We caught up with Ms. Jenna and Kayla Frink after they judged sheep showmanship at the 2024 Aksarben Stock Show. Check out their thoughts below and please continue to check back often for our next edition of “The Recap – Showmanship Edition.”
Going forward in your judging career, what is one thing you will put more emphasis on?
We wanted to prioritize talking to every kid when they got placed. Going forward that is something we want to keep doing because it is really easy to get discouraged and we want kids to feel like they did a good job and always have room for improvement and something to work towards.
What was something you didn’t expect to be hard, but ended up being challenging for you?
In both divisions but even so in the junior division it was hard for us to short down to a top 10 once we brought the larger group back from their respective heats. That just speaks to the level of competition and showman at Aksarben.
What do you feel like showman as a whole need to be better on?
The show was extremely competitive and fundamentally there were a lot of showman that did the right things and didn’t make the cut. What separates the good showman is executing the fundamentals in a quick and timely fashion and not drawing attention to themselves.
Thoughts on switching showman to other animals?
We did not make the showman switch animals but in some instances we think it can be utilized as a tool for the showman to display their abilities. However we feel a showmanship competition should show the culmination of the hard work the kids have put in with their specific animals.
What did your champions/champion do that helped you make your mind up?
Both of our champions hit us hard in the heats and just had the poise and quiet confidence throughout the entire show and never faltered when it came down to the final heat.
What was your hardest decision?
The top 3 junior showman were very close and could have done any way.
Do you have a “style” of showman? Or what do you lean towards?
We both lean towards showman that are comfortable and natural and make their sheep look natural as well and don’t draw attention to themselves but make it easy for the judge to pay attention their sheep.