| | The 20th annual Provincial 4-H Multi-Species Judging Competition was held in Olds on August 11-12, 2006.
The atmosphere was introspective, the attitude competitive and the opportunity great for all forty-four delegates. Each of them was there for both the challenge of the event itself as well as for the chance to win one of the five trips that are awarded at the close of the competition.
"Through the generous support of ATB Financial, who has been the exclusive sponsor of this program from the beginning, 19 top-scoring delegates are given the honour of representing Alberta on one of five judging trips," says Stacy Murray, 4-H specialist, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Fairview. The trip destinations range from Regina, Saskatchwan, to Denver, Colorado.
Delegate Amanda High had been nervous all weekend. "There is a really strong group of delegates this year," said High. "You know that the competition is going to be pretty tough as every one was selected as a representative for their region."
As intense as it may have been, High still managed to come out on top of the competition (with Carriann Johnson following in 2nd and Risa Iwasiuk earning 3rd place), and won the Denver National Western Stock Show ambassador trip.
"I think some of the most important skills you can have, such as decision making, speaking in public, and the ability to explain yourself, are further developed through judging, and each year we see members who are intent on improving those skills," says Murray.
"When traveling on their award trips this year's winners will be excellent representatives of both Alberta and of our 4-H program."
Spread over two days, a total of 13 livestock classes were inspected and evaluated by the delegates. They used their livestock project knowledge to assess and place the animals, and then had to memorize the reasons behind each of those assessments before presenting them orally to a judge. The competition challenged the 4-H delegates to draw on their knowledge of what was an ideal sheep versus swine versus light horse.
Delegate Trena Schwerdt says the competition was a great experience. "Judging is such a valuable experience - it teaches you what to look for in an animal by having to identify their flaws and attributes. You also get to hang out with and see the people that you have been competing with since you began 4-H."
Not that it was all competition - participants filled up on ice cream at an ice cream social Friday evening, unwound with movies on Saturday night and socialized over meals and the final banquet.
Here is a list of winners and trips:
Northern International Livestock Exhibition (NILE) - Billings, Montana Oct 15-19, 2006
Mat Bolduc, Claresholm
Alexia Hoy, Barrhead
Carriann Johnson, Barrhead
Jennifer Miller, Calgary
Cody Radcliffe, Stony Plain
April Stanko, Lomond
Nicholas Sereda, Bow Island
Megan Tannas, Cremona
International 4-H Judging Seminar - Agribition in Regina SK Nov 19-22, 2006
Lexi Gray, Lethbridge
Cody Hoy, Barrhead
Steven Litwin, Vegreville
Djoeke Van Den Pol, Coaldale
Cole Webb, Brooks
Jeanette Wouters, Innisfail
Denver Western 4-H Round-Up Jan 3-7, 2007
Risa Iwasiuk, High Prairie
Erin Friesen, Vauxhall
Jared Foat, Carstairs
Trena Schwerdt, Worsley
Denver National Western Stock Show Jan 10-14, 2007
Amanda High, Fort Macleod
For more information on this event, please call Stacy Murray, 4-H specialist, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, at (780) 835-7537 or visit the 4-H website.
Contact: Stacy Murray (780) 835-7537 |
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