OLDS, Alta. – At seven years old, Kolby Thompson is already comfortable in the show ring.
After three years showing sheep at the Olds Fair, the local girl won grand champion yearling ewe earlier this month and barely cracked a smile when she took the red ribbon.
For her parents, Buck and Renai Thompson, the junior events at the fair are a good way to introduce their children to larger programs such as 4-H, where they can learn responsibility and new skills and develop a love of agriculture.
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“The sheep are a good thing to get her started,” said Renai, who watched the 40 pound showman put her lamb through its paces with help from an older junior member, Erin Ashbacher.
“In her first show, she was face to face with her lamb,” said Renai, whose five-year-old son Clay was also involved.
Seeing young children working in the barns has always been a priority at Olds, said livestock committee chair Donna Smith.
“As soon as they can walk alongside Mom or Dad and hold the halter, they can participate.”
The fair set up a scholarship program nearly a decade ago to encourage participation.
“I believe that our junior shows have stayed strong because of it,” she said.
Working with sponsors, the fair offers three $1,000 scholarships for young people older than 15. They must compete in four components of their junior program, which includes livestock, horticulture and crafts.
A point system is used and at the end of the show, participants with the highest points from each division go through an interview and make an impromptu speech before the judges, who may include show sponsors.
The winners must verify they are in post-secondary education.
Many also participate in the open shows against adults, leading out livestock they own or that come from the family herd.
Many of the large city fairs have stopped running big livestock shows but have strengthened the youth component with bigger cash prizes and scholarships, said Dave Sibbald, who sits on the youth committee for the Calgary Stampede. He judged the Olds open breed shows and recalled starting as a boy at similar events.
He praised the exposure young people receive to agriculture and hard work when they participate at the fair.
“These kids that are here do the work. I applaud the parents who make them do the work.”
