Major Shows

Are major shows like Houston worth going to just for the learning experience if you know your calf isn't going to do well there?

This is just my opinion, but showing should be a progression.  If you have never shown a calf before, county fairs and local shows are the best place to start taking your calves.  While you are showing your calves at these smaller shows, I completely encourage all showman to go visit some of the bigger show like regional or state fair shows at least once without your calf before you go with one.  Maybe go with a friend and help them with their calf at one of these bigger shows.  That way you can really see what these bigger shows are like.  From there I would continue to visit even bigger show before committing to take a calf to one, i.e. State Fair, Cattleman's Classic, Iowa Beef Expo, then moving up to the big ones like the Royal, NAILE, Denver, Ft. Worth, Houston, etc.

Thank you for your reply. Your opinion is the same as mine. Here is how this went down. My hubby went to the extension office to return some supplies and came home with a major show tag. My kids are not new to showing and this might be the natural progression of something we have more experience with like broilers but this is our first steer. He's a good steer for the county level but he is American and not out of anything so it's going to be an uphill battle. Now here we are three weeks from show and I'm looking for a way to bow out gracefully while my hubs is inviting out of state relatives. Nothing like jumping in with both feet.

To me it is more dependent on your kids attitude and what your family really expects from the show. If your family understands that its an uphill battle and go in with no expectations then go and enjoy it.  You can learn a lot and make really good contacts that county shows and even state shows may never see. It could be the thing that lights that fire under your kids to really go for it. It is hard to learn much in a day trip to a big show. There is no better way to learn then walk around and watch and ask questions then head to your chute and put it to use. Plus if you pay attention in the ring, you can really pick up some showmanship skills that are missed sitting in the stands.

Thank you for your reply. While my husband is a sky is the limit kind of guy, my son and myself are more grounded in reality. We realize what we are up against. I wish now we had stuck to the plan of taking broilers first just to get a feel for the majors instead of plunging in with a steer.

I think there is some merit to getting a major or two under your belt before you go in expecting to "get along".  If you're realistically not expecting much, but you can afford the time and money to take a calf, it can be beneficial to learn the routines of getting in and out and just experiencing "the big ring".  Some youngsters (and parents) may find it pretty overwhelming the first time or two. It can be easier on everyone involved if the expectations aren't too high the first time.  It sounds like you're being very level headed, but you do expect to get competitive on that level in the next few years.  I appreciate the idea of easing into it, but to me it could be a logical step.

Yes we plan on trying to become competitive in major shows in the future. My oldest is a freshman but I have three younger kids. Lol, I'm already researching the best bulls for our former show ladies. It may be for the best because he is also doing the scramble and if he catches we will be glad we have a year already under our belt.

Right now we have three beefmaster but not sure that's were we are going to stay. Our former show girl is a char/brangus cross. She is due a calf any day on a brangus bull. We are hoping for a heifer for our county commercial heifer show next year but if my son catches a scramble heifer we will be in the market for something with a lot of hair lol.

Thank everyone for your replies. I am more on the "work your way up to the majors" side of this but my DH is a plow right in type of guy. I think we should at least be as experienced with cattle as we are with broilers and we plan on raising them for Houston next year. I have to work at being positive about this kind of thing and look for the good in it. At least my kid will make a lot of memories and learn something in the proces.

I have to say here that I admire your realism and thoughtfulness regarding the project. There are IMO way too many PPL that put way too much pressure on their kids by expressing that it's all about winning. Takes the fun right out of it for most families. I think that you have the right perspective about the process. Whatever you decide will be fine B/C of your attitude.

The kind words and advice on this board have made me feel much better about taking this project to Houston. We are very realistic about our chances and know we are just going for the learning experience. I just like to gather as much information as I can before I proceed.  It's a huge undertaking for our family but I'm starting to feel like it will be worth it. On a side note, our guy we are taking is not a bad steer. He is out of a registered beefmaster bull and his dam is a 7/8 beefmaster cow. We just don't know much about his genetics and the people we bought him from are very closed lipped about it. They are family friends and have been in the cattle business for 35 years so my husband was satisfied with their word his bloodline is "very good". If the moon and stars line up and he does place at Houston I'm going to need to see the papers because we have his two half sisters under our barn right now lol.

I just took this picture a few minutes ago. We had his feet trimmed two weeks ago and we are taking him back on the 10th because he still wants to stand with his front feet splayed out. We also started his hair cut because it got so hot here and he wouldn't eat. We are finishing it tonight because he is going to a show in Dayton on Saturday.

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