I edmontese - Piedmontese Association of the United States

I thought about writing an article for you—something
inspiring that might be a little funny too; but mostly
I wanted you to learn from my mistakes. Then it struck
me: “You’re not a writer. Who’re you trying to kid!” So I
decided to make a list of dos and don’ts, as it’s awfully
hard to mess up a list.
DO
…keep an eye on the judge.
DON’T
…obsess about keeping eye contact if you’re not even
given time to set up your calf. He obviously knows you
feel compelled to keep eye contact, and he should know
if he looks at you often enough, you’ll never have time to
set your animal up.
This lesson was learned my first year showing in
Milwaukee. I could feel the judge looking at me
uncommonly often. I was frantically trying to set up my
heifer while making sure he didn’t catch me with my eyes
down. After the class he told me I needed to take time
out and worry more about setting up my animal than
looking at him. This completely contradicted everything
I’d been taught about showmanship. And so from that
day forward I always tried to read the judge quickly at
the start of the class to see which type of judge he was.
To this day I’ve not seen another judge quite as extreme
as that one.
DO
…thoroughly scrub your cattle.
DON’T
…get too engrossed in making sure that their ears are
shiny pink and free of earwax, therefore running yourself
so short on time that you’re still buckling your britches as
you walk into the show ring. Judges frown on that.
DO
…always show to the best of your ability.
DON’T
…bother, though, if you’ve forgotten your scotch comb.
Without a scotch comb you’re going nowhere fast, as far
as the judge is concerned anyways.
I learned this lesson at a local show. I was sure I had
showmanship in the bag. I felt great—my calf was
behaving and I had good control. But at the end of my
class, the judge didn’t even talk about me. I suddenly
realized, “Oh yeah, I didn’t have a scotch comb.” That’s
what ten-year-olds do: forget their scotch combs. Grown
show women don’t do that. Completely unacceptable.
DO
…turn over the nose when making corners or
repositioning your animal.
DON’T
…pull the animal towards you if at all possible when
turning. It’s considered improper showmanship unless
that is your only option. I believe this is for safety
reasons.
DO
…bring a wad of paper towels or other absorbable
material with you to the show ring while waiting for your
class.
DON’T
…wait empty-handed. You’ll quickly regret this when
your animal feels nature calling, does the deed, and then
decides there’s an imaginary fly somewhere that needs
swatting. It’s a lovely green smear you’ll have on the
backside of your animal as you walk into the show ring.
DO
…move your show stick from hand to hand with the
smoothest possible transition.
DON’T
…drop your show stick. Just DON’T do it!
16 PIEDMONTESE | PROFILE FALL 2008