North Dakota State Fair livestock show participants get animals ready to shine

MINOT, N.D. — With all the blow dryers blowing, clippers buzzing and hairspray sticking, one could be forgiven for assuming the Expo Building at the North Dakota State Fairgrounds had been transformed into a beauty parlor.

And in a way, it kind of had been.

The 10th annual North Dakota State Fair Fitting Contest on Sunday, July 23, transformed the small east arena into a bovine beauty parlor, where three-person teams worked to put their cattle into the best light. The contest featured nine teams, several of which coordinated outfits for the occasion.

Rylee Marthaler, co-chair of the contest, explained that each team had two members aged 13 to 21, as of Jan. 1, and one who was younger than 13. The teams got 30 minutes to get their animal ready, just as they would for a show, and then the contest concluded with a mini-showmanship contest.

The purpose of the contest, she explained, is to showcase all the work the participants do to ready their animals for shows. They would blow dry the hair with heavy-duty livestock blowers, which can not only dry hair but also help remove debris and dirt. They use various adhesives — basically heavy-duty hairspray — to get hair to fluff up to “make the animal look bigger-boned than they really are,” Marthaler explained. They trimmed hairs that were out of place and used products designed to add some shine to the animal. Then, they put show halters on, gave them a drink and had one member of the team show the animal off.

The pace was frantic once the contest began. It wasn’t unusual to see one team member working on teasing a tail to a full ball while another fluffed up the hair on a front leg and another did the same to the back legs. Stray hairs were cut, adhesives were applied, and calves were transformed.

That’s the point of fitting in livestock — to put animals in their best light for a judge.

“Fitting can be very, very important,” Marthaler said. “There’s a lot of animals that have a lot of hair. There’s a lot of animals that don’t have a lot of hair. But you can really change an animal drastically with a good fit job. The judges will notice. I’ve heard, you know, plenty of judges comment on presentation, and it does help get you to the top, for sure.”

Throughout the contest, organizers announced door prize winners, even before the final winners were determined — things like round brushes and adhesive sprays and buckets that could help the participants in the future. Marthaler said the support of sponsors — both of the smaller variety, like parents of current and past participants, and large, like Hubbard Feeds and Sullivan Supply — have made the contest a success.

And the fitting contest was far from the only activity in the numerous livestock barns at the fair. Throughout the week, open shows,

4-H shows

and

FFA shows

keep the fair hopping, with animals big and small put on display for judges.

By mid week, fair officials didn’t have a solid tally on the number of livestock exhibitors at the 2023 fair, as some were still to come. However, Kadey Holm, competitive exhibits assistant for the fair, said the number seemed “pretty on line with previous years’ records.”

“We have had an excellent showing of exhibitors and livestock entries,” she said.

Jenny Schlecht is the director of ag content for Agweek and serves as editor of Agweek, Sugarbeet Grower and BeanGrower. She lives on a farm and ranch near Medina, North Dakota, with her husband and two daughters. You can reach her at jschlecht@agweek.com or 701-595-0425.