Cross-Canada Connections

After two years of interruption due to the Covid pandemic, the Young Breeders School (YBS) was back as part of the Agricultural Fair of Battice this year to mark its 20th anniversary. The YBS welcomed 123 young people representing 17 different nations from August 31 to September 4, 2022. The five-day training was provided in four languages and organised by the awé groupe in collaboration with the Agricultural Fair of Battice.

YOUNG BREEDERS SCHOOL – A CANADIAN SUCCESS STORY!

BY MATT LANGE

This past summer, Holstein Canada sent six delegates to represent our country at the Young Breeders School held in Battice, Belgium. This year’s delegates were James Pruim (SK), Alexandra Labbè (QC), Savannah Crack (QC), Madison Larade (NS), Derrick Knill (ON) and Matt Lange (ON).

After two cancelled flights, a connection delay, and filing a report for our lost luggage, the team finally made it to the fairgrounds in Battice! Upon our late arrival, we were notified that our display had been misplaced, so with some quick thinking and Savannah’s French abilities, we were able to gather some supplies and create a new display. After a bit of a hectic morning, our first day was comprised of bedding and washing workshops followed by some free time to begin working with our pre-assigned heifers. Later that evening, we were provided instructions on how we were to feed and water our string and went over the judges’ expectations of us for the remainder of the week. Each morning, we were to have our animals fed, watered, washed, bedded, and laying down relaxing by seven o’clock on as firm of a pack as physically possible to achieve full marks.

Our first evening in Belgium wound down by meeting our host families and enjoying a traditional Belgian dinner party where we had our first introduction to Belgian culture. The next few days were filled with workshops for marketing, clipping, show day preparation, classification, showmanship, as well as several classes of judging officiated by Canada’s Marc Comtois. Throughout the week we continued to work with our heifers and build connections with the other teams at the competition. We grew especially close to the teams from Australia and France, among others.

4 “The knowledge gained & the friendships made will surely last a lifetime, and for that, Canada’s YBS Team 2022 will be forever grateful!” - MATT LANGE

PHOTOS 1. Matt Lange of Utopia, Ont. placed second in his Showmanship heat, 2. Derrick Knill of Bornholm, Ont. placed first in his Showmanship heat, 3. Team Canada at their pack, from l to r: Savannah Crack (QC), Alexandra Labbè (QC), Madison Larade (NS), Matt Lange (ON), Derrick Knill (ON) and James Pruim (SK), 4. Team Canada’s Alexandra Labbè (centre) was named Grand Champion Showperson, 5. Labbè (centre) being recognized as Grand Champion Showperson, 6. From l to r: Derrick Knill, Matt Lange and Alexandra Labbè, were pulled as three of the Top Six considered for Grand Champion Showperson. PHOTOS BY GUILLAME MOY.

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around the ring. Our fitting abilities were judged as the animals marshalled for the ring and there were bonus points available for the top five showman in each class, as determined by the leaders of the school. Three of our heifers were in the top three of their respective classes which was a great start for Team Canada! The evening after the conformation show was spent networking with our fellow competitors at the Gastronomical Tour, a social event where each team was asked to bring a food and drink to serve at their pack that represented their country. Team Canada’s Maple Taffy and Canadian Club turned out to be a crowd favourite!

Our final day of competition was the showperson Contest and Canada had a great day! Derrick and Alexandra placed 1st in their heats, and Savannah and I placed 2nd advancing the four of us to the final. Of the 20 participants in the final, Alexandra, Derrick and myself were selected as the Top Six being considered for Grand Champion Showperson. We were all thrilled when Alexandra was named Grand Champion! After the conclusion of the show came the awards ceremony where, in addition to her showmanship victory, Alexandra was also named Honourable Mention Champion Fitter! We were ecstatic with our team’s results when it was announced that five of our Teammates made the Top 12 in a competition of nearly 150 participants in the Fitting Competition! Alexandra Labbe (2nd), Matt Lange (4th), Derrick Knill (5th), Savannah Crack (10th) and James Pruim (12th). We were also incredibly proud that after five days of judging our feeding, washing, bedding and display, Team Canada placed in the Top 10 for the first time ever at the Young Breeders School!

On behalf of Derrick and myself, we’d like to extend our gratitude to Holstein Ontario for selecting us to represent our province, and on behalf on the entire team, a huge thank you to Holstein Canada for this once in a lifetime opportunity! The knowledge gained and the friendships made will surely last a lifetime, and for that, Canada’s YBS Team 2022 will be forever grateful!