Good showing at Ponoka District 4-H Show and Sale

Organizers were thrilled with the Ponoka District 4-H Show and Sale which ran May 6 and 7 at the Calnash Ag Event Centre.

"It takes a village to put on a show and sale like this, and what a village we have," said Patrick Lentz, president of the Ponoka District 4-H Beef Committee.

"Board members, leaders, parents, volunteers, and the 4-H members put in so much effort to make this event happen. The community also came out like never before to support the efforts that our youth have put in over the past 211 days with their projects."

The event, featuring members of both the Ponoka East Club and the Ponoka West Club, was broken down into a female show which ran on May 6 and two steer shows which were held on May 7.

Bidding was done both in-person and online through Vold, Jones and Vold.

The club and district (both clubs combined) champions are as follows:

Steer show results

- Chloe Yadlos - District Grand Champion

- Caden Koelman - District Reserve Champion

- Kaleb Thalan - West Club Champion

- Carson Ingwersen - West Reserve Club Champion

- Hunter Harkema - East Club Champion

- Madison Myers-Abt - East Reserve Club Champion

Results for Monday’s female show

Heifer:

- District Grand Champion - Jenalee Stewart

- District Reserve Champion - Jessy Sheppard

Two-year-old

- District Grand Champion - Jessy Sheppard

- District Reserve Champion - Jenalee Stewart

Three-year-old

- District Grand Champion - London Tofsrud

Lentz also said many awards were given out during the event thanks to sponsor support.

Achievement awards were handed out to all the members and $10,000 was donated from the sold-out Charity Steer Raffle ($5,000 went to Ponoka FCSS and $5,000 was donated STARS).

Meanwhile, Lentz said that the female show also had record attendance, both in the ring and in the stands.

"This means so much to see such strong support. Again, we set a new record for a sale average at $6.78/lb, which is amazing as the members' costs have gone up tremendously."

Lentz said it was overwhelming to see the sale's high attendance overall.

"It's an extremely unique opportunity for the community to come together. Roughly 300 people also attended the supper, which was sponsored by the event. It is always a great wrap-up for the members to socialize with their buyers and community supporters."

Lentz said the experience of witnessing the impacts of this event are nothing short of amazing.

"The most rewarding thing for me, personally, is watching the transformations of the young members as individuals and as a team," he explained. 

"With various levels of experience and confidence, these youngsters often ride a roller-coaster of emotions throughout the show and sale. As adult leaders and parents, we try to reassure them that things will be great and fun, but the real magic is watching them gain confidence by the other members around them.

"Fear and anxiety turn to smiles and pride, quiet into laughter. We can all learn from watching this level of empathy and compassion."

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