Show Day Checklist for Montana Junior Exhibitors

Before You Leave the House

Show day goes smoothly when the paperwork is done weeks earlier. Montana county fairs write their own rules, so use your fair book first and treat this list as a guide built from published rules in Chouteau, Flathead and Marias Fair, plus the MontanaFair schedule.

• Quality Assurance: confirm you are certified. Chouteau County says uncertified exhibitors cannot show or sell market or breeding livestock, and certification is due six weeks before the fair.
• Tags: check that ear tags are on, readable and match your entry. Marias Fair says missing tags or tattoos mean disqualification, and entry card corrections must be made before the animal goes to the scale.
• Forms: Flathead requires Commitment to Excellence and Drug Withdrawal forms by August 1. Marias Fair requires a Montana 4-H Livestock Drug Withdrawal Form.
• Brand and travel papers: Marias Fair says bills of sale, brand inspections and travel permits must be turned in before weigh-in, and those without papers cannot stay. Sheep need a permit to cross county lines there.
• Health: Chouteau says health certificates from a licensed veterinarian must be provided on request. Animals with signs of disease can be sent home.
• Registration: Flathead says fair registration must be done by the member, not the leader, by August 1.

What to Pack

• Halter and lead (Chouteau requires a halter and neck rope for beef).
• Show stick, brush, comb and clippers for fitting, since adults may not fit livestock for show in Marias Fair.
• Feed, water buckets and hay. Marias Fair requires feed and water at least twice daily and animals fed, watered and groomed by 10 a.m.
• Pen cleaning tools. Marias Fair requires a dirty pen to be fixed within two hours or the animal goes home.
• Exhibitor number, entry card and folders of papers.
• Stall poster. Chouteau requires stall posters hung by the end of Thursday.
• Extra clothes and boots, sunscreen, water and snacks for you.

Check-In and Weigh-In

Times differ by species and fair. At MontanaFair in 2026, the 4-H/FFA schedule listed horses on Thursday, poultry and rabbits on Friday, sheep and goats on Saturday evening, beef and dairy on Sunday morning and swine on Wednesday from 5 to 8 a.m. At Marias Fair, market animals weigh in on the Wednesday of fair, no later than 8 p.m., and the large animal rules allow each exhibitor one spare market animal per species. A market animal may be re-weighed one time only.

In Flathead County, only the 4-H member whose animal is being weighed may be behind the barriers, and a $40 non-refundable livestock sale fee is due at weigh-in (the fee for meat poultry and rabbit pens is announced at training). Bring only one hog, sheep or steer to the fair.

Weight matters. In Flathead, under- or overweight animals cannot compete in regular market class or the sale, and only underweight animals may enter feeder market class. Marias Fair pays overweight animals at the maximum weight only.

Dress Code

Dress rules vary, but they are specific:

• Chouteau County: beef, sheep, swine and goat exhibitors wear a long-sleeved collared shirt with buttons or snaps, pants and hard shoes or boots. Tennis shoes are not allowed, western hats are optional, and baseball caps are not allowed. Dairy exhibitors wear a white shirt and light-colored pants with no cowboy hats. Exhibitor numbers must be worn in all classes.
• Flathead County: collared, button-down white shirt, black pants and sturdy closed-toe shoes.
• Marias Fair: neat western wear and closed-toed leather shoes or boots, with western hats optional. Baseball caps, t-shirts and clothing with holes are not allowed, and dairy showmen do not need to wear white.

Showmanship and Market Class

• You must show your own animal. Chouteau allows substitutions only if the barn superintendent and Extension agent approve.
• Showmanship is required for 4-H market animal members in Chouteau and for all rabbit project members there.
• At Marias Fair, you must show in both market and showmanship to sell in that class. Flathead says the same.
• In Chouteau, poultry showmanship means stating the breed standards and describing the good and bad points of your bird.
• Marias Fair sends the top two from each overall showmanship contest to Round Robin, with a third-place alternate. Chouteau's Round Robin has members show each species present, and swine are shown first.
• Any weight may show in Flathead showmanship, even if the animal cannot sell.

Behavior and the Sale

Flathead expects members to act with dignity regardless of the outcome, and says misconduct can mean removal from events. If your animal sells, Flathead requires care of the animal until it is loaded onto a trailer for the processor and a fully cleaned pen. Sellers also give the buyer a thank-you visit and a memento, and the buyer signs a Thank You Confirmation Form due December 1. Chouteau also requires members to work at least one shift in the 4-H Chuckwagon.

Cleanup

• Clean the pen or stall completely (Flathead requires it).
• Take down stall posters and pack out all feed and equipment.
• At the NILE, pens must be cleaned before 7 p.m. each evening and clean-up fees come out of premiums.
• Check that you have your premium check, ribbons and records.

Frequently Asked Questions

Guide checked Nov. 11, 2026. Rules and dates change; confirm with the organizer.