06/08/2026
What a way to conclude my 2026 spring show season! The show was fantastic! About halfway through Iowa, the shock started to wear off, and the magnitude of everything finally started to sink in.
This is the third year I have exhibited at this show, and it has always been one of my favorites. The staff is Great, and Jim. I don’t even know where to begin to talk about how awesome he is at making sure everything is taken care of, and that things are as you would expect them to be.
It is also a show where memories are made. Lots of memories. Important Memories. New friends, achievements, discouraging words that push you to take a break or perhaps try harder, weather mysteries, learning opportunities, mentorship, souveniers, and probably more things that I can’t remember right now.
For those that have kept up with my entries this spring, you all have probably figured out that I “took a break” from exhibiting my Ameraucana. Some of that had to do with some “crappy people.” Other parts had to do with breeding plans, and of course the birds themselves (conditioning.) This show usually falls at the end of breeding season, so birds tend to look a little too-ratty this time of year, to be show contenders. I chose instead to really focus on finding fun, and of course, what makes my heart beat the loudest. My Cochin Bantams.
Everything started out pretty normal. An entire week of preparation, a long drive, cooping in, crazy weather, a late night with friends, and then back the next morning. Nothing was out of the ordinary, until it was.
I try not to distract the judge, and be what some judges call “cage hangers.” (people who basically hang off the cages of the next aisle watching every move the judge makes.) While some judges don’t mind this, there are some judges who find it irritating. You will learn who feels what, if your judge starts jumping around to different birds, or starts looking at the different people while holding a bird, kind-of searching for the right person to share their observation with. While I try to pay attention to where the judge is at in their duties, I usually wait until the coast is clear to look at my cards, or specifically, I try not to be annoying or distracting. But, I DO like watching the judge work, even though from a safe-distance.
One of the things I love about this show, is how they arrange the Frizzles. The varieties are usually in alphabetical order, and all of the frizzles were in one happy little row. Judge Rynish went through the Bantam Cochin varieties as one would expect. Looking, touching, evaluating, making little notes, assigning scores, etc. I snapped a few pics here and there like I always try to. When the coast was clear, I scoped out my placements. BV, RV, 1-5, notations of things that got me a low or even no-score, and any other tasty tidbits the judge was willing to write down.
With the exception of my Lemon Blues, I brought 5 birds each of all of my chosen varieties for this show. In some varieties I had competition, in others, I was competing against myself. I wasn’t surprised to see my White Frizzle hens do better than my White Frizzle Cockerels, and there was one White Frizzle hen that shouldn’t have been there (the crappy one), but she was. I usually try to enter my 2 best ones, my 2 worst ones, and 1 somewhere in the middle, to make my 5. Those same White frizzles are entered at almost every show I have exhibited at. Nothing unusual.
Seeing the words “Nice Frizzle” written on my coop card made me smile. Even if I don’t get a letter placement, a compliment by the judge always makes me smile. Since my birds were done being judged, I pretty much wrote-off worrying about what the judge was doing, figuring he was busy picking his Black or White winners, and went to find my friends to bug. I remember walking by my birds, and noticed that there was “something” else written on the coop card of that White Frizzle. Wait, What?!? Out of nowhere, were the letters “BB” written under my usual “BV.” I was like wait, a second, someone is playing a joke on me! There’s NO way!!! “It’s a FRRIIIZZZ-ZZZLLLLLE!!”
Suddenly, I realized that the judge wasn’t done working! Yipes, and out of the aisle I went! I went to tell a friend of mine that someone was playing a trick on me, and when I looked back towards my bird, the number of judges had multiplied. Something was… Wrong… There were TWO judges and a clerk combing over my bird! First thing MY mind thought, was, ‘OMG, what’s wrong?’ They carried my bird over to the smooth whites, and then carried her out the door. Then, back in they came, and more hush-hush judge-talk.
When I came back to my bird, on her coop card was “Best F.L.” I was like, s**t they spelled Frizzle wrong, until someone told me to go take my bird to Champion Row. Holy Crap!! Really??? But it didn’t end there…
A gaggle of judges poured over the Champion Row birds for quite a while. I lost track of where they were at in their process, until Jim wrote my exhibitor number on the winners board and handed me two envelopes and 3 awards coasters. One for Champion Feather Leg, and the other two for Reserve Champion ABA Bantam and Reserve Champion APA Bantam.
Although my goal was only to get one of my Frizzles ON Champion Row, I never dreamed one could beat every bantam there, except for one. So I guess it’s time for… NEW Goals!! 🫶🏼
