Hi everyone. Today we woke up early and headed over to the fairgrounds to participate in the judging contest. We went into a show ring that was not very big at all. The show ring was divided into four sections. We judged two classes of Holsteins, one class of Ayrshires, and one class of Jerseys. We gave reasons on one Holstein class and the Ayrshire class. It was quite hectic but interesting to see the differences between the ways we judge. Instead of circling the cows in the middle of the ring while we judge from the outside, we stand in the middle and try to keep up with the fast pace that leadsmen are going at. Not to mention that we only have 4 minutes in the ring with each class. This time frame is not extended for reasons classes. I (Hannah) thought it was hilarious how the announcer would tell us that we need to turn our placing cards in and at that very same moment the time on the next class would begin before we even turned in our cards. I think it was so ironic that we only had a couple minutes to take notes (which involved writing a few words describing each cow) but they allowed anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to study reasons plus we were allowed to read our notes. It was crazy! We also thought is was funny that the Scottish lads felt the need to pat down the cows as if they were going through airport security.
The weather was fairly nice considering the weatherman predicted a 90% chance of rain. It only rained a little during the contest which was good considering it was a steady rain during breakfast. After the contest we had some free time that allowed us to explore the fairgrounds and watch the parade of champions. We saw the beef and dairy cows parade around the ring and it was a different but wonderful experience. Later in the evening we headed over to the Lowland Building for dinner and the announcement of the winners. Congrats to Jess and Kait for being the second place international high school team. For those of you who don't know, our teas were separated into pairs. Two members from the Minnesota FFA team won the contest.
3 comments:
Way to go Maryland! We are so proud of you!!!! Sounds like they don't waste time over there. I they usually complain that the Americans scurry around. What an awesome experience! Love to all.
Congratulations to all! Kaitlyn and Jess, did you like the traditional way the Scots presented the awards? Has anyone bought a kilt yet? Now settle back and enjoy the scenery of Scotland and what each day has in store.
Sounds like a good day! Congrats to Jess and Kaitlyn! Did you get to wear the long white "doctor" coats?
I hope you are taking tons of pictures! :)
Oh yeah, I also think that a kilt for Jeff would be a funny addition to the viking hat. ;)
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