Random thoughts...

...from the Simmental Jr. nationals. 

There are more fitters here than at the Belt Buckle.

Why do they swipe the rag to check for paint on the back?  Who the heck paints there?

Every year the people get bitchy -ier. I understand it's a competition, but LIGHTEN UP. This is supposed to be fun, and educational.

Aren't you required to use your own heifer in showmanship?

Visa and MasterCard like show season better than Christmas.

I have an idea. On show day, make everyone leave except for the juniors, and let the seniors help the juniors. No parents.

I may have more before the week is over.

Sad by true!

unless they have changed the rules, you must show your own heifer in showmanship, we learned this the hard way, my daugther in the mid 90's had a heifer go lame after coming off the trailer, at the regionals, we went to the show comm, & the rep from the simmi assoc, they told us we could change the heifer in this case my daughter picked a heifer she had never seen before from the people we were stalled with,  she won the showmanship,  the next night the rep came up to me before the awards ceremony & told me she had been disquialfied & also said she had lost the top spot for the show as well.    wow that was a lot of words

Aw! BullLady!  You just wanted to hang out at the hotel pool or at least in an air conditioned area! 

Seriously though..  My thoughts on the Simmi Jr Nat'l are that they should either make it a complete no fit/blow and go or allow full fit - including paint..  The 'halfway' deal we have now is just tough - it takes a professional to make it look right. 
I do think that they do a great job with all the educational contests but I hear that this year they were extremely hard.  I would like to see them allow for a little more fun and socialization time.  It was stressful going from contest to contest - be that showing cattle, taking a test, sales talk, whatever..   

kanshow said:

Aw! BullLady!  You just wanted to hang out at the hotel pool or at least in an air conditioned area!   

Seriously though..  My thoughts on the Simmi Jr Nat'l are that they should either make it a complete no fit/blow and go or allow full fit - including paint..  The 'halfway' deal we have now is just tough - it takes a professional to make it look right.   
I do think that they do a great job with all the educational contests but I hear that this year they were extremely hard.   I would like to see them allow for a little more fun and socialization time.  It was stressful going from contest to contest - be that showing cattle, taking a test, sales talk, whatever..   

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I agree about the more fun part. We even camped at the fairgrounds but had NO time to enjoy the extra events. As soon as the kids were done with the contests, it was time to tie out and get ready for the next day's events. 10PM is late when you have to get up at 5 the next morning  Especially when you are dealing with grouchy kids that need 10 hours! I think it should be a no fit show period. I would love to know how many of the top cattle can go home and crank out a calf every year for the next 5 years after the show career (or even longer!)...
AFA toweling, our heifer was toweled TWICE, and on both rounds her belly was wiped. Now I wish there was a way to check for pumping. When everyone was leaving, a trailer pulled out and low and behold the trailer next to that one had 10 litter pop bottles of sprite, ale and other clear sodas sitting there on the fender. Now why would someone need so much clear soda... :
Skills was hard this year, lots of different feeds to identify. There was even calcium powder (white powder) that most kids guessed as salt...

Did anyone NOT pass the towel test?    I was afraid we had so much dirt in the hair from the barns that we wouldn't. LOL!!