Youth from across the Prince Albert and Melfort regions have gathered in Prince Albert for a friendly competition and to help raise funds for an important cause.
The Prince Albert Regional 4-H finished beef show and sale is taking place at the Prince Albert Exhibition Grounds. West PA Club Leader Katie Wilson explained a lot of these kids started their projects last fall, which has included not only feeding the large animals but also harness breaking them.
“Weather doesn’t wait in the winter when you have to do the majority of the work on them. It’s not easy and these kids work really hard, she said.
The clubs represented are West Prince Albert, Weldon, Canwood, and Wild Rose but the youth who range in age from 6 to 21, come from all over including Paddockwood, Duck Lake, Spiritwood and Kinistino.
“We are selling 70 steers and we have about 85 members come to the regional shows,” Wilson said.
Shelby Woytiuk from Shell Lake has been a 4-H member for 12 years.
“Before when I was little I actually didn’t enjoy it very much and then as I got older I realized how important it was and how much it’s helped me,” she said.
4-H is also about leadership and Woytiuk acknowledged how much she now enjoys teaching the younger members how to fit and groom the steers.
Shelby Woytiuk. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)The 20th annual charity steer auction will take place at 3 p.m. and money raised this year will be used to enhance a local retreat for front line workers.
The River Valley Resilience Retreat, sits in the Rural Municipality of Prince Albert and, according to their website, offers Public Safety Personnel (PSP) a safe place to rest and rejuvenate among their peers.
Each year, the 4-H clubs rotate which members are responsible for raising the steer, and this year the honour went to the West PA 4-H Beef Club.
The show’s full results can be found through this link.
A young competitor from the Weldon 4H club. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)
Each steer gets carefully assessed. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)—
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