Showmanship Day!

Logan Marple

            Today was the very first day in the ring since the start of Junior Nationals. That’s right, it was Showmanship day! Kids from each of our four age groups competed in two separate rings. This kept everyone pretty busy throughout the day and the ring was always full!

Cameron Wilber

            We had several kids break through to the semifinals, including Brady Jensen, Charlsie Craig, Wesley Denton, Logan Marple, Kati Fehlman and others. Lauren Prill and Brooke Jensen both made it to the top ten in intermediate showmanship. Lauren placed second and Brooke received ninth.

"Aunt" Sue Rowland keeping
track of all our kids

Cody Jensen

            Mom and I spent most of the day popping in and out of the show ring and I’ve included a few pictures of several of our members competing.

Kali Valek

Kati Fehlman

Bridget Beran

2011-2012 Kansas Hereford Queen

Contests, Contests, and More Contests!

Dana Pieper and her niece Clair Collins 

            Well it’s day three here in Grand Island and we’re still going strong! Wednesday is Sure Champ day so all our juniors were out in their black Sure Champ shirts to thank our title sponsor VitaFerm for their continued support of our Junior Nationals.

            It was another day jam-packed with contest. The day started early at 8 with cattle judging, an event that always draws a crowd. Team marketing followed it up, another event that Kansas took home the champion in last year. Hopefully that will remain the case!

Avery and Emma Nichols entertain
themselves with a game of hangman

Later that morning the extemporaneous speeches were given. Brooke and Brady Jensen and I competed in this event. Kansas also broke through into the final buzzer rounds of Hereford Bowl. We were very excited to hear that they made it to the final round against Texas. We also had teams competing in team fitting during the afternoon. Results of today’s contests will be announced Saturday evening at our awards banquet.

Dad doing what he does best,
playing on his phone

Then we had a bit of a break so my dad and I were able to go explore the beef barn where several other states were stalled. It’s always nice to be able to chat with old friends and make new ones! It’s definitely the best part of JNHE.

During the afternoon Sullivan Supply put on a workshop about fitting and showmanship. Considering we have showmanship the next day, hopefully everyone picked up a thing or two!

That’s all for today! Good luck to all our members competing in showmanship tomorrow!!

Bridget Beran

2011-2012 Kansas Hereford Queen

Brady Jensen, working on his heifer

A Very Busy Day!

Dr. Dan with his samples. Yum!

            Tuesday got off to an exciting start with the Hereford Bowl written tests. We found out later our team qualified for final buzzer rounds! So proud of our smart Kansas kids!

After that our members got busy to work at their grills in the Great American CHB Grill-off. Not sure about all of them but Dr. Dan Moser was happy to bring us a sample of one of the dishes prepared and it was delicious! We were champs last year and now I know why!

"The Cowgirls," Lauren Gatz, Jalyn Davis and
Kady Pieper, waiting for their turn to play

The day kept chugging along with 3-on-3 basketball. That’s always one of the most fun parts of the week! Unfortunately, our Peewee teams met some tough competition but our intermediate team of Allen Dorrell, Casey Jensen and Luke Prill placed fourth! I was able to watch for some of the games and those kids play hard!

Laney Marple in 3-on-3 basketball

Then came Queen’s Tea, hosted by our National Hereford Queen, Miss Amanda Bacon! This is our first queen activity throughout the week and I was very pleased to see several of our younger Kansas girls join us. We had drinks and cookies and got to decorate satin ribbon banners for the young girls. The girls were challenged to put ribbons and banners in order, a very important part of being a queen. It was so fun to spend time with all our queens-in-training! The girls were also given paper crowns to collect all the queens’ signatures.

With Miss McKenna

Myself with the Nichols girls

After the young girls dispersed, we had queen orientation. Miss Jill Bielema and Miss Denise Billman, our co-chairs, led the meeting with Miss Denise giving a very fun rendition of “what not to do” while in the ring! They explain things such as dress code rules and proper behavior. Miss Amanda then explained some of the finer points of working the ring, right down to walking in step. Needless to say, it was an informative and fun afternoon!

Miranda Edenberg (Illinois), Jessica Lancaster (Idaho),
myself, Ellen Jackson (Missouri), Makayla Rutt (Nebraska)
and Amy Dewoody (Pennsylvania)

We then moved straight into opening ceremonies. Miss Nebraska Teen, Sarah Summers, sang a beautiful rendition of America the Beautiful followed by Miss Rossie Blinson, former NJHA board chair, singing our Nation’s anthem. We then heard from Curtis Tomasevicz, a member of the USA bobsled team that won a gold medal at the 2010 Olympic games. He spoke about coming from a small community and the support found there and not giving up.

Walking in for cemermonies-Luke Prill with the flag

Awards were then awarded for the photography, creative design and poster contests. Our Kansas Juniors certainly made us proud, taking home several awards in photography!

Later that night, we had the junior dance. Most of our kids were in attendance and had a great time dancing the night away! All in all, it was a busy, but fun, day!

Bridget Beran

2011-2012 Kansas Hereford Queen

Our KJHA members

KJHA Photo Contest winners:

Laney Marple-First Peewee Hereford Cattle

Allison Moser-Second Peewee People

Ryan Moser-First Junior Hereford Cattle

Justin Moser-Second Junior Hereford Cattle

Wesley Denton-Third Junior People

Justin Moser-First Junior People

Luke Prill-Third Junior Around the Farm

Bridget Beran-Third Intermediate Hereford Cattle

Bridget Beran-First Intermediate People

And So It Begins...

Tara Jo Ellerman

            Well, here we go! Today began the first day of our Junior National Hereford Expo as we start Living the Hereford Life! If you’re not in Grand Island, you’re missing out!

            Dad and I rolled in with gear and cattle about 11:30, but the Dorrells, Ellermans and Crocketts were nice enough to save us stall space. Regardless, we were set up, washed, dried and checked in by 1! Our Junior Board did a great job with check-in, making sure everything ran smoothly. A big, big thanks to them!

The McClayland stalls

            The Nebraska Junior Hereford Association put together some great goodie bags, bright blue buckets with lots of coupons and our nice gray show shirts included! We also got our black Sure Champ shirt (worn on Wednesday) and our VERY bright orange Kansas shirts (you’ll see LOTS of those tomorrow). This is the main reason you could pack light for JNHE. They give you three shirts just for showing up!

Allen Dorrell

            During the day, our KJHA members participated in many various contests. I’ll post more details about that tomorrow once all the results are in! Miss Jalyn and Miss Lauren both participated in Hereford Idol. A large group of our members gave illustrated speeches. Many of our kids also have photos and posters entered, which placing will be announced tomorrow during opening ceremonies.

Cady Pieper

            Tonight we were busy as the delegates went off to round table discussion with board candidates. While they were there, the rest of us got to work hanging our BRIGHT yellow curtains and show signs. But we got pizza, so I suppose it all evens out!

Kati Fehlman

            Our own KJHA president Brady Jensen is one of the board candidates, so make sure to give him your support! He is running with Elise Hackett (Illinois), Kristin Bielema (Michigan), Jason May (Minnesota), and Hayley Miller (Indiana). I look forward to working the ring with each of them throughout this week!

            Tomorrow will be a busy day, including 3-on-3 basketball. Certified Hereford Beef Grill-off, Hereford Bowl written test, and Queen’s Tea and Orientation. We’ll finish up the day with Opening Ceremonies followed by a hamburger fry and the Junior dance. I hope to see you all there!

Bridget Beran

2011-2012 Kansas Hereford Queen