There was lots to be proud of for the contingent from Prince Edward Island who took part in the National Junior Beef and National Junior Dairy shows at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. The competition was tough in both arenas, but the youth from the Island came away with many high placings, including first prize winners.
In the National Junior Beef Show, the showmanship classes were judged first. James Worth made it past the first round in the junior division. In the intermediate division, Brady Matheson and Colby MacQuarrie advanced to the second round. MacQuarrie's show talents got him as far as the final round of competition.
In conformation classes, there were entries in the Shorthorn, Simmental, Angus, and Charolais breeds. Courtney Hogan's Shorthorn, Evergreen Wishful 11W, was awarded first prize in the calf class. There were four exhibitors in the Simmental breed. Brady Matheson's BJM Goldmine GG took third in his division of calves. Michael Godfrey walked off with the first prize ribbon in his Simmental calf division with Frey Lawny Wildfire. Jaclyn Sanderson's yearling entry of Spud Island Norma Jean 108U was awarded a seventh prize. Her brother Dereck's yearling, Spud Island Best Lady 68U picked up a sixth placing. Colby MacQuarrie took sixth in the Angus calf class with Miltonvale Annie Cobe 1W. Royal Blackbird 4U exhibited by Haley Ings was fifth. A third place award was earned by Cable Head Queen 3U shown by Andrew Dixon. James Worth took Lindale Lori 2U into the ring and came away with a sixth. One Charolais was shown from the Island; Brodie Johnston's Cros. Ms. Winnie was fourth.
In the National Junior Dairy Show, Island exhibitors were also very successful. Three Islanders made it to the final round in the showmanship division. Kyle Jewell, Ashley Profit, and Susan Frizzell all advanced to the final round in a very large group of show people.
All the dairy entries from the Island were Holsteins. In the junior calf class, Logan Bryanton was eleventh with Lexis Dundee Diana. Tiny Acres Shottle Victory, an intermediate calf shown by Ashley Profit, was third out of 71 entries. Susan Frizzell placed eighth in the senior calf class with Valleyville Goldwyn Papsi. Jenna Profit's summer yearling entry, Lexis Carisma Laine, was eleventh. Rounding out the list of top Island wins was Valleyville Dundee Patrice, a junior yearling, exhibited by Kyle Jewell. The other members of the Island dairy team were Matthew Tweedy, Jilliam Tweedy, and Alex Bernard.
TD Canada Trust is the major sponsor of the youth shows at the Royal. They also award scholarships through 4-H to deserving high school students from across Canada. There are ten scholarships, each valued at $2500, awarded annually. This year, one of the TD scholarships was awarded to Adam MacKinnon of Richmond.