UNITY – The end of the 4-H year has come for many members and leaders in the readership area with two big regional shows and sales.
The much-anticipated shows allow clubs to compete against each other, showing off all the hard work the members have put into their projects. While most shows focus on the animal-based projects such as Beef, Sheep and Light Horse, the Lloydminster 4-H Expo likes to showcase other projects like Crafts, Archery and Mechanics.
It is undeniable that the biggest draw to these shows are the animals. The Beef project has the high enrollment in the province, followed by the Light Horse project according to 4-H Saskatchewan, and these weekend long shows gives the members the opportunity to show what they have done with their beloved animals.
The Lloydminster 4-H Expo was held over three days – June 1, 2 and 3 – at the Lloydminster Exhibition grounds. With help from the Lloydminster Agricultural Exhibition Association, 14 clubs between Alberta and Saskatchewan came together to compete, including local clubs from Cut Knife, Senlac and Manitou Lake region.
Members of the Senlac Multiple 4-H Club also came home with some top honours with Emmitt Manchester placed first in his heifer class. The following day during the steer show, Devon Whitney was placed first and Austin Riddell took second in the same class, with Kyle Whitney also placing second in his steer class. Intermediate member Colton Thomas and younger brother Blake, who is a junior member, both took home first for their closed beef record books. The club tied for second place in the team judging and finished fourth overall for grand aggregate out of the nine beef clubs showing.
The Senlac club also had members participate in the archery shoot, with junior members Dylan Pool taking first place and Blake Thomas taking second place in the 3D category. The crafts project also showcased their work over the year.
The Manitou Lake Multiple 4-H Club was also a strong club at the three-day event. Emma Watson, alongside her heifer Louise, was second in her Simmental class. The duo was sent back into the show ring, where they missed out on the grand and reserve champion status to members of the Alberta Bandits club. Two showmanship classes, one for heifers and one for steers, saw members Madison Goodfellow take second place and Aiyla Griffith picking up third place. In the breeder’s herd category, where a member has one of each heifer, steer and cow calf pair, Daelyn Ducherer’s herd was placed second in the class.
Just as the Lloydminster show wrapped up, the Kerrobert and District Agricultural Society was gearing up to host 56 Beef members from eight clubs. Among those clubs, members from Kerrobert and Unity showed off their beef animals at the 78th annual regional show and sale. With 81 head of cattle were lined in the Ag Building, the two-day event started with the steer weigh in, record book judging, judging cards and team grooming.
The banquet that was held announced the winners of the day’s events. Taylor Ducherer of Unity placed first in the senior judging cards and Madison Ley with the Kerrobert club had the best record book in the intermediate age group. The Kerrobert club’s senior members also took first place in the team grooming.
Day two was the big show and sale. While the outdoor ring was enjoyable, many of the 4-H members and beef animals were not impressed with the gale-force winds. Judging the animals for the show was Brynne Yoder from Barrhead County, Alta. Into the ring first were the heifers, where Kerrobert member Gage Mckenzie’s heifer was first in her class of all other breeds. Although he went back into the ring in hopes of being named grand or reserve champion, those titles went to members of the United Club based out of Perdue.
Following the heifer classes were the two- and three-year-old cow calf pairs. These animals were shown as a heifer previously and are not a stranger to the ring. It was Ley’s three-year-old cow and calf pair that impressed Yoder, naming them the reserve champion of the class.
Another important aspect in the Beef project is showmanship. Judges look more at the member showing the animal rather than the animal itself. Members maintain contact with the judge, smile and move in ways that showcase the animal. Senior member Cody Mckenzie of Kerrobert took first place in his age group for showmanship.
The steer classes were sorted into six classes according to weight. In the first class, Ryley Mckenzie of Kerrobert and Gil Pitura of Unity were named top two and Boone Blanchette from the Kerrobert club had one of the top steers in the fifth class. While the animals may have been top of their classes, none of them took the titles of grand or reserve champions.
During the show, there were two raffles to help raise funds. The winner of the 50-50 draw was Lorna McDonald and the winner of a $500 Visa gift card was Wilfred McLeod.
The end of the event saw the sale of the steer animals. While some members are happy to see the profits from the sale of the animal, some are upset knowing their animal will soon be in someone’s freezer. This year saw the sale of 45 steers, with an average price of $4.56 per pound.
