I don't know whether they exist, but the idea is interesting. I think the biggest drawback is that dog shows exist because there are people willing to put huge amounts of money into having their dogs declared to be the best. Are snake owners willing to do the same, or are snake owners satisfied to post great pictures of their gorgeous animals and have everyone say "cool snake" and be done with it? Each perspective has strengths and weaknesses.
I purchased a ball python that was a "normal" morph specifically because I wanted a "field guide" snake. I remember a friend who used to show Jaguar cars, and his goal was always to restore the cars to be exactly what they were when they rolled off the assembly line. Some morphs are very interesting, but I still have an appreciation for "factory standard" animals. Your idea of having classes both for the "field guide" and the specialized animals would make the show better.
If you are serious about trying to start a show, you might try contacting someone at Animal Planet. They have several shows dedicated to snakes, and maybe they would be willing to sponsor that kind of event. Even people who don't like snakes are willing to watch guys on the Animal Planet catch snakes, and maybe those same audiences would watch a snake show. I would enjoy seeing skilled people handling various snakes and showing some of the neat characteristics of each snake.
If you succeeded at starting something like this, the first show would be unlikely to offer much in prize money. Wherever the show was held would have mostly regional folks competing, but the "bragging rights" of winning might help those folks sell a few extra snakes. If so, there'd be more interest in future shows.
The other "ethical" question that you'd have to answer would be whether we really want to stir extra interest in snake ownership. More interest might make people more likely to seek cheap snakes which would increase the trade in wild-caught snakes from Africa. On the other hand, maybe a well-produced show could educate people enough to make them demand domestic-bred snakes. Either way, we still have the problem of getting people interested in animals but not having the attention span to care for those animals for the lifespans that they will likely live. In reality, that problem is no worse for snakes than it is for dogs and cats, and an abandoned snake still scares me less than an abandoned dog or cat. However, most people won't see it that way.
In any case, I've already typed more than I should on this one. Thanks for an interesting post.
Bill
