Cambridge, ON November 11, 2014 – After months of anticipation, hundreds of 4-H members and their calves recently arrived in Toronto to compete in the 35th annual TD Canadian 4-H Dairy Classic.
A total of 357 4-H members from Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia represented their respective counties or provinces during the three-day event held from November 8-10th at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.
51 teams arrived on Saturday to set up their displays, interact with visitors to the Royal and educate young fair-goers about caring for calves and life on a dairy farm. Veteran 4-H members displayed a high level of leadership by assisting the younger, first-time members throughout the competition.
4-H members competed individually in both showmanship and conformation competitions, as well as in teams for Best Exhibit, Best Group of Three Calves and Premier County. Showmanship Judge Jeff West of Beeton, ON and his associate, Thierry Jaton of Compton, QC, put 4-H members through the paces during showmanship heats on the evening of Sunday November 9th and in the finals on the morning of November 10th.
From a tremendously strong group of winning showpersons in the Junior, Intermediate and Senior categories, Kenny McRae of Prescott, 1 st place Senior showperson, was named Grand Champion Showperson. Cameron Stockdale of Peterborough, who was 2nd Senior showperson was named Reserve Champion and Alana McKinven of Quebec South West, who placed 1st in Intermediate showmanship, was Honourable Mention.
By mid-morning, the conformation classes began entering the ring. Conformation Judge Chris Lahmers of Marysville, OH, began placing the many heats and classes of top 4-H Holsteins, Jerseys and other colour breeds from across the country. Judge Lahmers liked what he saw in the Holstein Intermediate calf class and made the 1st place finisher, Belfast Doorman Lovestruck, shown by Alex Chabot of Russell, his Grand Champion for the day. Reserve Champion went to Jessica Brown of Frontenac with the 1st place Holstein Summer Yearling Calbrett McCutchen Lila, while Quebec Centre’s Maxime Montplaisir claimed Honourable Mention with 2nd place Holstein Summer Yearling, Milibro Aftershock Roseluka.
The Best Exhibit is one of the most sought-after titles at the TD Canadian 4-H Dairy Classic. Sunday and Monday, the exhibits were judged for cleanliness, interaction with members of the public, signage and the overall display. Carleton County was declared the winner on Monday afternoon with Lambton and Waterloo following closely behind in 2nd and 3rd respectively, with just a third of a point separating the runner’s up. Durham East and York earned 4th and 5th place finishes, respectively.
Quebec Centre was the winner of the Group of Three followed by Northumberland in 2nd spot.
For the 4th year in a row, Durham West team defeated their Premier County title, winning the “Bill Edelstein Bowl” for most points in showmanship, conformation and best exhibit.
The lucky winner of the showbox (handcrafted and painted by the O’Donnell family of Waterloo) was John Andrew Hornbrook of New Brunswick.
This year’s “Breeder of Distinction” was Rocky Mountain Holsteins of Cochrane, AB, and David Chalack, Glenn Hockley and Doug Blair, were all on hand to bring greetings during the show. Rocky Mountain Holsteins generously donated five sexed McCutcheon embryos from Gen-I-Beq Beacon Anakim, VG-87 *RDC for a draw. Matthew Williamson, of Halton was the winner of this fabulous prize.
For the third year, the Stewart family was on hand to present the Bertram and Hazel Stewart 4-H Dairy Youth Education Award and Bursary. This year’s deserving recipient was Rebecca Redner of Northumberland. Rebecca’s submitted entry was played during the show and can be found online here
The Classic would not be possible without the commitment to youth from sponsors TD Canada Trust, Semex Alliance and Holstein Canada in the form of generous donations. The organizing committee and all of the 4-H members attending are truly grateful for their support.
Many 4-H members would not be able to make it the TD Canadian 4-H Dairy Classic without the support of many local sponsors at home, parents, leaders and other volunteers. They deserve a huge thank you as well.
For more information, contact the Ontario Holstein Branch at (519) 653-6180 or [email protected]. Full results are available here