Youth prominent at the 2019 Spring Dairy Carousel

by Elizabeth A. Tomlin

The prestigious 2019 Spring Dairy Carousel, hosted by the New York Holstein Association (NYHA), took place in Syracuse, NY, attracting folks from far and wide to exhibit their best dairy cattle. The annual, four-day international show took place at the New York State Fairgrounds and featured seven dairy breed shows, sales and showmanship classes.

“All of the breed shows and youth competitions had tremendous quality,” said Kelly Reynolds, NYHA executive manager.

Erin Diaz and her 12-year-old daughter Kylie Jordan of Brushy Brook Farm, Hope Valley, RI, brought some of their finest Ayrshires and Jordan’s Jersey calf to show.

Jordan was pleased with her results. All three of her heifers placed in the top 10 of their classes. Sweet Pepper Predator Hunny was awarded fourth as Fall Calf and first in the Junior class. Sweet Pepper Hawthorne Santeria was awarded fifth as Spring Yearling and second in the Junior class. Sweet Pepper Gentleman Haley was awarded sixth as Winter Yearling and third in the Junior division.

Jordan’s Jersey calf, Charlyn Mr Swagger Misfit, won second place in the Jersey Junior Summer Yearlings class out of 25 entries.

“It’s fun to show off how hard you’ve worked,” Jordan said. She also noted the Spring Dairy Carousel is important to the dairy industry.

“It exposes you to different animals that are sired by bulls you may not be familiar with,” she commented. “The right combination of a dam and sire makes higher milk production which is very important to the dairy industry.”

Diaz said Jordan has made her parents proud. She gets up to do chores every day at 5 a.m. before going to school and is back in the barn every night at 5 p.m.

“She’s really shown her dedication to her dad and I. She works harder than any kid I know,” Diaz said, adding the Spring Dairy Carousel is a favorite event of the family.

“This is always a great time, as it is the first show of the year on the East Coast,” Diaz said. “This isn’t a cheap hobby, but the relationships you form and the pride you have in your animals is truly priceless.”

Reynolds remarked that changes in this year’s schedule were made to promote attendance at the show: “With an abbreviated schedule, hopefully it was more economically friendly for exhibitors to come show off their best cattle.”

The Northeast Spring National Holstein Show was included in the Sunday portion of the event, with Grand Champion awarded to Underground Bccas Blair-Red (Acme), Oakfield Corners Dairy, NY, and Reserve Grand Champion awarded to Curr-Vale Absolute Adored-Red-ET, Cedar Lane Farm, NJ.

Show judges included Pat Conroy of Angola, IN, in the Open Holstein and Milking Shorthorn divisions; Nathan Thomas of North Lewisburg, Ohio, in the New York Junior Holstein, Red & White and Guernsey divisions; Chad Ryan of Fond du Lac, WI, in the Ayrshire and Brown Swiss divisions; and Pierre Boulet, Montnagmy, QC, in the Jersey division.

“It’s such a great event to kick off spring,” said Reynolds. “For people to get out and see great cattle, youth to compete in showmanship and judging and just to join together as a dairy community and enjoy everything cows for a few days!”