BRATTLEBORO, Vt., July 27, 2017- Holstein Foundation is excited to announce the release of a four-part video series to educate youth, showmanship judges, and anyone else who works with dairy youth on proper showmanship procedures. The videos are created as a supplement to the Holstein Foundation’s Showring Ready workbook. Both are based on the latest PDCA showmanship guidelines. The videos are available to watch for free on the Holstein Foundation website and YouTube channel.
“Showmanship is near and dear to my heart, and we are thrilled to provide free and easily accessible resources to youth across the country. Our goal is to help everyone involved in showing understand the new PDCA guidelines, and give visual demonstrations on some of the most common questions,” says Jodi Hoynoski, Holstein Foundation Programs Manager.
The video series is designed to serve as a guide for youth, parents and dairy project leaders who are interested in learning the ins and outs of dairy cattle showmanship, things like what to wear in the ring, basic preparations that should be made with your animal, as well as the guidelines to follow for leading and setting up your animal in the showring.
“For several years there has been some confusion about the current showmanship guidelines and I believe one of the reasons was that the teaching resources weren’t easily available over the internet. I applaud the Holstein Foundation’s effort to create these written and video products that are now available free of charge to youth, parents, project leaders and showmanship judges with just a click of their mouse,” states Ted Halbach, University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty Associate who collaborated on the project. “The materials are well done, hopefully these products will lead to the desired uniformity in showmanship procedures and judging that the Purebred Dairy Cattle Association (PDCA) has been looking to achieve.”
Along with a detailed “Showmanship Resources” section on Holstein Foundation’s website, the videos may also be found on our YouTube Channel. The four videos, each about four minutes in length, cover the following topics:
Showring Ready: What to Wear & How to Act
This video covers the essential things dairy showmen should wear in the ring, how they should act while showing their animal, and things every showman should know about their dairy animal before entering the showring.
Showring Ready: Appearance of Your Animal & Proper Equipment
This video covers preparations to ensure your animal is ready for the showmanship ring. To properly care for, groom and show your animal, you will need the right gear.
Showring Ready: Entering the Showring & On Parade
This video covers proper technique for leading your animal into the showring at the start of the class, as well as how to show her on parade. The goal is to keep your calf looking her best always, while making it appear effortless.
Showring Ready: Entering the Line & Posing Your Animal
Show day is exciting for everyone involved, and the time when all your hard work and preparation will shine. This video covers proper technique for pulling your animal into line during the class and how to properly set her up once you are there.
Working with dairy cattle and preparing them for a show can be an extremely worthwhile experience. To help prepare for dairy cattle shows, find the videos by visiting www.holsteinfoundation.org or YouTube.com/