SASKATOON – Powdered and pressed, curled and combed. A little color here, a lot of hair spray there. Some glue, a clip and blow, and down the ramp they go.
The pressure backstage is enormous. Lined up and restless after hours of fitting, the fall collection is about to go before judges and the public. A fall collection of spring yearlings that is.
Prize winning cattle result from more than good genetics. They are the product of good grooming. Prior to any major livestock show, the air inside the barns transforms from musty manure to a baby powder alcohol haze as the hairdressers take over. Cattle fitting, the nom de groom of hair styling for bovines, is an art practiced by ranchers, 4-Hers and professionals. Anyone who exhibits cattle knows the preening tricks to best show off the underlying features of their animals.
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“All on an equal footing. Everybody wants to best show what their animal can be,” said professional cattle fitter Pat Dinsmore, of Donalda, Alta.
Owners and fitters can slave for more than two hours before a show, going over every detail of their animals.
Preparation begins from the ground up with the “boning” of the legs, to show quality underpinnings. White coats are cloaked with an adhesive groomers call “glue.” Then groomers apply enough baby powder to soothe all the diaper rash in Western Canada. Darker animals receive generous sprayings of the aerosol Black Magic.
Spraying a cow with mousse may seem a little strange but the results can be stunning. A back-combed Hereford tail that looks as light as silk but is stiff as steel may take half an hour to perfect.
“I’ve had to start as early as midnight to prepare for a morning show,” said Dinsmore, a cattle fitting veteran who has worked on two continents.
Many cattle breeders hire out the prepping and presentation of their valuable stock to pros like Dinsmore for $50 per head.
Beauty supply booths have become integral parts of agricultural exhibitions everywhere. Supplies are plucked from the shelves at a brisk pace. Blow dryers costing $400 or more and clippers costing about $200 are fondled and often purchased by the now dishpan soft, ranch-worn hands.
“It’s a big business for us during these events. With more than 1,100 animals at this show (Saskatoon’s Fall Fair and Mexabition) people need a lot of supplies,” said Kevin Bloski, marketing director of Early’s Farm and Garden Centre, while working his company’s booth.
After hours of standing patiently while being hand-washed and salon pampered, the animals are ready for a little beauty sleep.
Hitting the hay is the secret to success in the show ring, say some experienced exhibitors. The nap provides a relaxing finish to a day at the salon and prepares for an evening under the lights.
