Girls love cattle | Youngsters willing to work hard to learn, compete and make friends
REGINA — Responsibility, learning and fun are parts of the vocabularies for girls whose lives revolve around cattle.
It is not uncommon to see youth and open shows dominated by girls who not only show the cattle, but breed and own their livestock.
For 14 year-old Cassidy Matthews of Cochrane, Alta., Regina’s Canadian Western Agribition turned out to be the event of the year. The high school student who keeps up with classes by email while she competes in up to 20 shows a year, is a fourth generation producer.
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Her father, Tim Matthews, owns Highland Farms at Olds, Alta., an operation that was a pioneer in the Canadian Limousin breed.
She sees herself carrying the torch for the next generation and plans to earn a degree in animal science.
“It’s hard work but you have to be determined,” she said during the Nov. 19-24 event.
She is involved in 4-H, the junior Limousin program where she sits on the board and she also makes time for school sports.
“I don’t think I get a month off. I am pretty busy whether it is just 4-H or juniors,” she said. “We don’t slack off. My dad has a lot of faith in me. They are very supportive but I am very independent. If there is a junior show and they can’t make it, they will send me off.”
Under the guidance of her father and stepmother, Kim, she is starting her own herd.
This year she entered a bred heifer named Fantasy that she bred and owns. It won the First Lady Classic, grand champion female in the open Limousin show and later earned $3,000 when she won the Youth Extreme competition. Earlier this fall that same female won the national grand championship in Brandon.
An important element of these programs is friendship. When her family cannot deliver her to shows, she goes with Shallaine Daley of Carstairs, Alta., who has become a special friend.
At 16, she has her own tattoo, S-PAW, and with help from her parents, Ron Daley and Tami VanTighem, she has started her own Simmental herd. Being involved in 4-H and junior programs has taught her selection skills through judging events.
“Judging isn’t my favourite but it really helps when I want to go out and build my herd and know how to pick out animals,” she said.
She has been involved since she was a two-year-old toddler and has made friends wherever she goes.
“I love working with the cattle and meeting new people and a lot of old friends and the connections you can make worldwide,” she said.
Daley, a Grade 11 student in Didsbury, Alta., likes math and biology but animal science studies are the most attractive because she wants to own her own ranch.
“There’s lot of choices,” she said.
She is also a master of time management because she enters about 15 shows a year, often showing pairs with her father. The junior program has opened doors for her as well.
“At the junior shows you get to meet other kids and help out the little ones because they don’t know quite as much. It is fun to help them learn something,” she said.
She brought three animals to Agribition that she bred and owns. The business has given her confidence around people and cattle.
“You work with them from a very young age and they get quiet and calm. You start a relationship with them,” she said.
People like Matthews and Daley are already mentors to younger children at these events.
For nine-year-old Avary Hickman, a helping hand from older people and her parents gives her confidence that she can be a rancher someday.
“When we are six, our parents bring us to Farmfair and we each get to go and have fun. When I went, I led a heifer calf,” she said.
A 4-H member with a steer and horse project, she has been showing Gelbvieh cattle for three years and claims no stage fright when competing against adults.
“It is fun showing. We were taught young so I guess once you have had a few years of practice it gets easier because you know what you are doing,” she said.
Much of her skill started with showmanship classes in 4-H and the junior program.
“In peewee when I was six, I got first all the time,” she said.
For these girls, supportive families are important. Avary’s mother, Leila, is a 4-H specialist with Alberta Agriculture. She and her husband, Darrell, believe these events are learning experiences for the entire family.
“Some people would not have wanted to risk putting a kid on the halter and not risk showing it off to its best. We figured if they don’t learn at some point, when do they learn?” said Leila.
