf, unless he was having a hard time making a decision between two showmen.  As a younger showman, I would think the calf would look more proportional to your daughter's size and that would be a plus in my book.  I agree it should be her decision.  From my own experience, the easiest calf to show would be the best choice.  A calf that's a super showmanship calf all the time is hard to find.  I had one heifer that worked really well no matter who showed her.  She was a September calf when I won our state showmanship with her and then a friend of mine used her the next year when she won the same contest. 

 

[OLD WORLD SHORTIE]

i would take which ever one acts best. I like showmanship when there is alot of money on the line, aint nothing like getting paid. I wouldnt worry about it too much some judges are just picky and dont feel that there are perfect showman, its better to get picked on animal size, then the actual showing.

 

[pwm]

who are some of the best showmanship judges out there?

 

[forbes family farms]

I would say let her pick, she's the one showing but she needs to pick one she's most comfortable around, its not good going in the ring nervous. Couple years back i had a very good heifer and i had her to the point where you could drop the halter, she would set herself up and i could walk around her to make sure she was in the perfect pose. She was a real baby doll she would follow you just like a dog and she would do what ever you wanted her to do.

 

[SlickTxMaine]

I think she should pick.  She's showing, it's her project, so let her pick.  On the flip side, last year my son was showing in showmanship and the kid that won had probably the most unruly calf in the ring.  My son's steer stood like a statue and never moved once he was set up.  The Judge said he likes to see if and how a kid can handle an animal that is not cooperating, and how quickly they can get them back in line and set up again, once they move out of place.  So, go figure, this year my son will have to pinch his calf every once in a while

 

[jlingle]

One of the things I came away with from a Stierwalt clinic I attended last year, was his answer to this exact question.  Last year, my daughter had a young heifer that was pretty good & showed perfectly for her, and she had a steer that was a punk.... but showed decently.  The heifer set herself up perfectly each time you stopped her, and never misbehaved a day in her life.  The steer was a jerk at times, was unpredictable, but showed pretty darn well for my daughter...... you just never could really trust him.  I asked Kirk which calf she should show in showmanship, and without any hesitation whatsoever, he blurted out "YOU TAKE THE BEST ONE YOU'VE GOT!!!!"  It makes perfect sense to me.  It's human nature to look at the good one in the bunch. 

 

[PeeWeeChamp]

Just an update.... Our daughter took the calf into showmanship and WON!  It was a close show, but the judge commented that she had the hardest job of anyone in the ring and could give the seniors a run for their money!  We smiled and people commented that everyone will have calves in the ring next  year!  Oh and  i have to add... our 8yr also won her showmanship class as well... with a lowline/angus cross

Thanks for all the input!

 

[SSIMMENTALS]

Congrats to them both (thumbsup)  I'm glad everything ended up working out and the judge didn't criticize her for showing a younger animal.