Herdsmanship Contest

Rules and Regulations

1. The Herdsmanship Contest is divided into the following categories:

2. The club and member receiving the highest score in each lot will be named the overall winner for that lot. A trophy will be awarded to the individual and club with the highest score of all three lots in their category.
3. The contest starts at the opening of the 4-H Fair on Friday and ends at fair closing on Sunday.
4. The Vice President of Agriculture, Superintendent of Special Contests and/or their mentors are responsible for:

1. informing the judge(s) of the rules
2. providing judge(s) with scorecard
3. collecting and tallying scores
4. submitting the score cards to the awards committee

5. The objectives of this contest are to:

1. promote safety practices
2. encourage more attractive livestock/animal exhibit at the 4-H Fair
3. increase educational displays on 4-H member's projects

6. Awards for the Herdsman contest will be presented at the 4-H Fair Annual meeting in the fall and no contestant shall know the results until that time.

Herdsmanship Contest Scoring

• Safety
  involvement by members; animals are properly tied, penned or caged (quick release knots on all tied animals); cages and stall doors properly secured; animals not tangled in ropes or leads; walk ways clear of any obstructions; pitchforks, rakes, shovels and brooms stored with point safely away; ropes, halters and leads stored away to prevent tripping; no smoking signs displayed - minimum of two signs, opposite ends of exhibit area; signs placed at eye level; fire buckets - appropriate number of buckets per exhibit, buckets of at least a two gallon capacity and buckets properly labeled and uncovered and free of floating debris
• Management
  cleanliness - clean bedding for animals; area free of trash; manure is removed frequently
  neatness - overall visual appearance; storage of supplies and equipment is attractive
  bedding - free of manure and urine; bedding is confined to the area of the animals and not the walkway
  animal care and handling - feed and water clean if present; no empty buckets or feed pans with animals; animals are clean; the handler works quietly and calmly; animals are moved with care for public safety
  courtesy to public and fellow 4-H members - polite to members and public; no inappropriate language or actions; members willing to educate the public
  
• Attractiveness of Exhibit
  arrangement of exhibit - is exhibit educational; attractive, eye catching; easy to view and understand
  tack area - attractive storage; out of public way
  
• Educational
  (requires entry of an Educational Exhibit to be displayed in the livestock building)
  neatly presented - easy to read; information is accurate
  

† See the printed fairbook for details. Fairbooks are published in late Spring.

Updated: July 4, 2004