Youth event | Simmental association members take what they learned in grooming, judging and showing into the ring
OKOTOKS, Alta. — A seasoned showman and a young woman attending her first big cattle show were the grand champions at the national youth Simmental show held in Okotoks July 18.
Wyatt Miller of Saskatoon had the grand champion bull with a solid red calf. At 14, he has a firm handshake and talks like a seasoned cattleman.
He was quick to point out his breeding decisions were responsible for the resulting champion.
“I bought the cow from Erixon (Simmentals near Saskatoon) and got her bred and got that calf,” he said.
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The cow with the bull calf was part of his 4-H project, where the pair was regional reserve champion. He has also shown cattle at the Saskatoon Fall Fair and in Prince Albert, Sask.
Mackenzie Skeels of Rimbey, Alta., won grand champion female, while the bull calf at side was named reserve champion bull. She has shown cattle at 4-H but never attended a large event. Now that she has a taste, she wants to continue.
“I love cattle and I love showing,” she said.
Her parents, Dan and Karen Skeels, gave her a cow when she was born, so she has been around livestock all her life. The family has 360 full-blood Fleckvieh Simmentals, and she was allowed the pick of the herd when it came time to select a 4-H heifer.
The young Simmental event was also a good experience for sisters Loralee and Tannis Klys of Carstairs, Alta.
Loralee’s cow had produced a set of twin heifers, one red and one black. The two sisters showed them to the reserve champion position.
The cow-calf set was Loralee’s 4-H project. She plans to keep the twins and breed them to build up her herd.
She started showing cattle when she was five and is an avid junior member, where she has learned grooming, judging and showing.
She has shown her Simmentals at Edmonton’s Farmfair and the national young cattlemen’s event at Bashaw, Alta., and participated in Summer Synergy, a major youth event sponsored by the Calgary Stampede and the Olds Agriculture Society.
Even with all her experience, she admits to getting the occasional case of the jitters.
“It depends on the class,” she said.
The Young Canadian Simmental Association focuses on education, teamwork and hands-on experience for young people between 10 and 25. Events are held throughout summer and fall across the country, where they learn showing, grooming, public speaking, marketing and judging.
