Let's Keep it Real in the Show Ring
By Jennifer Hill
I didn’t grow up in the livestock show world. In fact, I had never even stepped into a show ring with an animal until I was in college. My fifth generation rancher husband hadn’t either. Sure we’d seen some shows, but neither of us had experienced the behind the scenes action or gained first-hand knowledge of the show industry works (yes, I believe firmly that it is its own parallel industry at this point). But then we had kids. It’s funny how they get their own ideas and pull life in unexpected directions, so away we went to the shows. And ya’ll, I’ve seen some things that don’t shine brightly on our industry or our values. I’ll never forget the first time I watched a Dad put black shoe polish around a lamb’s butthole to make it appear darker. Yup, that’s a thing. Why? Couldn’t tell you. What I’ve never seen is a judge ding a lamb because it’s butthole was too light. That same show was the first time I experienced a showman squirt liquid menthol up a goat butt to make it hold its tail higher. I’ve seen an animal drenched with iced coffee to counter the downers it was given earlier and animals pushed so hard and fast they prolapse every time they cough. I’ve watched a mature, experienced breeding doe die because she was bred to a “super show” buck and couldn’t kid out safely and know of people who allow their dogs to chase their steers around fast and hard to build muscle (talk about a dark cutter). A friend who has spent plenty of time at all of the major livestock shows once told me that the sketchiest things he’s seen in his life happened in the wash racks of the National Western after dark, and I believe him. It’s a dirty secret that we all know but for whatever reason are scared to address, the show industry has gotten crazy. The good news is, there’s ways to fix it.
Blow and Go
When our family moved from oil field country to cow country I anticipated that our 4H and show experience would be expanded and perhaps crazier. Boy was I wrong. We just finished up County Fair in our new community and it was incredible in so many ways. There wasn’t an animal at the show that wasn’t locally sourced. In fact the vast majority were bred by the youth showing it. But the most beautiful thing I had never experienced before was Blow and Go, and I am hooked. The rules were clear; no adhesive, no paints or powders. Animals were washed, clipped, blown and brushed and that was it. This led to a few interesting outcomes. First, the kids did all of the work. There’s no need to hire a professional fitting team when your steer can only work with what nature gave it. Imagine my shock at a youth event actually driven by the youth! Second, the judge could make a clear, concise decision based on the actual performance of the animal. No fitting gimmicks meant he could easily see the strengths and weaknesses of each animal.
Production Based Judges
Once upon a time County Fair judges came from the ranch. They were seasoned production agriculturalists that knew the importance of functionality. This is no longer the case. Livestock judging has left the realm of FFA and Collegiate clubs and is now a career in its own right. Unfortunately many of those judges come from a very insulated world of show livestock. They don’t have to calve out 500 mama cows on a snowy April range where C-sections just aren’t an option. They’ve never trailed a herd for miles across rocky, dry hills where suddenly those hip pins and strides really matter. If we can apply pressure to the boards and committees that pick show judges perhaps someday we could see a shift back towards reality.
EPDs in Breeding Classes
A few of the major breeds give EPDs to the judges prior to the show in some classes. Expanding this to more breeds and more breeding classes would help keep the focus on production and add some emphasis on things that cannot be hidden with any amount of adhesive or fake hair.
Be Careful With Foot Trimming
The worst fitted shows are the market categories. Typically breeding classes and breed association shows are at least a little more grounded. However they aren’t without their issues and feet are one of them. Because many of these show animals necessarily live pampered lives in the corral they often wind up with overgrown feet. To address this most showmen will spend time trimming hooves. Unfortunately there’s a trend of attempting to hide structural issues of an animal by trimming hooves in unnatural ways. We’ve all seen those high end show cattle that run through the sale and then find out later that they struggle at the new ranch because of bad feet. They’ve effectively lost their functionality as a production cow.
The showring does a lot of great things for our industry. It’s often our face to the non-ag world and an excellent youth development program. Kids, including many who otherwise wouldn’t have access to animal agriculture learn important life lessons about commitment and hard work and they grow up with an understanding of agriculture that will help them navigate the crazy claims often made about us. They become “ag-vocates”. But it’s time that we protect the showring and the kids and animals that participate in it by making sure that it exemplifies the values of production agriculture. It’s time we keep in real in the ring.