Show time in Oklahoma!

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Well, we had a great regional show with the South Central Regionals in Stillwater, OK. I thought I would share a few pictures of the kids and tell how we did. This first pic is our percentage heifer, Cookie. She is 5/8th Simmental and I really like her. Unfortunately, the judge really wanted cattle with good epd's, and since she has a small amount of clubby breeding in her (Who Made Who maternal grandsire), her EPD's stink, so she was 7th in her class. She is a May heifer, bred already to calve in January to Uno Mas. She had a great pelvic score and was 950 pounds when we bred her, and I like them bred before he hit the hot season with showing and all.



This is our oldest daughter showing her September yearling heifer (she is bred to One Eyed Jack for a Sept calf). This heifer is 4 generations deep in our herd, and was 7th overall bred and owned heifer last year in TX at the nationals. I do not like my bred heifers getting fat, so she was not fat enough for the judge but that is OK because she will come home and hopefully produce a nice calf for us. She is sired by Upgrade, and has a wonderful set of EPD's. She was third in her class, and in the hunt for top 10.



This next one is of my two middle kids, who happen to be in the same class with their bred and owned heifers...

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

My son and his heifer. She is a March, confirmed 42 days bred today to Live Ammo. She was 3rd in her class and got in the hunt for the top 10 bred and owned also.


And our middle daughter, with her April heifer, bred to Broadway. She was 4th in her class.

This is our oldest in a contest called Sales Talk, with the middle holding her heifer. This contest is judged on how well you know your animal genetics and the heifer you are trying to "sell". You need to know the EPD's, strengths and weaknesses of your animal, and make it fit the scenario the judge is looking for (some want a heifer for commercial operation, some want carcass traits, some seedstock... you never know until the contest starts and you have 7 minutes to sell the animal). She placed 4th overall in the senior division. The middle daughter also did well, selling her heifer and placing 3rd overall in the junior division.


Our son trying to sell his heifer in Sales talk.


We did well overall, with the oldest placing 4th in Sales Talk, 2nd in Public Speaking (a 5 minutes impromptu speech on a topic given to them with 30 minutes to prepare the speech - all cattle topics), 6th in cattlemen's quiz, and 4th overall senior (she is in the front row, 4th over from the left, teal shirt on)


The middle daughter was 3rd in Public Speaking, and 10th overall in the cattlemen's quiz (in junior division).

Now we are gearing up for nationals in Iowa in a few weeks. I love the way these contests help the kids make new friends, and learn to speak and know their product (like sales talk), and that it is not JUST a cattle show! Oklahoma did a great job of hosting it, other than the HOT HOT HOT weather we about died in!

 

[Boot Jack Bulls]

Very Nice! Can' wait to see your pics from junior nats!

 

[DLD]

Looks like a good showing - congratulations and best of luck at junior nationals.

 

[KNERSIE]

SO the judge place animal on the value of EPDs with PE accuracy?

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Not sure what PE accuracy means Knersie, but he was picky about EPD's. Our regional and national shows are PTP shows, meaning Progress Through Performance. They try to hire judges that will take the EPD's into account, but the EPD's at this point have little to NO accuracy since they have not produced yet. So most judges look at it, but will not slam a heifer to the bottom if the EPD's are not favorable but the heifer looks good. All I can say is that he literally said "this heifer is at the bottom because of her performance records". That is it. She has done well all year so far at other shows, placing in the top two every time and in many champion drives. Her looks are not for everyone; she is very masculine and has a lot of white, which many breeders do not care for. That is why I like her, I like my cows with a little more mass....I just always remember, one man's opinion on one day!

 

[True Grit Farms]

Really a nice heifer but way to much chrome. Must have some old time Simmental blood in her.

 

[KNERSIE]

Not sure what PE accuracy means Knersie, but he was picky about EPD's. Our regional and national shows are PTP shows, meaning Progress Through Performance. They try to hire judges that will take the EPD's into account, but the EPD's at this point have little to NO accuracy since they have not produced yet. So most judges look at it, but will not slam a heifer to the bottom if the EPD's are not favorable but the heifer looks good. All I can say is that he literally said "this heifer is at the bottom because of her performance records". That is it. She has done well all year so far at other shows, placing in the top two every time and in many champion drives. Her looks are not for everyone; she is very masculine and has a lot of white, which many breeders do not care for. That is why I like her, I like my cows with a little more mass....I just always remember, one man's opinion on one day!

PE = pedigre estimate, in other words no data to support her EPDs at this time, either way the accuracy is at a level where its nothing more than a hopeful indication or an (educated?) guess.

On the chrome issue, I believe it's the judge's job to place the best animal of it type that meets the breed standards regardless of personal taste and preferences.

On a technical point, no heifer can ever be too masculine, she can only be not as feminine as the heifers placed above her. In her case she still has a female wedge, very clean neck and front, no course vertical skinfolds on neck, very refined (although not pretty) head, she could have had a little more hip and a softer longer muscle, but she is a continental type, so harder shorter muscle is to be expected. I'd much rather farm with her than many other show champions, but regardless of that I don't see any justification of the judge's actions or comments

 

[Ky hills]

I wouldn't mind having some heifers like the BWF in my front pasture. While I do look at EPD's when selecting registered cattle ( in my case Angus ), they are not the deciding factor especially for females. Also from what I have seen of some Angus bloodlines that are used for showing, some of their EPD's are not as impressive as many of the more performance oriented lines.

 

[greatgerts]

I wouldn't mind having some heifers like the BWF in my front pasture. While I do look at EPD's when selecting registered cattle ( in my case Angus ), they are not the deciding factor especially for females. Also from what I have seen of some Angus bloodlines that are used for showing, some of their EPD's are not as impressive as many of the more performance oriented lines.

That is because too many breeds either breed for the pasture OR for the showring. We try to strive for an animal that could do both.

 

[Ky hills]

I wouldn't mind having some heifers like the BWF in my front pasture. While I do look at EPD's when selecting registered cattle ( in my case Angus ), they are not the deciding factor especially for females. Also from what I have seen of some Angus bloodlines that are used for showing, some of their EPD's are not as impressive as many of the more performance oriented lines.

That is because too many breeds either breed for the pasture OR for the showring. We try to strive for an animal that could do both.

I agree, a lot of the show cattle don't appeal to me, I think shows should reflect the type and kind of cattle that would work in the pastures. Another issue that disturbs me is the purposeful breeding for hair, I like cattle that shed off slick and early.
Hair may not be an issue for some, but it is undesirable here with the summer heat and fescue based pastures.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

The lack of hair is why were often struggle to get to the top at big shows. Our cattle are short haired, live in pastures, and come up at night for grain and a rinse. So they shuck hair pretty quickly. There is no hiding faults when you have no hair. I have long argued that shows should be slick sheared, so you can see the animal for what it is. The companies that make big bucks selling the hair products will never let that happen. So, I tell my kids, we show breeding cattle, not bred show cattle.... Think about that! Our girls go home and produce a calf. Every year. Every one of the heifers I pictured are bred to calve at, or before, 24 months. That is where they make us money; as cows, not show heifers!

 

[Ky hills]

The lack of hair is why were often struggle to get to the top at big shows. Our cattle are short haired, live in pastures, and come up at night for grain and a rinse. So they shuck hair pretty quickly. There is no hiding faults when you have no hair. I have long argued that shows should be slick sheared, so you can see the animal for what it is. The companies that make big bucks selling the hair products will never let that happen. So, I tell my kids, we show breeding cattle, not bred show cattle.... Think about that! Our girls go home and produce a calf. Every year. Every one of the heifers I pictured are bred to calve at, or before, 24 months. That is where they make us money; as cows, not show heifers!

I like that comment about showing breeding cattle. I don't have any issues at all with showing working cattle as y'all are doing. The cattle that you post pictures of are always very high quality, and no doubt very productive. I think that showing is a great way to showcase a purebred herd. It helps in building name recognition, is good advertisement, and helps to make contact with other breeders and customers. I also think it is great for children, helps to teach about caring for animals and responsibilities. My concern is more from the club calf side of showing, and the direction that some of the breeds have gone as a part of it. I have also seen some Angus show bred cattle that seem to have that kind of look to them.