Monday, May 16, 2011

She's been in 4-H since she was 9 years old...



As promised, here is my report on the 2011 Ponoka District 4-H Beef Show and Sale! The weekend of the show was May 1-3 so please bare with me as I try and remember the details!

For those of you who are unsure of what 4-H is, I hope this blog will give you a bit of insight as to how beneficial and fantastic the organization is! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask:) Here is a link to a short video to help you understand the history and meaning behind 4-H 

Well, to start off the show and sale... On the Sunday before the show, I got home late from U18 Club Volleyball Provincials, which were held in Calgary. I showed up at the arena for our clubs set up, but unfortunately missed most of it, due to my teams late games! This year, my 4-H club chose not to buy numerous decorations, this was because we wanted to stay GREEN! By saving the economy, everyone benefits! I am an incredibly strong believer in this, so you will all most likely be hearing my rants about the four R's in my future posts. But for now... 

Trigger not minding the boot cast!


The judge determining the capacity
of Trigger's muscling 


Sugar & Spice 
Monday morning I was awoken at 5:30 a.m. Since I had been away all weekend, I did not have time to go to school for the morning hours because I needed to wash and prep all 5 of my cattle. This year I raised a steer named Trigger, heifer named Tommi, and a cow/calf pair known as Sugar and Spice. I also raised the charity steer for the district, bringing my herd up to a total of 5! The amount of time that it takes to wash a cow, is often unbearable. Since I show Charolais cattle, which are white, it involves a lot more washing then most.


Trigger being groomed!


Any speck of dirt can be seen on them! Weigh-in was VJV auction market at noon on Monday, so I had to work my wash pants off in order to be in Ponoka by then. Trigger weighed in with a shrunk rate of 1407 lbs. The day followed with moving the cattle into the arena ( which was our show and sale location) and fitting the females for the female show which was held at 5:30 p.m. that day. With sweat on my brow, I completed all of my tasks before I was to be in the show ring. My heifer placed third in her split, and my cow/calf pair got reserve club champion cow/calf pair. To say the least, I was proud. The district then had to judge market steers as a competition, Waldo, the charity steer, was placed at the top of the class :) After judging, I fed all of the calves, fixed their beds, and moved Waldo out to the wash racks. He was a dirt filled mess, and was in dire need of a bath.

Even Grandma got in on the 4-H action!



Trigger & Jess
When 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning rolled around, I was exhausted. Already a full day of showing cattle under my belt, and I had to once again, go hard for the entire day ahead! Showmanship and grooming started at 9:30 a.m. with the West Ponoka Seniors to be in the ring first. Since Trigger is pure white, I was not surprised to find him completely dirty on this morning. After giving him a bath, blow drying off his hair with a cattle blower, and grooming and primping, he was ready.








Trigger acted great in the ring, and we won club and Interclub champion showmanship and reserve club champion grooming. Then came the conformation class. Trigger was somewhat tired by this point but he walked on. He got awarded club grand champion steer for West Ponoka 4-H beef club and Interclub Grand Champion steer. This means that me and Trigger were the first to sell in the sale.Almita purchased my steer for $2.70/ pound. I was proud of my little guy and was sad to see him go! 

Interclub Grand Champion Steer

The Ponoka District 4-H show was to say the least, a huge success. The average of the prices was just under $2.00/pound. Thank you to all of the buyers and sponsors of the show and sale, without you, our achievement day would not be possible! I am looking forward to my 9th and final year as a member of the West Ponoka 4-H beef club next year, and am so thankful to everyone that has supported me up until this stage in my life. 

Thanks for reading :) 



-Jess 

2 comments:

  1. Congrats on a great show! Your projects look awesome in the photos.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you! It was a great show and sale!

    ReplyDelete

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