Why exhibit?

Some people wonder whether exhibiting actually offers a certain added value. It is often said that breeders do this with only one goal: to win. This is very brief because the showing of the animals offers a number of advantages and, as in other sports, participation is more important here than winning!

In the first place, it is the ideal place to introduce people to our beautiful hobby and to the variety of breeds that can be found within the various animal groups. For people who are planning to keep some farm animals, this is the ideal place to see the breeds they know from books or the internet in person. A photo is never the same as a living animal: a Flemish giant or Brahma is even more imposing in real life and you cannot capture the blow of a Cropper in action in one image. For those who have not yet decided which breed they want to buy, this is a suitable time to walk along the different rows of cages in search of the desired breed. Often there is someone around who can explain to you about a certain breed and possibly help some animals.

For the novice enthusiast, a show is the ideal time to learn something about his or her favorite breed. By submitting your own animals at different shows you can form a picture of what your animals are actually worth compared to those of others and to the current state of the breed. One show does not say much, because if the animal does not show its best side for some reason, the predicate may turn out to be different from what the animal is actually worth. Send your pet a few times, preferably with different judges and compare the inspection cards. Why does the animal receive this predicate? What's good? What could be better? Which mistake did you not notice yourself? Even if you have not submitted any animals yourself, it is worthwhile to examine the inspection cards of the animals present within your own breed. You usually look at someone else's animals with different eyes than your own. If you do this regularly, you will get a much broader view of your breed and you will also be able to view your animals more objectively and better assess their value.

Even for the experienced exhibition breeder, an exhibition is still the time to show your animals to the outside world, to show what is possible within a certain breed. It offers breeders the opportunity to warm people up for their favorite breed and possibly help with good breeding material. For breeders of rare breeds, it is the chance to introduce the general public, because many of these unknown breeds are often unloved.

And of course an exhibition is primarily a fun event for young and old! Often there are various side activities linked to the (especially larger) shows. Between the cages or with a snack and a drink you can quietly talk or discuss intensively with fellow breeders about the results achieved. An exhibition space with all its movements, sounds and smells exudes a certain atmosphere. Anyone who has already experienced the caging, testing, after-talk and caging, understands why some call an exhibition "the high mass" of the breeding season ...