EDMONTON – Rob and Gail Hamilton of Cochrane, Alta., were three times lucky at this year’s grand finale cattle show at Farmfair International.
The Hamilton Farms group of cattle won the Legends of the Fall bull calf show, Supreme Breeder’s Herd and Supreme Show of Champions female.
“This is unbelievable. It’s a dream come true,” said Rob after winning the third show.
“This is why we do this. It’s the pinnacle of showing cattle to have this kind of success,” he said between smiles, hugs and a handshake from well-wishers.
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“We’re always happy with the cattle we have or we wouldn’t bring them. We pride ourselves in having good cattle. It’s nice other people think so. You’ve got to have good ones and be lucky too.”
The triple win at Farmfair means more than ribbons and prizes; it also increases the cattle’s value.
“It brings so much recognition,” Hamilton said.
The cattle will compete at Western Canadian Agribition in Regina, where a calf and a flush on a cow will be sold.
Bryan Latimer’s Black Angus bull was named Supreme Show of Champion male winner in the bull event.
“It’s awesome,” said Latimer, of Remitall Cattle Co. of Olds, Alta.
The bull, now 2,600 pounds, wasn’t always a gentle giant. It weighed 78 lb. at birth but gained weight steadily.
“He’s been a great doing calf ever since,” Latimer said.
“He’s good natured too, which is an important trait to have. He’s like a great big puppy dog.”
Bryan MacKenzie of Brylor Ranch in Pincher Creek, Alta., won Legends of the Fall Championship female with a heifer from his Supreme Show of Champions bull of last year.
It’s the first daughter he has shown out of the winning bull and the flashy Red Angus calf has been stopping traffic at shows all summer.
MacKenzie said the calf showed early promise to carry on in its father’s show steps.
“There’s a stigma with show cattle that you can’t breed show cattle,” he said.
“It’s gratifying when you show cattle and can breed on and produce show cattle.”
MacKenzie said the calf will be shown at Agribition.
“There’s a lot of cattle out there but there’s only a couple out there that really have a shot at it.”
