Preparing for a Show
It's Show Time!!!
Getting ready for a show:
A couple of months before a show, look through your animals to see if you have any that you think will do well at a show. You are looking for an animal between 6-14 months old that has not been in breeding. They should be at least 600 grams. Younger animals can be shown, but they usually still show baby fur, which will hurt them. Older animals can also be shown, but they often are more off-color, especially the beiges.
Animals will be judged on color (meaning the amount of red, yellow or brown in the color), denseness of fur, strength of fur, conformation, and size. Judges look at the overall quality of the animal, with each trait being important.
Cage the animal by itself. Give them blue cloud dustbaths everyday, keeping the dust clean. Be sure to keep the cage especially clean.
A month before the show:
Comb the animal. If you don’t have a comb, you can wait until the show to comb them, but combing them ahead of time gets the dead fur out of their coats and allows the dust to do a better job, making the animal look better. It also makes combing them at the show a lot easier.
Take the dust away 3-4 days before the show. For darker animals, remove the dust a little earlier. You want the dust to work its best, but you don’t want it to show on the animal at the show.
You can also trim the tail before the show. This amounts to removing the ends of the fur on the tail that are often off-color. This isn’t mandatory, but is done by most of the people that show.
At the show:
For most shows, you can bring your animals in either Friday night or Saturday morning. Check the fliers on the shows to know if the show room will be open Friday night. If so, animals can be left overnight. They will be in small show cages, where you can give them feed, hay and water. Bring food and water with you so that they will get what they are used to. Put newspaper under the cages to make clean up easy the next morning.
When you register your animals for the show, you will be given little white cards. You fill these out with the animal number and ranch brand where it was bred, the date of birth and your name as the exhibitor. Paperwork is then filled out which lists the same things, along with the cage number. The registration table will give you all the paperwork and tell you the order that your animals should be listed in. After your animals are groomed, the cages are placed in order on the tables.
For most shows, it costs between $3.00-$5.00 to show an animal. If you do not show animals, many branches charge an entrance fee of $5.00-$10.00. Some shows offer lunch and others take a break to go out for lunch. Some end with a banquet, and others do not. Usually, you need to make reservations ahead of time. The contact information will be in the flier announcing the show.
Saturday morning, clean up the mess as soon as possible. Carefully take the animal out of the cage and comb it. Bring combs with you if you have them, a lint brush (the kind with tear off sheets) and scissors if you haven’t trimmed the tails. Grooming usually begins around 7:00 a.m. If you have never groomed before, there are always people that are willing to help. Arrive early, though, because they will need to get their own animals groomed so that they can help you. Help out whenever you can. As you move your animal around, be sure it never passes over another animal. It is very easy for one to pee on another, making a mess! Also, never touch or blow into an animal that is not yours.
MCBA shows:
Classification usually starts between 9:00-10:00. Classification is when all the chinchillas are brought under show lights (by the animal handlers) and divided into groups. There are 7 phases of standards, including medium, medium dark, dark medium, etc. At smaller shows they usually use only 3 or 4 of the phases. Whites are divided into mosaics, predominately white, pink whites, etc. Beiges, violets, blacks, ebonies and sapphires are divided into dark, medium and light phases.
Once classification is finished the show begins. No one may be in the area where the animals are once the show starts, except the animal handlers. No animals may be removed from the show area until the show is complete.
In the middle of the room, a double long table is set up. It is covered with many layers of very white paper (the layers are removed as they get dirty). Show lights are set up over the top of the table. The judges stand behind the table, facing the audience. The show animals are behind the judges. Animal handlers find the animals for the next class and bring them to a table immediately behind the judges. Animals are always placed so that the judges can’t see the number on the cage so that they will not know who the animal belongs to.
The judges look over each animal, moving them up and down the table. Top animals are placed on the table closest to the “show table” (the spot where someone is writing down the results and figuring everything out). The judges may look over each animal many times before they make up their minds. When they are done, the animals will be grouped by ribbons. An announcement will be made as to each cage number and the award that it receives. It is possible for animals to be set off the table, meaning they would not receive a ribbon. MCBA uses a multiple ribbon system, so for each group that comes up to be judged, all the animals could receives firsts, or none may receive firsts. The top two animals of each group are labeled 1A and 1B.
Males and females are judged separately, as are animals under 7 months and animals over 7 months. In shows with less than 100 animals, they may not divide by age.
As each class is finished, the top animals compete against each other. At the end of the show, the top animals of each color compete for Grand Show Champion. As the show concludes, each of the top animals are announced, naming the exhibitor of each. Trophies and ribbons are handed out.
You do not have to be a member of MCBA to show, except at Nationals. Ear tagging is not mandatory.
ECBC shows:
ECBC shows are organized differently. These shows are 10 class shows. All the standards compete together. Cages 1,11,21,31,41,51, etc., compete against each other regardless of darkness of the animal, gender or age. The same thing is done for each of the colors.
At ECBC shows, there are two Grand Show Champions. A separate show is held for the standards and the mutations. Each has a GSC.
Animals must have ear tags. You do have to be a member to show, but not to attend.
Claiming Shows:
Not all claiming shows are the same. The Ohio show is mandatory claiming, with all animals entered being for sale. The person showing the animal puts a price on the animal. If you want to claim it, you talk to the show table. There will be a chart on the wall showing which animals have been claimed and what their price is. You pay for the animals at the show table following the show. 10% of the price you pay stays with the sponsoring branch. The other 90% goes to the person showing the animal. Pedigree information will be available for any chins that you buy, from the person that owned the animal.
Other claiming shows allow you to show one animal that does not have to be offered for sale. Still others are optional claiming shows where the person showing gets to decide whether or not to sell an animal they show. Check the fliers on a particular show to see which type of claiming show it is.
Where to find shows:
MCBA shows are mostly held east of the Mississippi, but hopefully that will be changing soon. Shows are held during the colder months, because that’s when chinchilla coats look their best. The first show of the year is usually held in Ohio at the end of October. November brings shows in South Carolina and Nebraska. December there is a show in Michigan. Nationals are in March in
Auburn, Indiana. The Pennsylvania show is in April. The season ends with a show in Ohio, in May. The MCBA web site(www.mutationchinchillas.com) lists all of the shows.
The shindig, a learning seminar is held in Auburn, Indiana in August. It usually includes a mock, informal show.
Show Etiquette:
Talking quietly at a show is fine, but please stop talking as the judges give comments on each of the animals. If you listen to the comments, you will improve your eye and learn which traits make for top show animals. Take the time after the show to go up to the table and look at the winners. You will see some awesome animals! Feel free to ask the judges and/or other experienced people why a particular animal was chosen as the best.
Help out wherever you can. Setting up and cleaning up are hard work. The more people help, the quicker the work is done. During the show, help is needed with handling animals and working the show table. Talk to the people at the registration desk if you would like to help out during the show.
If you are going to sit toward the front of the audience, don’t wear red or yellow, or other “loud” colors. White or gray is a good choice. You don’t want the color of your shirt to reflect back on the animals, making them look off color.
Take the time to talk to people. Don’t be shy- ask questions. Learn all you can. There are people at each of the shows that have been raising chins and showing them for many, many years. They have a wealth of knowledge and are willing to share, if asked.
A couple of months before a show, look through your animals to see if you have any that you think will do well at a show. You are looking for an animal between 6-14 months old that has not been in breeding. They should be at least 600 grams. Younger animals can be shown, but they usually still show baby fur, which will hurt them. Older animals can also be shown, but they often are more off-color, especially the beiges.
Animals will be judged on color (meaning the amount of red, yellow or brown in the color), denseness of fur, strength of fur, conformation, and size. Judges look at the overall quality of the animal, with each trait being important.
Cage the animal by itself. Give them blue cloud dustbaths everyday, keeping the dust clean. Be sure to keep the cage especially clean.
A month before the show:
Comb the animal. If you don’t have a comb, you can wait until the show to comb them, but combing them ahead of time gets the dead fur out of their coats and allows the dust to do a better job, making the animal look better. It also makes combing them at the show a lot easier.
Take the dust away 3-4 days before the show. For darker animals, remove the dust a little earlier. You want the dust to work its best, but you don’t want it to show on the animal at the show.
You can also trim the tail before the show. This amounts to removing the ends of the fur on the tail that are often off-color. This isn’t mandatory, but is done by most of the people that show.
At the show:
For most shows, you can bring your animals in either Friday night or Saturday morning. Check the fliers on the shows to know if the show room will be open Friday night. If so, animals can be left overnight. They will be in small show cages, where you can give them feed, hay and water. Bring food and water with you so that they will get what they are used to. Put newspaper under the cages to make clean up easy the next morning.
When you register your animals for the show, you will be given little white cards. You fill these out with the animal number and ranch brand where it was bred, the date of birth and your name as the exhibitor. Paperwork is then filled out which lists the same things, along with the cage number. The registration table will give you all the paperwork and tell you the order that your animals should be listed in. After your animals are groomed, the cages are placed in order on the tables.
For most shows, it costs between $3.00-$5.00 to show an animal. If you do not show animals, many branches charge an entrance fee of $5.00-$10.00. Some shows offer lunch and others take a break to go out for lunch. Some end with a banquet, and others do not. Usually, you need to make reservations ahead of time. The contact information will be in the flier announcing the show.
Saturday morning, clean up the mess as soon as possible. Carefully take the animal out of the cage and comb it. Bring combs with you if you have them, a lint brush (the kind with tear off sheets) and scissors if you haven’t trimmed the tails. Grooming usually begins around 7:00 a.m. If you have never groomed before, there are always people that are willing to help. Arrive early, though, because they will need to get their own animals groomed so that they can help you. Help out whenever you can. As you move your animal around, be sure it never passes over another animal. It is very easy for one to pee on another, making a mess! Also, never touch or blow into an animal that is not yours.
MCBA shows:
Classification usually starts between 9:00-10:00. Classification is when all the chinchillas are brought under show lights (by the animal handlers) and divided into groups. There are 7 phases of standards, including medium, medium dark, dark medium, etc. At smaller shows they usually use only 3 or 4 of the phases. Whites are divided into mosaics, predominately white, pink whites, etc. Beiges, violets, blacks, ebonies and sapphires are divided into dark, medium and light phases.
Once classification is finished the show begins. No one may be in the area where the animals are once the show starts, except the animal handlers. No animals may be removed from the show area until the show is complete.
In the middle of the room, a double long table is set up. It is covered with many layers of very white paper (the layers are removed as they get dirty). Show lights are set up over the top of the table. The judges stand behind the table, facing the audience. The show animals are behind the judges. Animal handlers find the animals for the next class and bring them to a table immediately behind the judges. Animals are always placed so that the judges can’t see the number on the cage so that they will not know who the animal belongs to.
The judges look over each animal, moving them up and down the table. Top animals are placed on the table closest to the “show table” (the spot where someone is writing down the results and figuring everything out). The judges may look over each animal many times before they make up their minds. When they are done, the animals will be grouped by ribbons. An announcement will be made as to each cage number and the award that it receives. It is possible for animals to be set off the table, meaning they would not receive a ribbon. MCBA uses a multiple ribbon system, so for each group that comes up to be judged, all the animals could receives firsts, or none may receive firsts. The top two animals of each group are labeled 1A and 1B.
Males and females are judged separately, as are animals under 7 months and animals over 7 months. In shows with less than 100 animals, they may not divide by age.
As each class is finished, the top animals compete against each other. At the end of the show, the top animals of each color compete for Grand Show Champion. As the show concludes, each of the top animals are announced, naming the exhibitor of each. Trophies and ribbons are handed out.
You do not have to be a member of MCBA to show, except at Nationals. Ear tagging is not mandatory.
ECBC shows:
ECBC shows are organized differently. These shows are 10 class shows. All the standards compete together. Cages 1,11,21,31,41,51, etc., compete against each other regardless of darkness of the animal, gender or age. The same thing is done for each of the colors.
At ECBC shows, there are two Grand Show Champions. A separate show is held for the standards and the mutations. Each has a GSC.
Animals must have ear tags. You do have to be a member to show, but not to attend.
Claiming Shows:
Not all claiming shows are the same. The Ohio show is mandatory claiming, with all animals entered being for sale. The person showing the animal puts a price on the animal. If you want to claim it, you talk to the show table. There will be a chart on the wall showing which animals have been claimed and what their price is. You pay for the animals at the show table following the show. 10% of the price you pay stays with the sponsoring branch. The other 90% goes to the person showing the animal. Pedigree information will be available for any chins that you buy, from the person that owned the animal.
Other claiming shows allow you to show one animal that does not have to be offered for sale. Still others are optional claiming shows where the person showing gets to decide whether or not to sell an animal they show. Check the fliers on a particular show to see which type of claiming show it is.
Where to find shows:
MCBA shows are mostly held east of the Mississippi, but hopefully that will be changing soon. Shows are held during the colder months, because that’s when chinchilla coats look their best. The first show of the year is usually held in Ohio at the end of October. November brings shows in South Carolina and Nebraska. December there is a show in Michigan. Nationals are in March in
Auburn, Indiana. The Pennsylvania show is in April. The season ends with a show in Ohio, in May. The MCBA web site(www.mutationchinchillas.com) lists all of the shows.
The shindig, a learning seminar is held in Auburn, Indiana in August. It usually includes a mock, informal show.
Show Etiquette:
Talking quietly at a show is fine, but please stop talking as the judges give comments on each of the animals. If you listen to the comments, you will improve your eye and learn which traits make for top show animals. Take the time after the show to go up to the table and look at the winners. You will see some awesome animals! Feel free to ask the judges and/or other experienced people why a particular animal was chosen as the best.
Help out wherever you can. Setting up and cleaning up are hard work. The more people help, the quicker the work is done. During the show, help is needed with handling animals and working the show table. Talk to the people at the registration desk if you would like to help out during the show.
If you are going to sit toward the front of the audience, don’t wear red or yellow, or other “loud” colors. White or gray is a good choice. You don’t want the color of your shirt to reflect back on the animals, making them look off color.
Take the time to talk to people. Don’t be shy- ask questions. Learn all you can. There are people at each of the shows that have been raising chins and showing them for many, many years. They have a wealth of knowledge and are willing to share, if asked.
