Showmanship

[the_cowgirl_in_me]

What pointers do you guys have for a first time exhibitor? Things for the actual person and for the animal.

 

[justme]

know your animal, know your feed (pounds, protein,ect), average daily gain, dressing percentage.

 

[knabe]

go through the excercise of having someone be the judge.

see where your anxiety lays.  is it during a side profile, getting them walking, the line up, stance.

just go ask people why they do stuff.  most will at least say something.  heck, you might even make a friend.

develope a routine.

 

[zapper]

I learned the most when I was young by going to shows and just watching.  Both in the ring and out back.

 

[Eberth]

Make sure you learn to walk them into position rathe than just stopping them and using your stick. The show stick should be used minimally to move the feet. Also be calm and confident in there is nothing that bothers me more than a timid showman.

 

[SKF]

Good eye contact and act confident!!

 

[dutch pride]

1. work at home
2. work more at home
3. work another time at home.
4. did I say "work at home"?

Seriously; showmanship is won or lost by how much work you put into yourself and your animal at home. Try to mimic what you will experience at a show. Work with other animals if possible. Practice walking and setting up etc.

Good luck and enjoy your time.

DLZ

 

[bcosu]

Make sure you learn to walk them into position rathe than just stopping them and using your stick. The show stick should be used minimally to move the feet. Also be calm and confident in there is nothing that bothers me more than a timid showman.

this is really important. if it is your first time, you will look experienced if you  can get you calf to walk into place or somewhat close. to do it, walk normally with then turn and walk backwards a few paces before you should stop and watch the front feet on the calf.  the calf's front left foot should be the last foot to move forward if they are striding normally.

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hopefully you can see this video cause the showman does a pretty good job.

 

[littlemyron12]

always smile..................i dont know how many times a judge took first away from me cause i didnt smile. ; <cowboy>

 

[Eberth]

No offense but the whole smiling thing is way overrated. It burns me when people say I lost because I wasn't smiling. Just act like you know what you are doing, be confident in yourself and your animal act like you are having a good time or want to be out there but don't put a cheesy fake smile on it does no good and under a good judge a smile or not does not make any difference.

 

[justme]

No offense but the whole smiling thing is way overrated. It burns me when people say I lost because I wasn't smiling. Just act like you know what you are doing, be confident in yourself and your animal act like you are having a good time or want to be out there but don't put a cheesy fake smile on it does no good and under a good judge a smile or not does not make any difference.

Here's a better way of avoiding the "Cheesey fake smile"....just relax and act like your enjoying yourself.  I hate seeing a stiff showman.  My daughter has won more showmanships because she genuinely enjoys it.  If it comes down to two that are close I'll almost garuntee that the kid that is relaxed and enjoying themselves will come on top

 

[vc]

I agree with the practice, practice, practice, but once your in the showring remember some time good is good enough, the more you try to get the animal perfect the more they will move. So many times you see the kids (mostly the boys) keep trying to get the animal perfect when they already look fine, the animal gets frustrated, they get frustrated. It is like sports, practice is where you work on everthing, the show ring is where you do it.

 

[red]

work hard, have fun & always remember everyone had to start out as a first time shower. Be a good sportsperson, treat your calf w/ love & don't get sucked into winning is everything. You'll have many years ahead of you expect up's & down's.


good luck!

Red

 

[farmboy]

walking into position is key. i practiced this all summer and got to the poin ti didnt need to lead the steer, he followed me and set up exactly perfect and i could walk around and examine him. i got 2nd place of 10 people and i had signed up for the wrong age division IE i was an intermediate and was in with the seniors... no one noticed though 

 

[Larry]

I will have to agree with everyone else be calm and let things come to you do not overwork the calf and it should be fine

 

[thats funny]

Make sure you learn to walk them into position rathe than just stopping them and using your stick. The show stick should be used minimally to move the feet. Also be calm and confident in there is nothing that bothers me more than a timid showman.

this is really important. if it is your first time, you will look experienced if you  can get you calf to walk into place or somewhat close. to do it, walk normally with then turn and walk backwards a few paces before you should stop and watch the front feet on the calf.  the calf's front left foot should be the last foot to move forward if they are striding normally.

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hopefully you can see this video cause the showman does a pretty good job.

Besides a couple things, like in showmanship,don't ever hit them on the nose.  And the main thing is just stay really calm, the cattle can sense that and then they act calm too, i know some people that are just complete sycos when they leadt their calves, and all the time their cattle are jumpy and everything like that. Just stay calm and know your stuff.