My name is Tara Jayne Schnetz and I am the author of a series of books on livestock showmanship! Three of my passions are working with livestock, writing books, and teaching youth. I grew up with ten brothers and one sister. I am a Christian and was homeschooled in California. With livestock, I spent my first several years learning and winning one blue ribbon here and there. 2010 was my breakthrough year! I won first place in Rally Obedience with my dog, first place in Intermediate Showmanship with my chicken, Supreme Champion Market Lamb, and first place Intermediate and Senior Sheep Showmanship. From there I won four more years in sheep showmanship, three more in dog showmanship, three in swine showmanship, and two in horse showmanship. Poultry and market goat, I showed in the county and at state shows winning a total of three market goat showmanship classes and six poultry showmanship classes. I have also shown in Master Showmanship where I have won twice at the county level in small animal masters and twice in large animal masters. Which adds up to an exciting total of 27 showmanship wins, not including any of my market or breed shows. I enjoyed showing and couldn’t have done any of it without the grace of God and am grateful for every success I have accomplished. Because I showed so many times at so many levels, I have actually lost many more competitions than I have won. I could have started out with the information you have and done much better, but of course I didn’t have a book to read. I want to encourage you to take advantage of the knowledge I have shared and to share it with others. I would be thrilled if more people started sharing their knowledge with others and strengthening the foundation for their success. My goal is to give showmen a foundation of how to do things correctly at a county level so they can focus on learning the next level when they get out and go to shows. My hope is also that anyone who learned something from my knowledge and research will move on to always show with humility and with integrity.
Sheep, goat, cattle, and swine showmanship aren’t about getting good and staying there. Showmanship is about getting good enough to win and still continuing to improve. To win you have to improve every year. This means working hard with your animals and collecting new information. It also takes being humble enough to listen to someone […]
I always get excited when I finally get to pull that wild and crazy lamb off of the fence and watch him walk after me on the halter! In a previous post, I talked about the first step in halter training. Once you have completed that, you can begin walking your lamb. Let’s dive right […]
Let’s dive into halter training your show lambs! This content is right out of my book Show Your Way to the Top on sheep showmanship, but today you are getting it for free. Mastering showmanship starts with basic training at home. Always believe in small beginings. Every great show lamb, starts at the very beginning. […]
Switching sides in sheep showmanship is a show process that is only done in some areas. Before you go to deep into switching sides or manuevering around your animal, know if that is a show process done in your area. In California switching sides and manuevering around your animal is a big part of showmanship […]
Today we are taking a look at the show cattle world. Show cattle are one of the harder animals to master simply due to their size. My favorite reminder is to master those basic showmanship steps and to train hard at home. #1 Come in with and maintain good eye contact. You must enter the […]
Driving show goats is the push or brace we are looking for. The drive transforms the topline and show goat look for the judge. You must have a good strong drive to make your goat stand right. Here are three tips to driving your show goats. #1 Lift up and back on the head simultaneously. […]
Turning show pigs is something you can start very early with your show pigs. You can begin turning as soon as your pig is comfortable with you and your whip. You don’t even need to take them out of their pen yet, just start the basics and build on them. #1 Make precise taps, right […]
Here are five basics to keeping your lamb stuck. ‘Set’ and ‘stuck’ are often used interchangeably or even the word ‘braced’. Often the best thing you can do is focus on the fundamentals. You need to do the basics better than anyone else in order to be noticed. #1: Check often that your lamb’s feet […]
Here are five simple tips to walk your show lambs better. One of the keys to moving up higher in the show world is doing the basics better than everyone else. #1: Stay behind the lamb’s Shoulder. Walking out in front of your lamb will cause them to slow or stop. Walking behind the animal’s […]
Are you looking for a step-by-step explanation on how to get the perfect drive on your market goat? Today I am talking about exactly that!
In today’s video, I am talking about driving your show goats. I cover four key points to getting a perfect drive. If you want to show goats, I’m sure you will learn something from this video!
The first thing I will talk about is head control. How you handle your goat is one of the hardest technicalities with driving market goats. The second is your stance which I will also cover. Third, I will talk about an unfortunately common mistake showmen make, and fourth will be how often you should practice the drive.
Be sure and watch this brief video, and come back for more tips soon!
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