3 Creative Ways to Bring the Fun of the Stock Show to Your Backyard

Across the country, summer livestock shows have faced cancellation. Thankfully, many people have come together to host replacement shows, but whether your show has a replacement or not, there’s no doubt this summer just won’t look the same but, no matter how things look for you and your family there’s no need to throw in the towel on your livestock projects. After all, the best things that come from showing livestock don’t have anything to do with what happens in the ring. 

Here are three creative ways you can bring the fun of the stock show to your backyard this summer.  

• Host a mini-show or clinic at your farm. There may not be a show this weekend, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get together with your friends and re-create the show environment. This is a great opportunity to gather a few families, throw some meat on the smoker and get some practice done. It doesn’t require a fancy show ring or even an official judge. Best of all, you can make your own rules! 
  
• Add quality time to your daily care routine. Most summers are so busy, filled with constant running, but less events can mean more time at home. Take an extra beat each day and add quality time to your daily care routine. Make the time to sit on the showbox and learn more about your kids, what’s interesting to them, and what they hope to accomplish in the future. Make special time to guide them through difficult situations or to just sit together and play a game. We always brag about the bonds showing livestock creates within a family, but we rarely create sacred time to build this bond. With less running to do this summer, this may be the best chance of your life to change the course of theirs.
  
  
• Co-op resources to enter online shows. When you bought your project animal, you definitely didn’t have online shows in mind. In fact, they probably didn’t even exist yet. Online shows could never replace live events, but they present an amazing opportunity to practice; to go through the show experience without ever leaving home.  Instead of rushing through the process to submit your online show entries, try gathering friends and family for a day of filming. You might just find it’s the most fun show you’ve ever been to! 

If you’re thinking about entering online shows, don’t let video hold you back. You don’t need to be a tech wizard to create a show-winning video. Learn more in our $29 online course, The Complete Guide to Creating Winning Videos for Online Shows. We’ll give you the tips and tricks we’ve learned from filming thousands of animals and show you how you can do it using nothing but your phone!