Thoughts on this clubby show heifer?

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You are trying to go to the top without paying your dues. Yes, anyone's Daddy can buy the winning show heifer and have 4 people fit it up for a show. Get used to it. That is what you are against if you think you want to go to the big shows.
I've been breeding for 50 years, and I can't hold a candle to some of the top show farms. Do I win - absolutely, a lot - but I stay in my league. If I was heading to Denver or Louisville, I would need fitters to come close to competing. We do very little fitting. I win with functional working cattle - not cream puffs.
But, you won't win anything no matter how much you pay if they don't have good feet & legs.
Simme gave you GREAT advice.
@BFE - what you said is NOT wrong. Most people ruin a heifer/cow/bull.
 
You are trying to go to the top without paying your dues. Yes, anyone's Daddy can buy the winning show heifer and have 4 people fit it up for a show. Get used to it. That is what you are against if you think you want to go to the big shows.
I've been breeding for 50 years, and I can't hold a candle to some of the top show farms. Do I win - absolutely, a lot - but I stay in my league. If I was heading to Denver or Louisville, I would need fitters to come close to competing. We do very little fitting. I win with functional working cattle - not cream puffs.
But, you won't win anything no matter how much you pay if they don't have good feet & legs.
Simme gave you GREAT advice.
@BFE - what you said is NOT wrong. Most people ruin a heifer/cow/bull.
If she isn't that good don't make me come down there to NY and buy one of your Simmys:ROFLMAO:
 
A little perspective on showing. About 20 years ago, my kids showed simmental cattle. This is a tale of two heifers.

One young heifer out of Iowa was purchased at an eastern state simmental association sale. Sired by one of those up and coming bulls that had sired some high selling $$$ calves back in Iowa. We got lucky on our feeding program and she was in top condition when she won grand champion simmental at our state fair. Our state fair is not a powerhouse simmental show, but she did win over a $20,000 heifer purchased from a top program in Wisconsin. Thing is that she was a very hard keeper, long hair that she did not shed, suffered greatly from the heat and fescue in the south and was a poor milker and poor doer. Kicker was that we paid only $700 for the weaning age heifer in that sale. Only grand champion female we ever had at the state fair. Some lucky people at the burger place got to enjoy her.

The other heifer was one that we raised. She was a very nice grey heifer - bred up from a holstein several generations back and still carrying the dilution gene. We showed her at the Louisville Ky NAILE - a big time show with heavy competition. She was in a class of 10 heifers and got fifth place on those green shavings in the big house where the lady played the organ during the show for years. Fifth place was in the middle of the class, but also in the middle of some big time operations (which we were not). Only grey heifer in the class, maybe the show.

We viewed one of those heifers as an accomplishment and one as a disappointment. But had some enjoyment from both. And learned from both.
 
@simme years ago I showed a "silver" yearling at Louisville - on those green shavings. Man is that mind blowing in such a huge stadium. She had taken Grand Champion at NY State Fair - I think she did well - top 1/3 of class in Louisville. Hard to remember, I was so much in awe!!! LOL We also took her to Canada's Royal Winter Fair. Boy, was she the talk of the barn. Noone had seen a silver Simmental (all Fullbloods up there at that time). I was referred to as "the lady with the silver heifer".
 
@simme years ago I showed a "silver" yearling at Louisville - on those green shavings. Man is that mind blowing in such a huge stadium. She had taken Grand Champion at NY State Fair - I think she did well - top 1/3 of class in Louisville. Hard to remember, I was so much in awe!!! LOL We also took her to Canada's Royal Winter Fair. Boy, was she the talk of the barn. Noone had seen a silver Simmental (all Fullbloods up there at that time). I was referred to as "the lady with the silver heifer".
That's pretty cool!
 

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