EDMONTON – All-women crews are becoming more common in the show circuit.
At the barns at Farmfair it’s not unusual to see teams of women washing, drying, showing, fitting and selling their cattle.
“There’s getting to be a lot of all-women crews,” said Cheryl Olanski, who came to the show with her daughter, Deidre, and Dee Herber, a cattle fitter.
With her husband working off the farm in the winter, it was left to Olanski of High Prairie, Alta., to manage their purebred Charolais herd.
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Olanski wanted to improve the way she marketed and sold cattle and began travelling the show circuit. Last year she attended Farmfair to get a feel for a big show.
This year she knew it was important to be at the show during the World Charolais Congress with the focus on the Charolais breed.
“It’s addictive. It’s fun to meet new people,” said Olanski, who makes all the decisions about what shows to attend and the breeding, vaccination and feeding programs.
“The only thing that irks me is when they ask, ‘where’s your husband?’ ” said Olanski.
On show and sale days, she prods her crew out of bed at 4 a.m. to get the cattle washed, dried and in show shape.
“It’s fun. We’re all friends here enjoying ourselves,” said Deidre, whose job is to show the cattle.
“It’s fun to show. You’re down in the ring, you smile and look pretty.”
Ursula Corpataux came to Farmfair from Erskine, Alta., with a string of 10 Charolais cattle and her all-woman crew.
“Girls can do it just as good as boys,” said Corpataux, who brought her daughters, Jill, 13, Joy, 15 and her friend and neighbour Donna-Lyn Stefanchuk of Big Valley, Alta., to help fit and show the cattle.
As a child growing up in Switzerland, Corpataux loved travelling the show circuit with cattle and horses. Her husband prefers to stay on the farm and look after the cattle.
“I like to meet people. It’s social, it’s nice here,” said Corpataux, who sometimes is annoyed when buyers come up and want to talk to “the boss” about buying cattle.
“Now a lot of breeders know us so it’s easier,” she said.
Corpataux said on show day she likes to be one of the first in the barn to wash and ready her animals. The crew has been working together long enough to know what needs to be done during the hectic day.
The daughters show, Corpataux organizes and Stefanchuk pitches in to set up the wash racks, ration the feed and water on show day and help fit the cattle.
“It’s great fun,” said Stefanchuk.
