Show Nerves

Let's face facts, showmanship is a very up close and personal class where ONE PERSON is staring at you, you can't HIDE like you can in a rail class, you are under scrunity and up close, so yes, it's natural to be a little nervous! Here are a few pointers that might help you get those butterflies under control:

The more you show, the easier it get's (really!)

Practice your pattern until you feel comfortable with it

Quit worrying about WHO's your competitor and concentrate at the job at hand, even world show level competitors can have bad days, being a world show competitor does not equal invinciblity, they are human and can make mistakes also. I know from first hand experience when I quit worrying about so and so showing against me and put my energies into my performance, my placings starting getting better.

Envision your perfect pattern over and over again

Do mom/dad/husband/trainer/helper make you nervous right before you go in? Nicely tell them you need some time/space to concentrate on the job at hand before you go in and you'll see them at the gate AFTER the class.

If you are able to, watch a few go's to get a feel for the pattern, are the cones tight? How close is the judge? How is the judge walking around for inspection?

Give yourself plenty of time to get to the warm up area before your class, don't rush yourself

Watch what you eat/drink that morning, it probably is not a good idea to order that extra spicy breakfast burrito from the snack shack, you don't want anything that will upset your stomach.

Watch the liquid drinking, have some, but don't overdo it, you want your attention on your pattern/judge and not wondering when the next potty break is!

And remember WHY you are doing this...it's all in fun...right?