We caught up with Ms. Tierney Reilly after she judged sheep showmanship at the 2024 American Royal. Check out her 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?
Making sure I greet each and every exhibitor. I know there was a few I forgot to greet in the early heats, or if I got sucked into thinking about a really competitive heat currently in the ring.
What was something you didn’t expect to be hard, but ended up being challenging for you?
I expected it to be hard, but it was harder than I thought – I really wanted to keep more back per heat, but I knew I couldn’t in the end, as it would take quite a big longer to shift through for overall in each respective age division drive. There so many impressive young showmen out there.
What do you feel like showman as a whole need to be better on?
I thought our young market lamb exhibitors did a great job. It’s always a tough show. To those that I didn’t get a chance to speak individually with, bracing, legs, knowing how your lamb looks on the profile and constantly walking with heads up are all foundational skills that we need to focus on, in my opinion, in that order. If we can get those tools sharp in our tool belt from season-to-season and lamb-to-lamb and then work on being intentional and purposeful – man, the skies the limit.
Thoughts on switching showman to other animals?
I didn’t at this level of competition, as there wasn’t enough time to allow this. It was really hard for me to understand when I was a junior exhibitor, but there really can only be one winner. If there are 100 kids out there – you have a 1% chance of winning. When we get that many exhibitors, at this skillset, it comes down to personal preference and what I (in this case) place emphasis on – I could tell you today what I place emphasis on, but in the heat of the movement maybe place emphasis on something else that not many are doing efficiently or effectively to sort my top end. That’s why we always need to be ready at all times for anything to happen – practice like you play! I think switching showman to other animals can help solidify a decision if there’s some doubt but don’t think it’s always necessary.
What did your champions/champion do that helped you make your mind up?
They could get their lambs moving, and their lambs responded to everything those kids did or didn’t do. Some of them had stamina to probably be out there all day, especially a lot of young exhibitors – I was never that disciplined or driven at that young of an age. It’s so invigorating to see how dedicated and passionate these kids are. Gets me amped up for the future of our industry.
Our champion overall came out of his heat, from allllll the way in the back – it appeared no one wanted to go first, my ring help even commented on how no one wanted to walk out – walked in the ring like it was no big deal, like he had done it his whole life. It was hard to knock that first impression out of my head. I got fired up watching him do that and then back it up.
I’m a pretty analytical and critical person, and that young man just seemed to anticipated everything I was doing or about to do, and that lamb wasn’t doing anything he didn’t want that lamb to do. I even tried to trip him up and unnerve him – that young man knew where he deserved to be and wasn’t going to let anything happen to make me think otherwise. I was waiting for him to trip up and he just never did. He strung all of his successes together and never gave me a reason to question why I should not use him.
My other champions and reserves were very, very close to edging him, but he really set himself apart when on the move.
What was your hardest decision?
Not keeping more kids back per heat. I’m so excited that so many kids went out for showmanship. I hope they all genuinely know how impressed I was and how grateful that they decided to put in countless hours, funds, and all the sacrifices they made to show up. I really, really wanted to keep more back per heat, and that was hard for me to not do.
Do you have a “style” of showman? Or what do you lean towards?
Consistent, professional, efficient, effective, positive. I will always prefer those who can brace (effectively), and who can feel and sense what’s off and not have to look across the ring to be told what to do. If you can sense and feel what’s wrong, and that lamb is an extension of your body, you’re shaving off seconds on getting it set correctly, and it’s noticeable.
What I lean towards – someone who is subtle, calm (which pains me to say as I was never calm), has an athletic stance and is not grandiose and demonstrative in their movements. Someone who really does know how every angle of their lamb looks without being told, knows how to handle their lamb’s flaws, and is always on point on bracing, leg placement, and spacing. I also like a good underdog and someone who will not give up and fight their way back up to the top.