Samee and Pete Charriere made the trip from Washington state and saw their bull named senior division calf champion
It was the 50th show for some, but Samee Charriere exhibited cattle at Canadian Western Agribition for the first time this year.
She and her husband, Pete, came from Clarkston, Washington, with a bull calf after earning entry into the Beef Supreme with a win at the Northern International Livestock Exposition in Billings, Montana.
The bull, JLSL Jigsaw 128J from Ledgerwood Gelbvieh, won its class at Agribition and was named senior division calf champion.
“We know we brought a calf, but we came to represent,” Charriere said ahead of the show.
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Ledgerwood is one of only two Gelbvieh breeders in the state.
The Charrieres run about 180 purebred cows and “a pile of commercials” in the hills of southeastern Washington near the Montana border. They also co-own Rafter C Reds, a Red Angus operation.
“I got my first cow in ’93,” she said. “When I was 10 my dad bought my sister and I a pair. That was the start.”
She said she likes the Gelbvieh breed for its initial growth and ability to do well in the steeper, more arid climate where they graze.
Similar to the Canadian Prairies, 2021 was not without challenges for her area. Drought and fires were a problem. It hadn’t rained since April 10.
“I lost 15,000 acres of forest allotment for the commercial cows,” Charriere said of forest fires.
Twenty-three pairs were in the middle of two fires and had to be moved. Cattle commingle in the allotments and sometimes it takes time to find them all, but they are branded and she said most were home.
Charriere also said that getting over the border with an animal and during the pandemic was easy. The vaccination requirements in Washington and Saskatchewan are the same.
Winning the NILE was a bonus to their trip as they were planning to attend Agribition to help with the Twin View Livestock string. Jigsaw’s sire is a Twin View bull.
In the Canadian National show ring, Twin View had the grand champion female with AWB Twin View Sugar 26F and calf at side, AWB Twin View Kodiak 61J. They also showed the reserve, AWB Twin View Gracie Gayle 74H.
Fladeland Livestock from Gladmar, Sask., showed the champion bull, Fladeland Gronk 23G ET. Davidson Gelbvieh of Ponteix, Sask., showed the reserve, DVE Davidson Optimist 118H.
