Are big Maine Coon cats more likely to win at cat shows?

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I have to speculate but I think my reasoning is sound. However, I am not a show judge. I would like a show judge to comment 🤞. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) state in the opening paragraph of their breed standard that: "Quality should never be sacrificed for size". This, to me, indicates that size alone will not help a cat win at a cat show.

Pretty Maine Coon but not massive
Pretty Maine Coon but not massive. More like medium-sized. Photo: Helmi Flick.

It's not size alone which is going to help a Maine Coon to win a cat show but the overall quality of the animal. And by 'quality' the CFA must mean whether the individual cat fully meets the breed standard in every respect and then some more. 

Perhaps it is fair to say that if there are two cats competing for the top prize and they both fully meet the breed standard, but one of them is a very large example and the other is not, the larger cat will win the cat show because the breed standard also hints that larger cats are preferable.

I say "hints" because the breed standard does not specify that Maine Coons must be large. They use the words "solid" and "rugged". They also state that if a Maine Coon has a delicate bone structure he/she will be disqualified. And they also state that under "body shape" the cat should be "muscular, broad-chested". The size should be "medium-to-large". And the body should be "long".

As I said, there's nothing that says that Maine Coons must be large. They can be medium-sized and still be top quality cats winning cat shows. Medium-sized cats are average cats therefore the Maine Coon can be an average-sized cat and still be of top quality.

However, there are all these little signals within the breed standard which led me to believe that a larger individual will beat a smaller individual if they are of the same quality in other respects.

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