Showmanship, a cow with spark

G. showed her cow Sparkles at the 4-H Jamboree this past weekend and things did not go quite according to plan. G. was nervous (this was her first show ever) and that in turn made her already spirited cow nervous which made for a challenging combination. But even after the initial antics of her cow and G.'s tenacity in getting control of the 1,000-pound animal in the ring (G. has an innate sense of how to handle her animal and good upper body strength from working with this particular cow), they finished with a blue ribbon for their efforts.

And there was a big sigh of relief from G. (and her cow she believes) that the show was over.


After some jumpy behavior, which I knew G. could handle because Sparkles has done this sort of thing before at the farm, both G. and Sparkles calmed down and did OK in the end. Here's a short video clip of her and Sparkles in the show ring.



In addition to showing animals (beef, dairy, sheep), there were workshops for kids to learn new skills at Jamboree. L. participated in a poultry showmanship class that taught her how to bathe a chicken, which was really simple actually -- just a pan of water and a few drops of castile soap. There were a few "ewwws" in the group when it came to washing the chicken's vent (i.e., butt) but L. was really interested because she's been wanting to do this for years (my kids love grooming animals of all kinds). The kids also learned the things they would be required to do in the show ring with their chicken and by the time the class was over, L. was excited about showing her chickens at the fair this year.



L. also spent some time with her pig club to learn about board training. Since pigs can not be halter-trained like other livestock (their bodies aren't conducive to halters), boards are used to guide the pig in the show ring. Upon first glance it looks easy but there are some finer points to making the pig go where you need it to and that includes taking it slow and easy as well as staying calm. L. is not generally an easy-going, calm type around animals (she's her mother's daughter in this respect) but she did really well working with the pig (his name was Snuggles) at this workshop and was eager to try this at home.





When L. applied the skills she learned at Jamboree on Pulchra and Titus, well, let's just say that things did not go quite so smoothly (and will likely be the subject of a future blog entry).

G. was all about cows at Jamboree and she and the other kids involved in beef projects participated in a clipping contest. Several cows were put in crates and teams had an hour to make the designated cows ready for the show ring. G.'s favorite part of the beef project is grooming her animal and although she's still learning the finer points of using the clippers (a moving object requires a practiced and steady hand), she enjoyed working with her team to get the cow looking her best.




Not knowing much about showing myself, I was unaware of the number of hair products used to get a cow ready for the show ring. The supplies brought to the fairgrounds include shampoos, conditioners, gels and sprays. One of the moms of a more experienced showman said she gets funny looks at the hair salon (for people) when she buys multiple bottles at a time and not sure she wants to offer the explanation they are actually for a cow. And she said that most women she knows who are primpers would be put to shame in comparison to her son's array of products and primping for his cows.

It was a busy day at the fairgrounds but a great learning experience. G.'s not sure she'll be showing Sparkles at any fairs this year but she's exploring some ideas that will take her to the barn stalls at a couple of fairgrounds this summer.