Clipping question

is it okay to clip my county fair calves to get more practice in clipping or should i leave it long for fair and just let the hair keep growing???

Practice is good....it helps train the hair......
It will grow back....when you get a hair cut yourself, does your hair stop growing?

Clip away! Your skills are more important than a trophy. 

Just last month, we had several calves at our State Preview Show.  It was a pretty low key show for a full fit show, so I let the kids that were showing do a lot of the grooming.  For some, it was their first time.  I just smoothed up some of the wild hairs with the clippers before they went in the ring, and things still turned out all right.  And the kids learned more in a morning of hands-on fitting, than they did the whole rest of the spring.

Rule #1- Never miss an opportunity to get better
Rule #2- It is only hair, it grows back
All the work that you put into your steer and when you are done clipping it will all seems to come together. That is a feeling like none other. Never be afraid to try it out, mistakes happen, ask questions and then move on.

You will do great!

I usually tell the kids to work on keeping the head, neck, and tail clipped down. But leave some hair for me to work with when it comes show time. I've seen to many calves walk into the ring with butchered hair because kids who have never clipped before decided to start working on their clipping skills a few hours before their show. After the show I tell them to practice all they can, clipping wild hairs and learning the trade.