The Roaring Success of Showdown 2013

Given that the summer is wrapping up, so are Karla, Matt and my internships. I am still recovering from the Canadian Junior Angus Showdown in Armstrong, British Columbia last week.


Showdown was another great exhibition of our fabulous Juniors and all that they are capable of. My crew and I headed out on Wednesday in a convoy of two trucks with trailers full of cattle and two trucks with hay, luggage and tack. The 10-hour drive was through beautiful country and allowed ample time for napping to prepare for the next couple days of competitions.


Upon arrival, we uploaded our string leaving them to finally rest their weary legs and get out of the sun and began setting up our stall. That night was fairly laid back but it all sped up from there.


Thursday was the grooming and individual judging competitions and friendly competition was had by all. The board had arranged for a bus to take us to the waterslides which was much appreciated given the heat most of us were not accustomed to.  This was a great opportunity for all participants to bond and cool off! I know our crew was definitely not designed to function in the heat of Armstrong.

Kasey Adams and Lexi Dietrich in our stall cooling off after a long day in the barn.

Friday was the showmanship competition. In the afternoon we had sales talk, print marketing and the much-awaited show team judging competition. The show team judging teams are decided by the top six individuals of each category (after the individual judging competition) who are then drawn out of a hat and paired together. I managed to crack the top six for the senior division and my partner was Allison Speller. I hadn’t given reasons on a mic for quite some time but I managed to get through it with my partner's support. We found out at awards that we won our category and I would gladly take the opportunity to team judge with Allison any time! That evening was the prestigious Angus Cook-Off competition. My team picked a very unique theme of Alberta Dynasty.

Team Alberta Dynasty: We each dressed up as a character
and Si, Jace and Willie grilled up some Certified Angus beef
with a special marinade, salad and garlic toast on the side.
We were awarded the best dressed team!

After the conformation show Saturday, there was a banquet and dance. The little girls at our table had the longest night of being patient as they requested Taylor Swift’s “22” to be played four times before they had even finished their meals. The awards ceremony was well hosted by Erin Toner and Michael Hargrave congratulating all our hard-working Juniors. A personal highlight for me was Erin’s heartfelt speeches about a program and association that have given her so much. There may have been a few sympathy tears as I am nearing the end of my show career as well and I want to thank Erin once again for her never-ending enthusiasm and passion for the CJAA. She has done so much for Juniors such as me during her involvement, not to mention setting a wonderful example for all of us growing up in the Angus breed. Congrats to her on the much deserved Spirit of Youth award. Some other awards highlights include Keely Adams of Forestburg, AB receiving the Junior Aggregate, Meghan McGillivray of Kamloops, BC the Intermediate Aggregate and Allison Speller of Monte Lake, BC the Senior Aggregate.

Grand Champion Female in the Open Division was won by
Allison Speller on the halter of Summit Angus Eline 80Y.

The dance was also a great way to wind down the show as all participants showed their moves off on the dance floor and got to meet new people. From T Swift to Gangnam Style to some Shania Twain, everyone got to hear what they liked to hear and we all got to spend a couple more hours together.

All the Alberta participants at CJAA Showdown 2013 in their banquet best.

The drive home seemed to go much faster than the trip out and although Laurie Hunter may say that is thanks to the 10-hour nap we all seemed to get excluding the drivers, I think that speaks to the roaring success of Showdown.
 
As one of our delegates forgot their keys in BC, the prizes for the Alberta Junior Angus Show are all now purchased and sitting in my garage! I am once again quite looking forward to some Junior Angus collaboration and all the excitement that comes along with such events. I have now returned to the office for a couple weeks before the Alberta Junior Angus Show and the All Breeds Show. If you are not entered yet there is still time but you may not receive show apparel. I look forward to seeing many of our junior members out competing!

Posted by Katelyn Dietrich
Feedback: kdietrich@cdnangus.ca

Neat Experiences for the Interns as Summer Arrives

4-H shows are in full swing! As a past 4-H member, I enjoy going to other 4-H shows to see how other regions run their shows. I can say that I have not attended two shows that have been the same. This keeps my job very interesting and I am always learning new things when I attend these shows. 

I was fortunate enough to help ring the Irma 4-H show in the middle of June. It was a beautiful day outside and I was able to get a little sun, which is always nice. I arrived at the show and was happy to see who I would be helping in the ring. The judge was Dennis Erikson. I have seen Dennis a few times over the years and he has judged at a few places I have been. I will never forget Dennis though because my very first year in 4-H I attended a show before my own achievement day and Dennis was the judge. My heifer, Wilma, was not being the nicest to me that day and I was scared to go into the show ring for the first time. Dennis was very patient and he helped me through my very first class when I was nine years old. So for me it was a real treat working in the same ring as Dennis.


After the Irma Show I was heading back to Regina and stayed in the office for a few days before going to my next show. For the weekend I went to Moose Jaw and helped at their regional show. The show had not been outside in years but this year they decided to chance it and the show was outside. The weather cooperated and the show was very good. I met many people at this show and made some contact with some of the Saskatchewan junior Angus members.  A good majority of cattle had Angus influence at this show and I would say 90 percent of them were Black Angus. The supreme female of the show was a Black Angus heifer. Overall, the show went great and the kids finished with their sale in the afternoon on Sunday.

My next stop was Calgary after the July 1^st weekend. Katelyn and I went to visit Hamilton Farms and they helped us with a video project that we are working on. It was a great afternoon and the weather could not have been any better. We were treated with a surprise at the Hamiltons. They had rescued two baby fawns and are bottle feeding little Rosie and Olivia. The fawns were fun of energy and really entertaining to watch.

I worked in the Calgary office for the rest of the week and got prepared for Stampede that was starting on Friday. We got all of our information together and made sure we had enough Angus swag to give away. We were helping in the Cattle Trail portion in the agriculture barns on park. We were there to help the Canadian Beef Breeds Council and to answer any questions that people walking through the trail my have. I really enjoyed interacting with different people and was intrigued by some of the questions that I was asked. I especially liked to talk to people that were not from Canada and learning about the beef industry in their respective countries. One lady from Switzerland told me that they use Simmental cattle for both beef and dairy purposes in Switzerland. I found that interesting because in Canada a Simmental cow would never be used for milk production. It is cool to learn how different countries use different breeds in a variety of ways. At the booth in Cattle Trail, we worked with the organization Ag More Than Ever as well. When we were not talking to people at our booth we were taking photos with the Ag More Than Ever speech bubbles. Overall, the cattle trail was very busy and the 10 days went by quick! It was amazing being down on the grounds and to see how much work everyone did to get the park ready after the floods. I tip my hat to everyone who worked together to clean up the park so the greatest outdoor show on Earth could go on! 

I am now back in Regina and am working on some educational DNA videos, getting prepared for Showdown, Saskatchewan Gold Show and the Manitoba Beef Roundup. As of today it is only one week until I will be in Armstrong, BC for Showdown! I am very excited to see all the different projects the Juniors have been working on and to travel to Armstrong, BC. I am very fortunate to be getting many “first” experiences with this internship and I can’t wait for many more to come! 


Posted by Karla Ness
Feedback: kness@cdnangus.ca