Makeup Area Awareness
This week, a Stock Show Stories reader asked if we could discuss the etiquette of the make-ready area at a show. She expressed her frustration at having black overspray land on her white or roan cattle. It occurred to me that while I know all of these things, I could probably do a better job of makeup area awareness myself. Guilty? Yep, raising my hand here. Have you ever noticed how much I call myself out in these articles? Apparently I feel the need to confess to you guys! Sheesh!
So let’s do a quick review for awareness’ sake of what you should and should not do.
Paparazzi
Sometimes show cattle look like celebrities coming into a room with an entourage. There are about 10 people surrounding him and some have their camera (phones) snapping pictures for the Gram. Lots of fanfare, but maybe less awareness of everything else.
Anyhow, the makeup area is normally small and confined. Normally, there is very little room to maneuver. With each calf comes a minimum of 2 people, if not 10. Some of us make matters worse by not paying attention to what is going on around us. After all, it’s crunch time.
We are focused on getting that calf to look stellar while headed into the ring. I mean, there is likely a spot left to paint or a hair left to clip.
In fact, sometimes people carry a pop-up tent over a calf that is headed to the show ring in the rain. This, of course, is in an effort to keep him dry. The first time I saw anyone do it, I thought…brilliant! That was immediately followed by…it’s like Lady Gaga having an umbrella held over her head in the rain!
So as much a reminder to myself and our crew, here are some things to consider in the make-ready area.
Stay Out of the Road
Depending upon the layout of the show, there may be only one way through from the fitting area to the show ring. There may be multiple rings going at one time and there is so much congestion in the area, you may think show management should have installed a round-a-bout to direct traffic.
So do your best to stay out of the way. Don’t park in the middle of the road. Presumably, you wouldn’t do that with your truck. Avoid it with your cattle.
If you’re not up next, get out of the way.
I love a prepared showperson, but don’t stand by the in-gate when you have 5 classes to go before you. You are just in the way. You’ll irritate the clerks as well as your fellow showmen. Find a spot that is out of the way while being close enough to see and hear what is going on in the ring.
Don’t Stop in the Middle
This is as much to your benefit as those around you. There is nothing worse than having a black calf…covered in paint…crash into your snowy white steer. Inevitably, you will end up with the wrong color hair on both calves.
Cattle need to make their way in and out of classes and if you are smack dab in the middle, you are likely in the way. Not only that, but it is generally hotter in the middle of a bunch of cattle and people. You will all feel better if there is a little airflow around you.
Always pull to the side…Try to get out of the way.
Coming Out of the Ring
Many people manage to stay out of the way of the in-gate, but that out-gate is a bottleneck. Mainly, because of added congestion from parents stopping their kids to talk to them or put on the rope halter. Get out of the way to do those things.
Am I guilty from time to time? Oh…I’m sure. Just kick me in the ankle the next time and I’ll move along. Seriously though, that really slows up the show… not to mention, you can get hurt when the cattle decide they are headed back to the barn but you are standing in the way.
Paint
The reader who reached out on this one was particularly frustrated by the overspray landing on her “not-black and don’t want to be” black cattle. We get so used to products flying around and blowing in our faces at the fitting chute that we forget that others around us may want to avoid it. I’m a terrible example but I’ll work on being better here. Since the spray oils ruin my contacts, I’m usually trying to avoid them!
We’ve had fans or blowers cover our cattle in the wrong color many times…learn from our mistakes! Really confined barns, like Denver, are notorious for this. Look at the color of a Char influenced calf after all of the black steers head to the ring.
They change to some version of “smokey”… every one of them. If you are working a blower and a guy or gal is using white paint or powderful on the legs, be sure not to blow it on the calf’s side. Been there, didn’t like it, you can keep the t-shirt.
Be aware of the light-colored cattle around you. If it’s really windy in the makeup area, try to touch up that black paint downwind of a white one.
Don’t Feed in The Middle
You may have a calf that has been up for a while and has become a little hollow. We often will offer them water in the makeup area. Sometimes we may offer them some feed, depending on the timing and layout of the barns etc. However, we don’t do that in the middle of traffic. There are all kinds of reasons for that. Your calf will eat or drink better if others are not running up his tailpipe and you are in the way, to name a couple.
Remember, makeup area awareness!
I’m sure I’ve missed a few etiquette things here…feel free to add to the comments. Mostly, we all just need to pick our heads up from the task at hand and pay attention to our surroundings. Chalk it up to common courtesy. If you don’t want to get “over-sprayed”, then neither will your neighbor.
While we are at it though, it should be stated that if you see anyone violating any of these “rules”, they are probably not doing it intentionally. Let’s give them some grace and politely ask them to move along or pull to the side.
I’ve seen plenty of road rage in the make-up area. Emotions can run high at shows but let’s all be courteous.
Makeup area awareness is as important as anything else when showing cattle. If we all promise to try to be a little better, the whole area will probably run more smoothly.
Catch us next week for :
Promoting Your Way of Life
For more tips on etiquette, check out our very popular post:
Show Ring Etiquette
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