The Rural Voice, 1987-12, Page 38GMC
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On-farm Demonstration
36 THE RURAL VOICE
NEWS
EARNING THE QUEEN'S GUINEAS
A goal has been described as a
"dream with a deadline." Today,
Rosanne Calhoun says she feels like
she is still in her dream. The 20 -year-
old daughter of Pat and Earl Calhoun
of R. R. 2, Dobbinton in Bruce Coun-
ty, she recently took top honours with
her beef calf in the Queen's Guineas.
It all began nine years ago when
one of the heifers in the Calhoun's
beef feedlot gave birth to a calf.
Eleven -year-old Rosanne accepted the
challenge of keeping the calf alive and
raising it to be her own. She was too
young to join the local 4-H calf club at
the time, but in 1979 became a mem-
ber of the Paisley 4-H Beef Calf Club
and has been active ever since.
Margie Fenner, last year's winner
of the Queen's Guineas, also belongs
to the Paisley club, which, with 21
members, is one of the biggest in
Ontario. Of the 21, 5 attended the
Queen's Guineas this year, providing
plenty of mutual support for one
another. Margie was not able to show
this year, but she was on hand with
moral support and information.
Jack and Donelda MacGillivray
and Paul Ribey are the Paisley club
leaders. They're obviously teaching
their group the art of what to look for
in a calf and the finer skills of show-
manship. Three words that keep crop-
ping up in 4-H are time, commitment,
and dedication. As Pat, Rosanne's
mother, says, "Rosanne's calf always
came first and meals came second."
Last February, Rosanne and Pat
attended a cattle sale in London,
Ontario so Rosanne could choose her
calf for this year's competition. But it
wasn't until the day after the sale that
she was able to purchase the one she
wanted from one of the breeders. The
calf was a Chianina and Angus cross
steer. She named him Buckwheat —
Bucky for short — but Rosanne says
"he often got called a lot of other
things during the course of the year
while trying to train him."
Buckwheat was entered in the
Queen's Guineas on May 1, 1987 and
had to be weighed in at Paisley before
the 15th of May to make the entry
official. He weighed in at 860 pounds.
From that day on he was fed ShurGain
4 -Season Calf Grower starting at eight
pounds a day and increasing gradually
to 16 pounds a day at the finishing.
Rosanne found herself in the barn
each morning before school, and in the
summer before work, feeding Bucky
and attending to his every need. After
school and work the two spent about
three hours together each day while
Rosanne groomed Bucky, trained his
hair, and walked him with a halter for
one to one and a half miles a day.
One event that stands out in
Rosanne's mind was the night Bucky
ran away. Rosanne had been away for
two days and when she took Bucky on
his delayed walk she gave him extra
time because he was especially frisky.
But on returning to the barn, Bucky
still wanted to play, so he bolted and
headed straight for the back of the
farm. After a brief inspection of his
mistress when she caught up with him,
Bucky returned directly to her side.
"It was as if he was telling me he