For the first time ever, the 10th Annual Western Classic Junior Dairy Show was held under one single roof at the International Agri-Center in Tulare, CA. This massive building held food trucks, grandstands, a play area for young children, the show ring, over 320 head of cattle, and even more exhibitors and supporters of the event.
Lead Chairperson of the Western Classic Junior Dairy Show, Lauren Evangelo commented, “Our 10th Annual show was a great success. It was wonderful to have dairy enthusiasts all together again after a two-year hiatus. The new facility exceeded our expectations and it was great to have all our exhibitors under one roof.”
Aside from the show itself, there were activities taking place inside the barn for the whole family! This included fitting and showing clinics, 4-H and FFA cattle judging contests, the California Junior Holstein Association Silent Auction, the Real California Milk Display offering fresh dairy products and visits with local California Dairy Princesses, an ice cream social, the exhibitor dinner, and more!
Each morning, as donuts and coffee were provided for all, lots of commotion could be heard including children laughing, clippers buzzing, and parents giving guidance on chores to be completed. However, when our National Anthem began, every man, woman, child (and cow) stopped what they were doing and the entire venue went completely silent to honor our great nation. What a beautiful sight it was to see so many shining stars, the future of agriculture, honoring the stars and stripes of our country!
This moment was also a huge highlight for Chairperson Lauren Evangelo. “When we played the National Anthem on Sunday morning, the whole barn went silent and faced the large American flag hung at the back of the pavilion. It gave me chills!”
The exhibitors filed in to the show ring in record numbers, with some classes including over 30 animals! Over 200 exhibitors put their showmanship skills to the test. This made Judge Joshua Wright’s task both challenging and rewarding.
Joshua manages Aardema Dairies in Jerome, Idaho, where they milk 20,000 cows and ship 1.2 million pounds of milk each day. He has judged numerous state and local shows in North America and has had the opportunity to judge national shows in Uruguay and Argentina, but this was his first time attending and judging the Western Classic Junior Dairy Show.
“It was a great show to be a part of,” said Joshua. “The quality of the kids was outstanding. It was hard to sort out the top group and that always makes a show fun. It was an awesome experience to work with the youth and explain some things they were doing wrong, as well as praise things that they did right. There are some quality kids out here in California. They do an outstanding job.”
Showmanship Results: (Hear from them in the video below!)
Champion Senior Showman – Logan Silveira
Champion Intermediate Showman – Lauren Silveira
Champion Junior Showman – Makenna Martins
Champion Novice Showman – Kamryn Kasbergen
The kids and cattle were both of high quality, with many daughters from Select Sires bulls in the barn. All West/Select Sires was happy to see our friend Lauryn Young of Claquato Farms in Washington and her 7HO12587 DIAMONDBACK daughter, take home the Grand Champion Holstein and Supreme Champion honors!
2022 Western Classic Dairy Show Supreme Champion, 7HO12587 DIAMONDBACK daughter Whey-Mat DB Paige, owned by Gary, Lauryn, and Kinley Young. Bred by Matt Leak
Left Photo by: Cowsmopolitan Inc. Right Photo by: Lauryn Young
The title of Registered Holstein Junior Champion went to 7HO14477 WARRIOR daughter, Air-Osa Warrior 28763, exhibited by Kyleigh Forster of Bakersfield, CA.
Photo by: Cowsmopolitan, Inc.
The Registered AOB Grand Champion was 7JE1486 FIZZ daughter, Heart & Soul Fizz Fantasy, 1st Junior 3-Year-Old, exhibited by Lauren Starr of Tulare, CA.
Photo by: Cowsmopolitan, Inc.
Thank you for Cowsmopolitan Inc. for the great show coverage!
See all Western Classic Junior Holstein Show results here.
See all Western Classic Junior AOB Show results here.
Judge Joshua Wright and his wife, Melanie, have four children of their own, making it easy for him to appreciate the importance of this event, beyond the ribbons and banners. “It’s important at a young age that these kids get excited about the animals, not even dairy in particularly, just animals in general. They learn a lot about responsibility and not taking any days off while taking care of animals. Those are qualities that you can see in the ring, that they put the work in. They always find out that the more work they put in, the better their animal does. It’s important for them to learn that lesson at a young age. I think the lessons learned here are as important as what is learned at school.”
Of course, none of these lessons could be learned without the time, effort and financial contributions donated by the generous volunteers and sponsors of this event. All West/Select Sires is a proud Gold Sponsor of the Western Classic Dairy Show. Manager of Communications, Mackenzie Yerian, also enjoys taking candid photos at the show and offers them to all exhibitors at no cost, courtesy of All West/Select Sires. To view all photos taken by All West/Select Sires, click here. Use PIN 9020 to download.
“We greatly appreciate all of our sponsors, including All West/Select Sires, for all of their support to make this show a reality,” said Chairperson Lauren Evangelo. “We look forward to having our 2023 show at the International Agri-Center once again!”
Mark your calendar for next year’s Western Classic Dairy Show, taking place at the International Agri-Center in Tulare, California on March 10-12, 2023!
.
.
.
.
.
.