When I sat down to build this article, I wrote down all of the showmanship tips I could think of and filled a piece of paper pretty quickly. There are so many things every showman should know but these 5 are critical. In our Show Smart videos, we show arial footage to give a better perspective of some of the points in this article.
By the time you get to the end of this story you’ll be equipped to be a better showman. If you only master the first of the showmanship tips, you’ll be ahead of most showmen. Let’s dive in…
Allow Space
Undoubtedly, the most frequent mistake I see is a showman crowding the cattle in front of him or her. You should shoot to leave space of at least half a calf in front of you. Why? Things will go wrong, your calf will move or the calf behind you will crowd you. Also, you want to have a nice silhouette around you for the judge to see your calf. If your calf moves, you may only need to pull him forward one step to get him right. If you don’t have enough space, you can’t do it.
If you’ve squished up to the one in front of you, you’ll have to circle. Unless you have one that moves like a cat and you are trying to showcase that, circling is never a better option than standing there presenting the perfect picture. Even then, I’d rather see you avoid circling them.
What if the calf behind you is bouncing around, or worse yet wants to ride your heifer or steer. If you have left yourself enough space, you can simply step forward. If your calf decides it’s a good idea to ride the one in front of you, giving space will help to keep that out of his mind. Have I sold you on the idea of allowing enough space? Good, now just remember to do it! Better yet, practice that way so you don’t have to remember…it’s just how you show.
Know the Ground
There are very few show rings in the country that are perfectly level. Take the time to study the ring before the show so you know where the high and low spots are in the ring. Do everything you can to avoid parking your heifer’s front end in a hole. Even if you have to allow a little more space than normal to keep from taking them off a cliff, do it. If you are showing under someone who is show-ring savvy, they will appreciate your strategy. Cattle don’t look good when running downhill on the profile. Always try to stop with their front feet in a higher spot or level…just not in a hole.
Know Your Animal
It is your responsibility as the showman to know the good, the bad and the ugly of the cattle you lead. Some need to be set up under themselves a touch, some need their hind leg back further, some splay out on their fronts, some are narrow-based while others are outside of themselves. Many cattle need to be loined. But, for heaven’s sake if the calf last year was a little low in his pins so you loined him, don’t show the calf this year the same way if he has a high tail head.
Trick: Set your calf up and have someone hold him for you so you can see from the judge’s perspective. If you like it, go back to the halter and study where you set his feet. They look different when you are on the halter. There have been many times I think they look good from the halter only to go on the other side and realize, nope…not even close!
Walking Into It vs Using Stick
We have become obsessed with getting cattle to walk into being set. I’m a huge proponent of it…but it’s still perfectly okay to use your stick. After all, Sullivan’s haven’t started making sticks with only hooks and no pointy ends. I guess when they do that, we’ll know we can’t push a foot back with our stick. Do your best to walk them into it…why? When cattle stop with a natural stride, they almost always look better than setting all four feet. If all you need to do is move one foot, do it…quickly and smoothly.
Blind Spots and Corners
Some rings are set up with different shapes. A show ring that is more rectangular gives the not-so-great opportunity to get stuck in a corner where the judge can’t see you well. Try to stay out of corners by adjusting your space, within reason. Look from your judge’s perspective…can he only see from your calf’s navel back to his tail? Are you at an awkward angle? Remember you really only have one objective…show your to the best of your ability to make him calf to look optimal to your judge.
If you’d like more showmanship tips, check out these two articles:
