Disadvantage of tall exhibitor

My husband and I are having a discussion and my hubby feels that very tall kids are at a big disadvantage showing some calves.  I have the same opinion but I really dont think it should be that way.  We have an extremely tall boy in our county and my husband feels that he could never show a prospect calf due to his height.  The family will be raising some nice prospects this year but my husband doesnt think he will ever do good because of the height.  What is everyones opinion?

I think it's like other things...not a deal breaker, but probably an obstacle. The reason being showing is a subjective activity. This isn't a contest where strictly impartial data is tallied and scored, and winners are the ones with the most points or the fastest times. It's somebody opinion regarding which animal or animal/showman team most resembles what that judge pictures as ideal in the industry. Opinions can vary. A lot!...

I was a tall kid, and I have a daughter showing now. She's 5'11" and she just turned 16. And I admit a taller person looks somewhat awkward presenting a smaller animal. When it's the other way around and you have a young exhibitor and a really big animal, as long as the exhibitor can handle that calf, it's just cute and endearing. That doesn't look as much like a mismatch. But while it may be more challenging or a little awkward, that doesn't mean it can be well done or deserve to be placed high in a class.

Particularly if this is not a showmanship class, a judge should just be evaluating the animal on its own merit. I think where things that don't really matter come into play is when placings get tight, and the judge is forced outside the logic he or she uses in most cases to place a class. It's human nature to have some gut feeling...to "go with your heart" in a situation like that, and in those cases, an awkward pairing of animal and exhibitor can be the deciding factor. I don't know that many judges would admit to that...it's just a hunch I have. I don't even think a lot of judges would be totally conscious of the reasoning behind what they did IF that was a part of the reason. And like I said, it shouldn't come into play unless placings are tight. We can criticize anybody who might admit to that being part of the criteria they used, but I think a lot of us might fall victim to the same instances of human nature if we were in the same shoes.

Any judge worthy of the positon should be able to judge the animal on its own merit.  If anything I feel a tall showman makes the calf even appear lower/deeper: 2 characteristics, atleast the judge of the shorthorn heifer show, valued greatly.

Tyler Faber won the Iowa State Fair steer show twice and he's wicked tall.

I'm 6'4 been over 6 foot since 6th grade. Being tall can be a disadvantage as far as making cattle look shorter and smaller. It was an even bigger problem for me since i was showing through the 90's when height was in. On the other side if the person is working hard to make it not as noticeable by using the longest stick they can find to keep the calf as far away as possible so the size isn't as noticable and things like that it can really show how good at presenting the calf you are and bump you up in a close class. To this day i still use a show stick instead of my feet to set front legs since i got so use to keeping that distance and other little things I picked up to help keep the calf looking as big as possible. Another way is stay slightly infront of the head with the profile views so that the judge  doesn't see the calf head hitting you at mid rib with prospects .  that profile view is probably the worst one for the judge to see you in the view for making a calf look small when your tall.

sackshowcattle said:

I'm 6'4 been over 6 foot since 6th grade. Being tall can be a disadvantage as far as making cattle look shorter and smaller. It was an even bigger problem for me since i was showing through the 90's when height was in. On the other side if the person is working hard to make it not as noticeable by using the longest stick they can find to keep the calf as far away as possible so the size isn't as noticable and things like that it can really show how good at presenting the calf you are and bump you up in a close class. To this day i still use a show stick instead of my feet to set front legs since i got so use to keeping that distance and other little things I picked up to help keep the calf looking as big as possible. Another way is stay slightly infront of the head with the profile views so that the judge  doesn't see the calf head hitting you at mid rib with prospects .  that profile view is probably the worst one for the judge to see you in the view for making a calf look small when your tall.

Click to expand...

And THAT's how you do it...

sackshowcattle said:

I'm 6'4 been over 6 foot since 6th grade. Being tall can be a disadvantage as far as making cattle look shorter and smaller. It was an even bigger problem for me since i was showing through the 90's when height was in. On the other side if the person is working hard to make it not as noticeable by using the longest stick they can find to keep the calf as far away as possible so the size isn't as noticable and things like that it can really show how good at presenting the calf you are and bump you up in a close class. To this day i still use a show stick instead of my feet to set front legs since i got so use to keeping that distance and other little things I picked up to help keep the calf looking as big as possible. Another way is stay slightly infront of the head with the profile views so that the judge  doesn't see the calf head hitting you at mid rib with prospects .  that profile view is probably the worst one for the judge to see you in the view for making a calf look small when your tall.

Click to expand...

That is a great quote to share with my nephew who as a freshman this year is right at six foot and still growing.  Last year we thought he was making his little (young) calf look even littler by being beside her... Good tip, Sir!

sackshowcattle said:

I'm 6'4 been over 6 foot since 6th grade. Being tall can be a disadvantage as far as making cattle look shorter and smaller. It was an even bigger problem for me since i was showing through the 90's when height was in. On the other side if the person is working hard to make it not as noticeable by using the longest stick they can find to keep the calf as far away as possible so the size isn't as noticable and things like that it can really show how good at presenting the calf you are and bump you up in a close class. To this day i still use a show stick instead of my feet to set front legs since i got so use to keeping that distance and other little things I picked up to help keep the calf looking as big as possible. Another way is stay slightly infront of the head with the profile views so that the judge  doesn't see the calf head hitting you at mid rib with prospects .  that profile view is probably the worst one for the judge to see you in the view for making a calf look small when your tall.

Click to expand...

I'm going to assume the young man (pardon me if you're a young lady) that wrote the advice above, is about the same age as my son.  He showed in the '90s and was six foot tall.  He was very good on the stick, as I'm sure you are.  If he would have had this advice when he was showing it would have been awesome.  You are to be commended for sharing.  This is a good example where a young person might read this post and walk away thinking, I learned something that will be very useful.