1 Dress code: Wear white trousers, a white shirt and a tie. Wear brown or black shoes and a brown or black belt to correspond with the colour of your shoes.

2Halter: Ensure that the halter (leather) fits the animal correctly and is clean. You should also roll up the strap. When showing a dairy animal, the halter is nearly always kept short.

3Walking with your animal: When entering the ring, walk forward with your calf, holding the halter in your right hand. Once everyone has entered the ring, turn around and walk backwards, with the halter in your left hand and use your right hand to control your calf by putting pressure on her shoulder. Alternatively, hold the throat skin in your right hand, which allows you greater control of the positioning of the head.

4Walk in unison: When walking, try and keep in unison with your calf – when you take a step, so does your calf. Don’t crawl. Move at a steady pace and give yourself plenty of space so that the judge can walk comfortably around your calf. Always keep your eye on the judge. Stay alert, but try and relax too.

5Presenting your calf: Similar to a beef animal, the judge will examine each dairy calf individually and invite each person to walk forward. Walk at a steady pace and try and stay in unison with your calf, while always keeping the head up. The judge will then invite you to present your calf in the correct standing position. The positioning of legs for a dairy animal is completely different to that for a beef animal. On the side you lead (that’s the left side when looking at the calf from behind), the front leg should be slightly back and the back leg lightly forward. In other words, on the show side (right side from behind), the front leg is forward and the back leg is back to give the impression of length. The head should be held up and your arm should be in line with the head. Again, the judge will afford you the opportunity to arrange the legs so take your time and don’t feel under pressure.

6The judge’s examination: When you are happy with the presentation of your calf, stand back and look up at the judge. He will then approach your calf and feel the skin. When he does this, turn the calf’s head towards the judge – this helps to loosen the skin. Then he will walk behind the calf. Make sure her head is straight and everything is in line. The judge will then walk to the other side of your calf. If you feel confident enough, switch the legs by getting the calf to walk forward half a step. This means the legs are now in the correct standing position on the lead side (that’s the left side when looking at the calf from behind). Sometimes this can go wrong – it takes a lot of practice, control and confidence to switch the position of the legs at this point. If you are not that experienced, stick to the initial position. Finally, the judge will walk to the front of your calf. This is cue for you to turn and face forward.

7Know your animal: Make sure that you know some basic details about your calf such as the sire, the date of birth, the bloodline etc. When the judge has completed examining your calf, he will ask you to walk forward. Proceed at a steady pace and keep your concentration.

8Making his selection: When the individual examinations are complete, the judge will then start making his selection. He will signal to you to move into the centre of the ring and the ring steward will direct you to where to go. If you are called into line, walk at a reasonably fast pace and don’t delay. Then, set up your calf quickly (head, legs, etc) while keeping your eye on the judge.

9 Give the impression of length: If you are called into first place, then do the opposite to what you did before – the back leg nearest you should be slightly back and the front leg slightly forward. This is because the judge will now be looking at you from the side you lead from (not the show side). You always want to give the impression of length which is done by alternating the position of the legs, depending on which side the judge is viewing at the time. If your calf starts walking forward in the lineup, reverse her by placing pressure on her shoulder – she should walk backwards. If you haven’t been called in, keep trying. The judge may be just testing you.

10 Changing position: If asked to change position in the lineup (eg go down to third place or up to first place), walk forward giving yourself plenty of room and turn clockwise with your animal. Walk back through the position you were in, and then go left or right as indicated by the judge (the only exception is if you are placed first and asked to move down a position – then you turn anti-clockwise).

11 Close call: Sometimes, if things are close, the judge may ask you to swap calves with your opponent. This clearly can bring you out of your comfort zone as you will not be familiar with your opponent’s calf. But it certainly provides a real test on your ability to handle and present any show animal, not just your own. The judge will be eager to determine if you can handle a different animal and yet perform in a comfortable manner. If you are asked to do this, set up your new calf as quickly as possible (legs and head) and worry about gathering up the halter later.

12 Enjoy your time: Make the most of your time. Remember that you are being judged from the minute you walk into the ring. Stay alert at all times. Even if you are not called into line the first time, keep trying. A judge will take on board how you can handle pressure. The key is to have your calf well trained, so practise regularly at home. Graciously accept the judge’s decision and congratulate your fellow opponents on either side of you.

To read the full Show and Showing Focus Supplement, click here.