All American Dairy Show- Harrisburg, PA



Supreme Champion of Junior Show

Brooke & I

     On September 17th through the 22nd, I had the opportunity to travel to Pennsylvania for the All American Dairy Show. Being the first national show on the eastern side of the country, many Guernsey breeders and exhibitors made the haul to perhaps the largest Guernsey show of the season. What an exciting and thrilling week it was! One of the many events worth mentioning was the Youth Showmanship Contest that was held on Sunday. Over 350 youth participants were involved in three different divisons. I'd like to congratulate those who made it into the top 10. The best of the best across the nation show against each other so it is quite an honor if you do place high. Monday was the Premier National Junior Guernsey Show. I'd like to congratulate Nathan Pieper of New York for winning Jr. Champion with his heifer, Mia. Also congrats to Kelly Johnson with Candy of Pennsylvania for Intermediate Champion and Hunter Duval with his four year old, Regan of New York for Senior and Grand Champion. The Guernsey Queen, Brooke & I, also got to witness the Guernsey winning Supreme Champion that afternoon and be a part of the parade! What a thrill! When the words "Its the Guernsey.." was heard through the microphone, it was really exciting and made me proud that I represent such a wonderful breed. The National Open Guernsey Show was held on Wednesday. I have to congratulate everyone when I say there was an excellent amount of quality that passed through the ring. Top honors went to: Friendship Farm of New York for Junior Champion, Kelly Johnson of Pennsylvania for Intermediate, and John Violette of New York for Senior and Grand Champion once again with Regan! I know Brooke and I enjoyed ourselves on the sidelines watching the show and passing out ribbons. We even liked getting dressed up... well except the heels. Us farm girls are used to boots so they hurt after a while! Also, a highlight of the show was stopping by the comercial building. Grilled cheese and milkshakes filled my belly for the week. Also looking at antique items like milk bottles and Hoard's Dairyman books from the sixties.

Grand & Res Champion of Junior Show



    I would like to say thank you to the American Guernsey Association staff for taking good care of us during the week. The flight home to Columbus went well and now I am back in school for a few days until the next stop along the Tanbark Trail: Madison, WI for the World Dairy Expo! Looking forward to seeing those who were at Harrisburg and some new faces. Good luck and safe travels.

Sincerely,

Ashlee Dietz

2010 National Guernsey Princess

R-Way Guernseys





Canfield Fair Pictures :]

I had some trouble rearranging the pictures on my first post, so I decided to dedicate a page just for candids!

               

                        

 

2010 Canfield Fair

     From August 31st through September 6th, I had the joy of visiting and exhibiting animals at the 164th Canfield Fair. What a great week it was! The weather sure threw us through a loop by being 90 degrees with lots of humidity the first half, and chilly fall weather for the rest! The Guernsey show was held Saturday and I am proud to say there were approximately 50 fawn and whites to pass through the show ring with more than 10 exhibitors. My congratulations go out to the Aiken family from Willowbrook Farm of West Middlesex, PA for recieving Grand and Reserve Champion of the show! I was lucky enough to have earned the Junior Champion title with my senior yearling, farm bred and owned from R-Way. Also, my younger sister recieving Reserve Junior with her intermediate calf. The Musser Family of Den-Be Farm can also pat themselves on the back for recieving the Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor Award. Congratulations once again!

     Now to babble about some of my favorite highlights. I love the Canfield Fair not only for the great dairy people but also for their displays. I must commend everyone for making their areas look so lovely with everything from pumpkins to a full display of farmall tractors. The next thing I enjoyed was seeing the largest pumpkin (squash) competition. They are huge and can't believe that you can actually grow something this large. This year, the grand champion of all pumpkins weighed 1,277 and 1/2 pounds! I bet that would make alot of pies or take weeks to carve out. I also enjoyed watching the younger kids at the Milk-A-Cow station. What a great opportunity for educating and learning about the great dairy cow. Last, but certainly not the least was the Dress-A-Cow contest. This had to be my favorite event of the week! You can see in the few pictures I took that these kids and their families go all out. It's all about dairy promotion and sure draws a crowd into the show arena every year. The 4-H judging contest is also a hit the last day of the fair. I am very proud to say the top two teams were taken by my home county, Trumbull.

     It was such a wonderful week. I love being surrounded by farm people and talking with friends that I haven't got to see in a while. Fair food is a plus, stromboli being my favorite for the week! I didn't get to see all of the many events that were happening during the week but I can say that the Canfield Fair is certainly a fair worth visiting every year.  I want to thank Howard Moff, the Dairy Cattle Director for allowing me to serve as princess and help out with the show! Congratulations to all exhibitors.

Thank you Mahoning County,

Ashlee Dietz

2010 National Guernsey Princess

R-Way Guernseys

2010 Ohio State Fair

    On the week of August 3-8, I traveled to the Ohio State Fair. This is a normal affair for my family and I each and every year. Between my sister Amber and I, we exhibited seven of our Guernseys. It was mostly a beautiful week with extremely warm weather. It only rained on our cots once! We had a week packed full of youth activities, games, skillathons, judging contests, showing, and lots of ice cream from the dairy bar! Located in the ice cream building, there was a butter sculpture display. In the picture to the right, you can see a small portion of it. The other half included football players representing the Bengals & Browns and a large football. Another highlight, I'd like to mention for the dairy clan, is the corn hole tournament. This year 16 teams competed in a head to head competition for the gold medal and champion title. 

    The Guernsey show was quite spectacular this year. My sister served as the 2010 Jr. Ohio State Guernsey Queen. Us "Dietz" sisters both had an opportunity at royalty this year. I had a wonderful time passing out ribbons, seeing the smiling faces, and catching up with Guernsey breeders across the state. I’d like to congratulate the exhibitors not only for their winnings but for bringing out such a beautiful group of fawn and whites! I'd also like to congratulate my sister for winning Jr. Champion & HM Jr. Champion with her calf, Toots. I'm really proud of her! Lastly, I would like to thank the Ohio Guernsey Breeders for giving me the opportunity to help out at the show and for making this year's fair (and my last year of 4-H) an enjoyable experience! 

Thank you,

Ashlee Dietz

2010 National Guernsey Princess

R-Way Farm

Western National Guernsey Show

I would just like to take a moment to thank the California Guernsey Cattle Club for hosting me this past week at the Sacramento State Fair and the Western National Guernsey Show!  It was such an honor to represent the American Guernsey Association at this show, and the quality of both exhibitors and Guernsey cattle were outstanding!  Thank you again for allowing me the opportunity to attend and help out at your show - you are all wonderful Guernsey breeders and friends with such great passion for our cow!

Thank you,
 Brooke Vander Veen
National Guernsey Queen