Hello fellow Longhorn breeders I hope this finds you well. Before I get into rules and guidelines for the online Butler Breeder’s Futurity, I would like to express how exciting this event is for the bright future of the Butler Bloodline and Butler Breeders alike.
General Guidelines and Rules
You will need to get two quality photos, one standing to the side with the animal looking at the camera and a photo standing in front of the animal with them looking at you (head shot). A good quality photo is very important and could be the deciding factor of the score. Pick a nice sunny day for pictures and videos, try not to capture other animals in your film and make sure the head is up and looking over its shoulder with ears forward. When taking the pictures try to not have any objects in the picture such as hay rings, feed troughs, etc.
Now your video will need to be kept short, sweet and to the point but at the same time try and spotlight your animal for soundness and characteristics typical of a Texas Longhorn. Your video needs to be 20 to 25 seconds, the judges will want to see the animals move around, so get as close as you can but not too close to video (I recommend about 15 to 20 feet). They will want to see the animals' legs, head, topline and rump. Try and walk around the animal as it moves (this is not as tough as its sounds). (If you need to see a reference video you can go to www.butlerbreedersfuturity.com and select videos)
Here are some photography and video examples and tips:
Tips of horn in the sky
Clear background behind animal
Get at the animal's level.
Sun behind camera (to your back)
When using a Cell phone to video, please make sure you hold the phone horizontal, or the video will upload too small on the website.
Head Shot Example:
Side View Example:
Video Example:
In the pictures and videos, we will not be strict on brands as we all know that the animal could belong to another breeder. We ask to not make it a point to get any close ups of the brand or have any ranch signs or symbols in your video or pictures. Judges are scoring the cattle, not your ranch or the breeder.
All cattle entered in the Butler Breeder’s Futurity MUST to be 100% Straight Butler there are no exceptions to this rule.
All cattle entered will need to be ITLA or TLBAA registered. A COPY of the registration will need to be sent in with your pictures and videos (please do not send originals).
Cattle must be entered into the class that their DOB falls on; there are no exceptions to this rule.
Once all entries are submitted and loaded onto the website, the judges will then go in and score all cattle. Any information pertaining to the animal will not be uploaded at this time as the judges do not need to see who the animal belongs too. All Judges decisions are and will be final. Once the judging has been completed, all scores are turned in and winners are finalized, the information will then be uploaded for each animal including the Ranch Name, Name of owner, sire and dam, etc. Results will then be announced Friday night, the weekend of the Butler Sale, at our social event. After the winners have been recognized, the results will be posted to the website for the public to see.
Each class will have one winner followed by a second place (runner up) and a third place. There will also be a high point heifer, a high point bull and a high point mature cow!
Important dates to remember:
May 13th Books open. Entry forms and all information can be found at: www.butlerbreedersfuturity.com
July 28th The deadline to have all entries submitted. (No entries will be accepted after this date. Please do not wait until the last minute to send in your information).
Sept 1st Winners will be announced at our social event Friday evening at 6pm. All winner's information along with pictures will be sent to the TLBAA to be published on the Butler Breeder’s page.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at 269-414-1505. We welcome everyone to be a part of this great event, have fun and good luck!