REGINA – It is a rare group of teenaged girls who would reject blue jeans for knee length kilts, but the three young women who serve as Shorthorn lassies all opted for the traditional Scottish costume to represent their breed.
Raylene Moellenbeck of Manitoba and Evelyn Thompson and Dayna Huber of Saskatchewan have represented the breed at shows and sales in their home provinces for at least two years.
Not many breeds have young women doing this job anymore. They help promote a breed and serve as goodwill ambassadors. Each Shorthorn lassie wears a traditional Scottish costume representing her province. This year at the Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, the Manitoba representative wore a white-based tartan while the Saskatchewan girls had yellow tartans.
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All were approached to do the job, unlike in the past, when there was strict selection criteria.
Thompson did her 4-H speech this year on the role of the Shorthorn lassie. She learned the past requirements were much stricter than today. The young women had to be single, had to own Shorthorn cattle and know about the breed, maintain good grades in school and demonstrate proper behaviour.
The three volunteers look forward to their travels to shows.
“You meet a lot of people and you learn communication. You don’t learn that in school,” said Moellenbeck.
“I met my first person from Scotland today,” she said, referring to four families who had travelled to Regina from Scotland for the Shorthorn show held Nov. 22.
All three took time off school although Thompson had to explain to her teacher what she was doing and why.
“I think he thought I was weird,” she said.
All three are members of the junior Shorthorn Association and 4-H, as well as keeping busy with high school and sports. They all come from Shorthorn families.
“Most girls quit after a while. It’s because they don’t have the time,” said Huber.
