Tuesday, November 20, 2012

LivestockJudges.org

Are you a show manager? Or a livestock judge? If so, we invite you to check out a new website we have been working on - www.livestockjudges.org. This is a new site that is sort of like a match.com for shows and judges.


If you are a show manager, this is a great tool for finding judges in your area, or finding some new judges that maybe you have not used before.

If you are a judge, this is another great tool to get your name and qualifications out there, and possibly connect with new shows too.

We are proud to be one of the collaborators on this site, and we hope you will check it out!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Louisville 2012 Recap

Well we just returned from Louisville for my favorite show of the fall. And as always, we came home with lots of new stories and good memories from the show. 

Here's a few things I learned at the show....
If you have a phone number listed on your livestock trailer or stall signs, be sure to include your cell phone #. We had a friend who had a heifer get their head stuck in the fence. Someone tried to call the # listed on their sign but it was a home # and they couldn't get ahold of the people to let them know.

The Cardinal Grill is not NEAR as crowded on Sunday night, and if you get there around 6 you can avoid the wait!

The shuttle at the Hilton Garden Inn is great.

The Cinnamon Toast french toast at Cracker Barrel is SOOOO worth the calories!

The hallways of Freedom Hall is THE place to see and be seen. Forget the main aisle ha ha! We loved chatting and visiting with everyone at the show.

The Showtimes Magazine and The Showbox Magazines were clearly stepping it up even more than what they already do it that is even possible. They were there handing out magazines like crazy, handing out caps, goodies, give-a-ways, etc. Everywhere you turned you could see these two magazines and people looking at them.

Why is it that the barn is 30 degrees colder than the showring? It makes it so hard to decide whether to bring a jacket or leave it at the stalls.

And the newest observation of the year from Louisville....

This year's gate people are R-U-D-E!!!!! They turned me and Emily around after we walked all the way from the hotel to the gate because we hadn't got our passes yet. So to avoid the $12 per head fee to get in the gate, we, of course, devised a backup plan to get in which SUCCEEDED. I still don't understand why certain gate people at livestock shows think that just because they are an hourly paid rent-a-cop that they have this super authority to turn people away or let them in. Really, we're here all the way from Texas, we're clearly cattle people, we're SUPPOSED to be inside that gate.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Best of the Barns 2012

Voting is now underway for Best of the Barns 2012 - The awards program that rewards the best of the best in the livestock business!

To cast your vote, go to www.bestofthebarns.com and get started.

This year we have over 40 categories ranging from best online show broadcast team to best semen sales firm and much much more. And our biggest question is the very last question....which you'll have to complete the survey to see!

And new for this year....the Best of the Barns Hall of Fame. Including new categories for Sire of the Year for the club calf category and showpig category, best cattle fitter, livestock friend of the year and more!

After completing the survey you'll also get a special code to use in the RHD store.

Thanks again and go to www.bestofthebarns.com to vote!