By Kiara Kjenner
The East Ponoka 4-H Beef Club’s 4-H year has slowly come to an end. On April 12, our club held our mini show at the Stretch farm. We had a trimming demonstration from Brittany Dowling and Marissa Weleschuk. A product demonstration was done by Marissa Weleschuk, a hoofing trimming demonstration done by Harley Henkelman and ultrasounds done by Jeff Colyn. Thank you to all of you who contributed to our 4-H mini show, making it a success. The majority of the club members participated in Multi Species Judging on April 5. This event was held at Vold, Jones and Vold Auction in Ponoka. The members judged Holstein cows, canine, horses, photography and had a seed recognition class. The top judging winners were: For Senior - first Scott Brown from Silver Valley Horse Club, second Marissa Weleschuk from East Ponoka 4-H Beef, and third Calee Dufva from Silver Valley Horse Club. For Intermediate - first Nola Curran from East Ponoka 4-H Beef, second Kyla Riske from Renegade Riders and tied for third Ashley Gartner from East Ponoka 4-H Beef and Cole Pritchard from Central Ponoka 4-H Beef. For Juniors - first Kaitlin Malterer from East Ponoka 4-H Beef, second Alexandra Bolton from East Ponoka 4-H Beef and third Mathew Klimec from West Ponoka 4-H Beef Club. Our 4-H club did very well in the judging; many of our members won.
On April 18 we held our monthly meeting at the Vold’s shop. After the meeting, all the new members made their show signs. It was an active afternoon and all the members had fun building and branding their signs.
There was a lot to be prepared for show day so the first weekend in May was a busy weekend: On May 3, our club spent the morning participating in highway cleanup. We cleaned 10 km east of Schultz Hall. During the afternoon, the members went into town to set up at the arena. After a lot of hard work from parents and members, our display was finished and all panels were up. This year The East Ponoka 4-H Beef Club is celebrating 50 years of being a 4-H club. The display consisted of photos from past and present 4-H years, old 4-H signs, and beautiful gold letters. Weigh-in was held on May 4. All the members from the West Ponoka, Central Ponoka, and East Ponoka, brought their steers into Ponoka, weighed them, and brought them to the arena. Making sure their steers were watered and fed, the members went home to get rest for show day, which was the next day.
The Ponoka 4-H Beef Show and Sale Day was held on May 5. The show went well and everyone had fun. Thank you to our judges for taking time to come judge our show. Every year at the show, one club has the pleasure of winning the Stall Decorating award sponsored by Ponoka Veterinary Clinic. This year our club worked together as a team and won the Stall Decorating award. The sale went well and I cannot say the members were glad to see their steers go.