The Art of Losing Gracefully: A Message to Young Showmen

If there is one piece of advice I would give to young showmen and women it would be to learn how to lose gracefully. Everyone wants to win, showing is competitive by nature, but how you act when you do not win is just as important as how you act when you do win.

As an eight year old, I learned this lesson the hard way and as an adult when I am asked to cite milestones in my life, this story is always one of them.When I was eight, I entered the beef arena for the first time. While I had been showing horses for years, showing cattle was different. Showing cattle was what my dad did, my brother, my family. I am a third generation beef producer and the only girl in my family to continue the tradition in the show ring. These factors, along with the fact that I won the first show in my career meant that I was a bit too big for my pint size britches.
My second show started out much like my first. I was showing bulls and won my class. I went back in for division champion and won that too. When I went back in overall, however, I got beat by the larger two-year-old bulls. Apparently, more mature bulls are more desirable in the show ring than six-month-old calves. Who knew!

On the way out of the ring I started to sniffle. By the time we were outside, the sniffle turned into full tears. When my dad saw this he grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. “Don’t ever cry when you leave the ring,” he told me. “If you want something to cry about, I will give you something to cry about, but this isn’t that something. I better never catch you doing it again.” My dad is not a big guy, nor is he a mean guy, but by the look on his face I knew he meant business and it is a lesson I never forgot.

Over the years my collection of trophies grew, but not every year and certainly not every show. There were times when I was on the bottom although thanks to my father’s knowledge of cattle and genetics, those instances were few.

Showing has taught me many things over the year, but I still think that first lesson is the most important. It is also one I hope young showmen and women heed because it is ultimately a lesson that makes you better.