The Show

You'll have to pardon me for the large gap between posts- this has been the week from hell for me. This weekend combines both my High School Graduation and my 4-H club's Achievement Day, one day after the other starting today and ending Sunday night. Needless to say, a lot of preparation has gone into both events.

Speaking of Achievement Day, I thought today I would start a series of blogs revolving around livestock exhibitions. To introduce the topic of cattle shows, watch the following short video: The Beef Cattle Show. In a beef 4-H club, our Achievement Day is really a competition amongst ourselves to see who has done the best job picking, feeding, and fitting their steers, heifers and two and three year old pairs. At a cattle show, there are rules and at least a little organization, combined with a lot of elbow grease and grunt work.


An old time cattle show


Starting very early in the morning on the day of the show, animals are usually washed, dried and fed their breakfast. At Achievement Day, this doesn’t all happen because of a lack of washing facilities, but in general, at larger and more complex shows, this is how it works. After the cattle have been cared for, they are allowed to rest before their long day in and out of the showring. They get tired and cranky too, believe me!



The evaluation of animals is often done by one
Judge



Depending on the start time of the show, the cattle can be allowed to sleep for an hour or until two in the afternoon. A while before their class, they are cleaned off again and fit (a process I will discuss later) in the showring, the cattle are split into classes. Classes are usually composed of animals of the same sex, such as steers and heifers, and they are split by either age (females) or weight (steers). In most Canadian shows, there is a maximum of 15-20 animals in each class, while at major shows in the US there can be as many as 80. Each class is a smaller part of a division. Divisions are made up of many classes, and the top two winners from each class are invited back in to the ring to compete for the divisional title. Some examples of divisions are Heavyweight Steers, Middleweight Steers, Lightweight Steers, Junior Heifers (younger), Senior Heifers (Older), Two or Three Year Old Cow Calf Pairs (sometimes paired into a cow calf division), etc. Each of the divisions in a show are all a part of the 

 , which is always split by sex. At large shows, there is typically a Supreme Female and Reserve Supreme Female, a Supreme Champion Steer and a Reserve, and a Supreme Champion Bull with Reserve. Ultimately, every animal in every class is competing to first win their class, then they want to win the division, and finally they want to win the Supreme Championship. Occasionally, the Supreme Champions from several cattle shows will congregate and compete for a bigger championship. These events are massive and have prizes that are frequently worth anywhere from $10, 000 to $200,000.



The Champion Bull selection at an edition of the National
Western Stock Show in Denver, CO.



In each class, the animals are evaluated and placed according to the opinion of one Judge. Sometimes there is a panel of three or five, which helps to level out any bias one person may have for a certain breed, breeder or style. Typically, however, the one judge runs the show and chooses animals that he or she feels stand out from the rest.  The top two from each class move on to the divisional championship. Usually, the first place winners from two different classes win divisional titles, but occasionally the First and Second places from the same class are chosen as Grand and Reserve respectively. A second place animal cannot be named a reserve champion unless its first place counterpart has been chosen as Champion. The same rules and pattern apply in the Supreme classes, but there is a major bias when young animals are combined with old

The Houston Stock Show and Rodeo boasts the largest beef
cattle attendance of any show in world. Here we see the
Champion drive in the Houston Steer Show

Older animals, such as cow calf pairs, almost always win the Supreme Championship. The logic behind this is simple- these animals are proven. They have a calf, they have a visible, functioning udder, and they are proven to be fertile and productive. Everything like this is uncertain in younger animals, so it is very rare and quite an accomplishment when a Bred Heifer or Heifer calf wins a supreme championship.

This is a general overview of a cattle show, and the first installment on the topic. Hopefully you have taken something productive away! Let me know If you have questions.

More on this later.