CALEB NICKERSON
TORONTO Nov. 3-5, 2019
A trio of aspiring farmers from the Shawville 4-H Club ventured all the way to the . . .
big smoke last week for the Superbowl of farming expos, the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.
Taking place in Toronto, the event hosts numerous divisions over the course of a week, kicking off with TD Canadian 4-H Dairy Classic, which saw over 300 young competitors take to the ring. The three local youth – Rebecca Nugent, Jeremy Laforest and Alex Mayhew – represented the Quebec North region, along with five members of the Lachute 4-H Club. The Shawville contingent all showed Holsteins graciously lent to them by Garth and Gail Tracy of Double-G Farms in Clarendon.
Mayhew competed in the Senior Heifer division (born Sept. to Nov. 2018) for conformation, with Double-G Millennium Madona, while Nugent and Laforest were in the Intermediate Calf division (born between Dec. 1, 2018 and Feb. 28, 2019) with Double G-Doc Covergirl and Double G Impression Flash ET respectively. For showmanship, Nugent competed in her final year of the intermediate age group, while Laforest and Mayhew were in the junior group.
Serge Laforest, Jeremy’s father, provided the transportation for the animals, and said that it was “exceptional” that one farm would provide the kids with three top quality cows. He added that since they’d been busy on the show circuit throughout the summer, the animals were acclimatized to traveling and staying in strange environments.
“That was their eighth show this summer, so they were very used to it … They didn’t find it too stressful,” he said of the trip to Toronto. “They seemed pretty happy in the trailer.”
Mayhew’s mother Jennifer Davies said that the young competitors have to submit show results and cattle selection to Quebec 4-H, who select participants based on region. She added that the three had attended numerous fairs over the summer and were well prepared for the stiff competition. While none of them managed to get out of their heats Davies said they all worked hard and showed improvement over the season.
“None of our kids made it out of their heats in showmanship … or conformation, but they all did really well,” she said, noting that it was her son’s first time at the Royal. “Speaking for Alex, I think he did his best in terms of showing and how he did in the ring. From what I’ve watched over the years, he’s getting better.”
“There’s over 300 competitors that show in the Classic, so just to make it out of your heat is impressive, because there’s like 30 or 40 people in your heat,” said Nugent, who is in her third year of competing at the event, and narrowly missed the cut last year. “I didn’t make my heat, but I learned some new pointers in order to make the heat for next year.”
She noted that if she qualifies next year, she will be stepping up to the Senior age group, facing off against older, more experienced competitors. She added that the judge this year told her to work on speeding up her feet switches.
“Whenever the judge goes on the opposite side of the calf, you have to switch the legs, which means the front feet stay square and they have to move the one back leg forward,” she explained. “[He said] just do it a little bit faster, because he wants it done right as he gets to the other side.”
Serge added that this is Jeremy’s second year qualifying for the competition, though his cow fell ill last year and was unable to compete. He said his son picked up some tips from the judges to work on next season, like lifting the head of his calf just a little more.
“It’s an undertaking to get there and just to qualify to get there,” he said, listing their extensive travels on the fair circuit this summer. “[He improves] every time he gets into the ring. The years before, we always did like two or three fairs, one small one and Shawville. This year we decided to do more, and it made a difference obviously, for Rebecca and Jeremy.”
In addition to the competition, Nugent had the chance to represent the Quebec North group during the event’s opening ceremonies, standing in the ring in front of hundreds of people with their placard, which she said was special since this year is the 40th anniversary of the event.
Davies added that all the expense and work that goes into showing cattle is worth it, for both for the competitive experience, but also for the people they meet and friendships they form.
“[Alex has] been talking about it non-stop , about how much fun he had,” she said. “He wants to go back … If he doesn’t get selected to go he wants to go down to watch.”
Nugent agreed that the social aspect of 4-H is a big part of the appeal.
“I don’t usually get to see [the Lachute club] that often, I’ll see them at fairs that I go to throughout the year, but the Royal is the one time of the year that I really get to spend time with them and see people from all over Canada too,” she said. “One of my best friends I met my first year going to the Royal. We met there every year and I see her outside of 4-H too … It’s really made a lot of friendships, lifelong friends.”
