Advice for Juniors
Holstein World: Kristin & Kyle, you have experienced a lot of success in the show ring during you junior careers. What advice do you have to share with other juniors looking to compete at the next level and developing show heifers and cows?
Kristin & Kyle: First of all, success doesn”t come over night. It takes a lot of work and patience along the way, most of which is done at home. Your calves need to get off to a good start, you need to pay attention to detail, and don”t hold back on anything. Then learn how to feed your show heifers to keep them growing, but maintain the right show condition; train continuously so you and your animals work well together; wash your animals regularly to keep new hair growth and also make a snowy white and velvety black appearance. It’’s all about staying on top of your game and going that extra mile. Attend fitting and showing workshops or Badger Dairy Camp, go to shows and keep your eyes open as to how the successful show strings do things; listen to the judges comments; participate in showmanship contests. No matter how old or experienced you are, you can always pick up something new to make yourself better.
Our parents have always taught us that you can have the best typed heifer with the best fitting job, but if you don”t present her properly in the ring all of your hard work could be in vane, and in the big shows you only have a short time to have your animal catch the judge’’s eye, so you always have to pay attention and do your best until the last ribbon and reason is given. That is why showmanship is so important to us. Another thing Dad has really stressed is the fact that every animal on the farm IS for sale, and although it hasn”t always been easy to part with that favorite show heifer or cow, it’’s part of the learning process. We”re not saying there won”t be tears as she’’s loaded on the trailer, but you have to give each animal on the farm a value and if you are offered that price you should be satisfied; don”t look back as to what could of been… consider it the right decision. Believe us when we say it hasn”t always been easy and we”ve had many disappointments along the way. We have, however, learned from our mistakes, learned never to give up, and we”ve taken pride in what we”ve done. Although not always easy, we”ve learned to be a gracious loser and humble winner, and most importantly we”ve achieved our successes together as a family.