Why Shouldn’t Americans win Grand or Reserve at Haired Majors?
Jeff Let's start with the disclaimer again. People should be and deserve to be proud of a placing, regardless of whether other people disagree with it.
I love American cattle.
Not in the “well, I can’t compete with the exotics, I might as well try breeding Americans” way that you bandwagon steer jocks have started doing, I really do like American cattle.
I like they way they look, like the way they move, like the fact that the good ones last twenty years, and I even like their attitudes. They’re fun cattle. They keep you on your toes while working them. They’re smarter than your exotics.
American cattle are regularly in contention for grand or reserve down here in south Texas. Heck, we bred two steers that did it. They can contend in South Texas because steers down here don’t typically have two inches of hair and, in general, our exotics aren’t as good as they are up north. That’s not clubby stuff, that’s common sense cattleman stuff.
You have to make a LOT of mistakes in the exotics for the American to be your best option in the grand drive at a haired major.
They're also in contention at those shows because I'm talking about prospect and county shows, not shows with 1,500+ entries.
American cattle should never be in contention for one of the top two spots at Fort Worth.
We all like to joke that the Americans in Fort Worth aren’t actually American but ANY American breed champion at Fort Worth would have trouble making the sale if he had to do battle in Class 10 or Class 11.
They just can’t compete with the exotics in a haired show of the caliber of Fort Worth.
American breeders won't get pissed at me for saying that because it's true.
Don’t take my word for it, just being in the American breed is a pretty clear indicator that a person doesn’t think their calf is in contention for grand or reserve. Nobody who thinks logically would run a calf in the American class if that calf has a shot at winning the show.
Why?
If you get classed out in Fort Worth, you don’t go to the exotics, you go home. If a person has a calf that they legitimately think is likely one of the two best steers going to Fort Worth, they’re an idiot for trying to show him American.
It's not "Honorable Mention" it's "Reserve Grand Champion".
When DOES it make sense to use an American for reserve grand at a haired major?
When the judge has messed up his other breed winners so badly that the American in the drive is your best option.