I get it. When you're competing against others, a win isn't guaranteed, so it's extra exciting, but just competing against yourself will help you see which traits to give preference to in your stock. I don't know if you have a way but I sure don't know, going into a show, whether there will be competition for my birds. It's a bit exciting to see that they've got competition from others.
It is odd how hard they are to find. When I was first getting into them, I assumed they'd be a fairly common breed, given there are two large clubs full of breeders... No luck finding birds in FL, and now almost a year after ordering hatching eggs, I still haven't seen any breeders of the variety I'm breeding- I've seen one breeder of bantams, and she had only a trio of Blacks. Large fowls have been a bit more plentiful than bantams, but I've still barely seen any breeders in the state. I was lucky enough to get in contact with the breeders I did, and I adore the birds I got.
Good luck with your birds!
Means a lot less when it’s just against my own birds…but it is helpful in my assessment of my birds quality I suppose! Isn’t it weird how difficult they are to find? Especially when the clubs are so big and active! Hoping to add some genetics this year and breed my own in hopes of getting enough to start sharing with others. I feel like there are a fair amount out there not willing to share their stock…which makes things tougher for people like us to join and expand their coverage! Keep it up out there! 
