I feel that's what makes showmanship so fun.
You have to convince the judge beyond a doubt that you and only you should win.
Now we all have our likes and dislikes so you have to be perfect. So if your animal lacks in coat, wow them with your showing. If the kid next to you is just as good and you cant convince the judge your better, then I say to bad, better luck next time.
Also listen to the judges reasons. I just saw my daughter show in Tucson a few months ago. Now showmanship has always meant to me....How you and the animal do in the ring that moment at that time.
The judge places the class and my daughter is in 3rd place. Now I know it's my kid but I do try to look at all the angles and not play favorites. But I'm puzzled, I can understand 2nd but 3rd.
My thinking at this point is that she blew it on the questions. No big deal, Ill help her with that for next time. When the judge gave the reasons I was shocked.
He said he placed the girl in 1st place, she is a very good showman and I have seen her in and out of the ring with different animals all day and she has done a fine job on all of them, so she is the winner.
His second place kid was almost about the same thing, a lot of times in and out of the ring. By this time I'm thinking she got a raw deal, but at least I know who won the class.
The judge gives his reasons on my daughter....He looks her straight in the face and says. I have to say one thing about this girl in third place here in the blue, "phenomenal" and he points at her and repeats it even louder 'Phenomenal". I just about hit the floor, the entire crowd is now giving her a standing ovation. I'm crying, she doesn't know what the word means and is very embarrassed and my son is sitting there saying "WOW".
This is showmanship after the judge was walking to the microphone
Now you tell me, she didn't win. But I am more proud of that third place ribbon than I am of her Grand Champion trophy. His reason for placing her third, he only saw her once in the ring that day and her animal looked a little tired.
It's one persons opinion, that day that second and if you came out of that ring and felt you should have won maybe under another judge thing would have been different, but my mind would have been on how I could beat them next time and I would study the video footage and critique it myself. If after that I still felt I lost only because of the coat, I would figure out how to get a better coat next year. I myself place a lot on coat but that is only icing for me but if your competition has it you better have a better one or be one heck of a showman
:lol2:
Now in your case the judge said the class was very close, he placed you ahead of the person who had a better coat. That says volumes to me, you did one heck of a job to pass that kid and take first. What the judge was also saying is.... if your animal had a better coat like the kids animal in second then there would have been no competition. Same playing field, even in animal quality but your a better showman by a long shot. It was actually a real good compliment, I think. :clap:
I hope that helped
If I were judging, the skill of the showman first, then the coat would make for a good tie breaker
