REGINA – A seasoned rancher at the top of his game and a 10-year-old girl who cleaned up at this year’s junior shows are the winners of the Canadian Western Agribition supreme championship.
Roger Hardy of Soo Line Angus at Midale, Sask., won with his Black Angus bull named Soo Line Yellowstone 6344, and Laurie Morasch of Bassano, Alta., took the supreme champion female with her Red Angus cow-calf pair named Red Lazy MC Bess 12S and a calf named Sparkle.
More than 80 champions were represented at the show, which included an invitational aspect where other fairs from across Canada sent their winners to compete against the Agribition lineup from 11 different breeds.
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First nervous, then elated, Hardy watched from the stands as his female and bull champions paraded in the ring. The panel of five judges tapped his two-year-old bull for the prize of $10,000 and the 10th anniversary winner.
“We’ve moved up a notch. People would consider us one of the top breeders in Canada now,” said Hardy.
It has been a triumphant year for Soo Line Angus. After travelling 32 hours to the Toronto Royal Winter Fair at the beginning of November, the operation came away with the national Red Angus champion. It will be shown at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado in January. The supreme champion bull is going to Alta Genetics to have semen drawn.
His Agribition champion cow, Soo Line Annie K, with a bull calf at side, competed in the supreme female side and it is due to calve in February.
“Maybe our cow has the next champion in there,” he said.
Morasch’s female champion started as her 4-H and junior Angus project, winning wherever the pair was shown. Both were born and raised at the Bassano ranch where the family keeps about 160 purebred Black and Red Angus.
Showing has been a big part of family life, although Laurie only entered the ring as a nine-year-old. The calf from this pair is already being groomed as her next project for the 2009 showing season.
“Everybody said you’ll have to retire from showing. Kids are funny though, they keep everything in perspective,” said her father, Clint Morasch.
In fact, her parents had to convince her to come to Agribition.
“She was worried about missing school. My wife and I had to talk her into coming,” he said.
The prize money of $10,000 will be split with the other owner of the cow, Corner Creek Angus.
“All she was excited about was the banner,” said Clint.
Laurie has also qualified to enter her own cattle at the July 2009 World Angus Forum show in Calgary. For Clint, that event is especially meaningful because he attended his first world forum 25 years ago in Calgary as a child.
“I was 11 for the last world forum so it is exciting to have my daughter there,” he said.
