The Rural Voice, 2000-12, Page 23used so that its hair stays in place.
The hair on the end of the calf is
combed to look fluffy. Any stray hair
out of place is promptly cut off. At
least one competitor was seen taking
hair from another calf's tail and
gluing it to the spot where the hair
was missing after too much hair was
accidentally clipped off. Finally, with
a vacuum cleaner -like instrument, the
calf is blown dry.
"The hair is a big part of the calf,"
Alton says.
The overall appearance of the
stalls where the calves are kept
is judged. The tidiest club wins
the Herdsman Award. Some clubs are
so meticulous that not one piece of
straw is in the aisle, where the
general public walks. If the calf
produces manure, it is promptly
removed, usually by a younger
member of the club. The Huron
County gang won this award three
years go.
"It's a lot of work for 20 minutes
of in -the -ring stuff," Alton said.
Due to the large number of calves
there are 14 different classes, with six
competitors in each class. The calf of
Nigel Black, a 15 -year-old from
Wingham, comes from a
neighbouring farm. This is Black's
first time at the Royal and he will be
showing his calf first in class one.
"It's lots of work. You meet Tots
of people and you learn lots of stuff,"
Black says.
It was 15 years ago Kim Higgins
from Huron County won the Guineas
competition with beginner's luck.
"It was pretty amazing, I was only
15 so it was the first time I showed in
the Queen's Guineas," Higgins said.
There have only been two other
Royal Winter Fair Queen's Guineas
winners in Huron County. Higgins is
now the leader of the Brussels beef
club.
"You really try and help the kids
and accomplish the same sort of
things," Higgins says.
But Alton, a third year University
of Guelph agricultural business
student, always places in the middle
of her class.
"I've never, ever won my class or
anything like that. It's the experience
— I don't even care how well I do,
it's just the experience coming here
and doing the work," Alton says.
Alton says most 4 -Hers own the
calves they show. That means
whatever money the calf fetches at
the 2:00 p.m. sale goes into their
pocket. The ideal calf should weigh
about 1,250 pounds, Alton says. Her
calf weighs 1,622 pounds. Calves are
picked a year before they are shown
at the Royal. Alton says the calf is
also judged on a nice rear end, its
finished look, meaning looking well
fed, and muscle.
"I didn't think it was gonna get
this big. I thought it would look good
in the fall. But I did enough work that
I'm not going to not take him," Alton
says.
Alton has already picked her calf
for next year's competitions. In
March, the 4 -Hers started training
their calves by tying them up. They
progress by, at least in the early
months, pulling the calves with a
halter, so that come competition time,
the calves will walk easily with the 4 -
Her.
Before they show at the Royal
they have competed in six other
competitions over the summer and
fall. In order to have a calf at the
Royal Winter Fair, 4 -Hers have to
show at the qualifier event such as
the Seaforth Fair, and at the club
achievement day — in Alton's case,
the Lucknow Fair.
Five minutes before the
competition officially starts, Nigel
Black is at the entrance of the large
dirt ring with a black calf by his side.
Two other Huron County boys, who
will show calves later on, are helping
Black with last minute details on the
calf. The bleachers across from the
ring begin to fill with mothers,
buyers, young children and other 4-H
members in other competitions.
At 8:00 sharp the announcer
introduces the judges, an Albertan
couple with numerous beef
competition victories, and invites the
first class to enter the ring.
Six young people walk
backwards into the ring facing
their calves which follow
closely behind. They circle the ring
then line up in a row side to side. The
judges look at each calf, rub its
stomach, while the competitors rub
underneath the calf's belly with a
long cane. Then they circle the ring a
few times while the judges discuss
amongst themselves the advantages
of the entries. While the calves walk
around the ring, some will refuse to
move, so a woman in the ring will
have to slap the animal's behind to
get it moving. The calves are lined up
in order they finish. The judges give
reasons why they placed the calves in
the order they did and the top two
calves in every class get their picture
taken.
In the first class Black places sixth
and last, but gets the loudest cheer
from the audience when his name is
announced.
"It was nerve-wracking sort of,
there was a lot of good calves in there
and you walk in and you are like,
'Whoa what am I doing here', but it's
exciting. I'll be back next year,"
Black says as he leads his calf back to
the stalls.
This calf judging process is
repeated 14 times, Alton being
in class 14. She describes her
calf as the friendliest she has ever
had. When the calf is judged she
doesn't fare well either. However,
Alton and Brent Black, another 21 -
year -old 4 -Her from Huron County,
were called back for showmanship.
"It was awesome, there were eight
(chosen) out of nine -seven, and there
were two from Huron County," Alton
says..
Alton says to get into the
showmanship final you must have
your calf looking the best it can be
and have the attitude that your calf is
the best. In the sale Alton said most
calves went for between $1.10 and
one dollar per pound. The winning
calf sold at $14 a pound while
Alton's calf fetched $1.06 a pound.
"Compared to 90 cents a pound,
it's a lot of money," Alton says.
According to Alton's club leader,
Bryon Black, the prices were down
from last year.
"The prices were disappointing,"
he said. Alton, plans to own her
father's farm one day and continue to
show steers.
"I know I will show steers for a
long, long time but it is sort of nice to
test the waters. A lot of the ones that
show in the big shows have done
really well in the Guineas, they've all
been in 4-H," she says.
After the competition and sale
were over, Alton went to a party with
other 4 -Hers in the competition.
Maybe this night Alton will be the
one to stay up late partying.0
DECEMBER 2000 19