Red Holstein from Alberta chosen grand champion at Junior Dairy Show

Eleven-year-old Terrell Friesen may have been dwarfed by most of the dairy cows at the Western Canadian Classic (WCC) Junior Dairy Show, but that did not dampen his enthusiasm for the bovine competition.
"I plan to keep coming to these meets for a long time. It's fun to learn a bunch of stuff from the older competitors like how to lead an animal."
Friesen, one of the younger competitors at the event held in Moose Jaw over the weekend, enjoyed not only making new friends, but learning from some of the more experienced members of the 18-person strong Saskatchewan contingent.
And should Friesen carry on as a dairy show competitor, perhaps one day he may match the accomplishments of teammate Ian Crosbie.
Crosbie, 20 and a native of Caron, led his heifer Benbie Jasper Mabelle to a first place in the senior calf category and to the reserve champion position (runner-up) overall.
Crosbie, competing for the ninth time in the WCC, spoke highly of the Saskatchewan team, which was competing against teams from B.C., Alberta, and Manitoba.
"We had a really young team last year and everyone came back this year with some more experience and we had a much better year this year. I had a lot of fun this year."
Crosbie and his calf will now be venturing to shows in Madison, Wis., and Toronto where he expects the competition to be very tough.
Gerald Coughlin, who judged the conformation classes on Saturday, spoke glowingly about the event, which featured nearly 100 dairy 4-H members from Western Canada.
"The kids - I couldn't believe how good they were. It takes a lot of work at home and the cattle were exceptionally well-prepared. The kids were good to work with also."
Coughlin, a farmer and 4-H leader from Peterborough, Ont., who has judged around the world, added that the six-day event was extremely well-organized and raved about the facilities at the Moose Jaw Exhibition Grounds.
Planning committee chairwoman Tricia Flaman expects that it may not be too long before Moose Jaw hosts the event for a second time.
"We had a lot of good remarks. Everyone from the other provinces was happy to be here. They liked the closeness of all facilities, and it sounds like we're going to get it again the next time it comes to Saskatchewan in four years."
This year's event marked the 25th time the WCC has been held. As part of the celebrations, a class of alumni aged 25 to 50 competed in a showmanship class of its own.
"The kids got a real kick out of that because we're always the ones telling them what they've got to fix. So they got to sit in the stands and critique us, and I think they really enjoyed that," said Flaman.
The grand champion prize was awarded to Alberta's Katelyn Crest and her red holstein cow Alfalfa.

Myles Fish can be reached at 691-1255.