Why do you want to keep showing if you never win?

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Same here; and they usually start asking lots of questions, and I get to talk chickens and introduce others to this wonderful hobby. Mostly I have to be careful to not monopolize the conversation, but to keep it a conversation, not a soapbox

 

[AinaWGSD]

Tell him you do it because you enjoy it and it makes you happy, even if you don't win the whole show. Showing should never be about the winning. If it were, then it would make a lot of people very unhappy because there's only one grand champion for every show. And just because you haven't won anything "better" than reserve or best of breed at this point in time doesn't mean that you never will.

For people who show, whether it's animals or vegetables or quilts or whatever, the real joy is from showing off their work in public and enjoying the comraderie of others who share the same hobby. I used to do Rally Obedience with my dogs (not so much since my son was born since I just don't have the time for training or the extra money for entry fees) and I really loved getting to chat with others between rounds. And while I will admit that getting points and ribbons was really nice, only one of my favorite memories from showing actually had to do with winning a title. In fact, my most cherished memory came from a run where we were disqualified for "breaking" a sit-stay (that if it had been under a different judge might have let pass). We didn't qualify, but my neurotic, nervous wreck of a dog was, for two and a half glorious minutes, completely tuned in and in synch with me (thanks to a heavy down-pour on a tin-roofed pole barn that drowned out almost all background noise and prevented anyone from opening the doors to go outside). I was so happy I almost cried when we left the ring.

 

[TurtleFeathers]

Sure ribbons and trophies are nice, but thats not what showing is all about - its about having fun. Everyone has a different idea of what "fun" is tho - like to learn, some like the competition, some like the comradery.

I used to show dogs - I was involved with conformation showing, field trials, and obedience. It was fun at first, and I learned a LOT, but honestly, I didn't find much comradery there. The competition in my breed was pretty tight, which was fine because I knew that going into it - but the judging was so political that only the people that paid big bucks for a professional handler seemed to get anywhere, and even then only dogs with certain lineages ever won anything - it seemed that it was more about who you were, how much money you had and what kennel your dog was from than anything else. I was told over and over again, "you'll never put any titles on that dog without a handler" and "find him a home and get a dog worth showing". Well, this made me more determined to prove them wrong, regardless of how long it took to do it. They finally shut up four years later, when one of my dogs and I got our CD in obedience and came in FIRST PLACE in a class of 58 dogs. After that, I just lost my taste for showing dogs - we accomplished what they said we couldn't do, but we just didn't have as much fun along the way as I was told we would in the beginning. We had more fun hangin' out at home just being best buds.

Fast forward a few years and now I have chickens - I don't show them (yet), but I catch a lot of flack just for *having* them. Most people around here just don't understand - to them, they're just dirty birds and only good for eating. When these "non-believers" come by the house, I casually pull out a couple lawn chairs and a little bucket of scratch, and as we sit down, the birds gather round, and I start throwing out the scratch. Within SECONDS, my non-believing friends are hooked! I've now got several friends that have converted to my way of thinking, and if they haven't started their own flock already, they come by to hang out with me and mine - and more often than not, they take home a dozen eggs or two. Suddenly, these "dirty birds" aren't so dirty anymore! I still have a few friends to convert, and I will in time. Until then, they can say whatever they want, it doesn't bother me. I've been a "bird person" since I was a little girl - I've done my share of rescuing/rehabbing wild birds, and I've kept parrots for many years - but now I wish I'd gotten into poultry a LOOOONG time ago, because I tell ya, I'm having more fun with them than I ever imagined! Granted, chickens aren't as brightly colored and they're not as trainable as parrots, but being able to keep my birds outside in the sunshine and fresh air, where they can do what comes natural to them, rather than having them in a cage in the house, well, its just awesome in my book. To me, they each have a personality, and they're just plain COOL - and having a constant supply of beautifully colored fresh eggs is just a bonus, IMO. I may decide to show them one day, and if I do, it won't be JUST for the prizes or notoriety that comes with winning. It will be to meet people who share my interest, and to learn from them - maybe later down the road, we might win something, but if we don't, thats ok, too - because poultry people are down to earth, fun to hang out with, and willing to share their knowledge, all traits that I value in people. For now tho, I'll just rely on BYC for all that.

What I'm trying to say here is, you shouldn't have to prove yourself to anyone in order to have fun, and you certainly don't owe anyone any explanation as to WHY you enjoy keeping/showing your birds. Its a personal choice, and as long as you're gaining from it - whether that be in knowledge, friendships or prizes - I say GO FOR IT!!!

 

[Ohne-Fehler]

Because I think its fun and its what I want to spend my money on! I think that is all the reason one needs. This is only my first year showing poultry and we have only started because my partner decided that we should have chickens. We went to one poultry show and we were hooked not only on the showing but the breeding as well. I have spent my entire life showing livestock. Mostly dairy goats and horses and while I don’t always win sometimes I do and knowing that your breeding program has paid off is an amazing feeling.

I can tell you with horses that I don’t always win, in fact more often than not I don’t. However I do regularly place in the points and when you are showing at a big breed show that is rewarding enough. Plus I love showing it’s what I consider to be fun. If it wasn’t fun I wouldn’t spend the ridiculous amounts of money it takes to show horses. Some people go to Mexico for fun, I go to shows! Although Mexico is alot of fun.

Just for fun here are a couple show pics. This is an Appy gelding that I showed for someone this year.

A Saanen doe kid that did go on to win. (not my goat, I was handling)

 

[Jared77]

I come from an exhibition family. My mother is a judge and exhibitor in cats. My father exhibits also in cats. They met and have been married almost 40 years. They love what they do. My brother is big into cats as well and he met his girlfriend there. They've been together for 2 years now.

Me? I train a Golden Retriever for hunt tests and field trials. My wife shows Morgans. We don't always win we go and have fun. The fun is getting there as many have said. When I get a complicated behavior that we've been working on all put together its really a great feeling. Thats what it is for me.

I don't have any interest in exhibiting poultry. Ive got enough irons in the fire as it is and don't need another thing to compete with. If we didn't do the horse thing or the dog thing then I know I would but horses are expensive enough to keep let alone show and my dogs? Well ask Kellie how many hours we put into training. Its a lot. But so what if you do? And as long as your not going into the red with the cost of showing who cares? That's always been the biggest thing for us is making sure we don't go into debt over exhibiting. We set the money aside and when its gone we're done for the season. Keeps it fun and eliminates a lot of stress and arguments over how we're spending our money and makes the shows the shows that much more meaningful when we do place because we can't go to every one we see a flier for.