By Brad Johnson
For The Salisbury Post
There is always one “known” variable of the Rowan County Junior Dairy Show: regardless of the date, it’ll be the one of the hottest days of the year.
The hottest day of the year, Aug. 5, was cooled off by evening rain and turned into a beautiful, pleasant evening for judge Van Proctor to evaluate 69 head, brought to him by 33 exhibitors.
Cloverbud (age 5-8) Fitting and Showmanship exhibitors included Hannah Baysinger, Luke Carpenter, Haley Correll, Brooklynn Hoffner, Thomas Leonard, Colby Menius, Victoria Moore, Sydney Nash, Madison Noble and Kip Pope.
Winning the Junior Division (age 9-12) of Fitting and Showmanship was Jonathan Luther (Mount Ulla), followed by Janeice Leonard (Lexington), Brianna Leonard (Lexington), and Ryan Menius (Woodleaf).
Lauren Luther (Mount Ulla) topped a strong Intermediate Division (age 13-15) of Fitting and Showmanship, and was followed by Steven Wetmore (Mount Ulla), Jacob Karriker (Mocksville), and Jacob Watson (Woodleaf).
Cody Weaver (Lexington) earned top honors in the Senior Division (age 16-19) of Fitting and Showmanship, followed by Shelby Karriker (Mocksville) and Laura Watson (Woodleaf).
In the type classes, Valerie Karriker (Mocksville) exhibited the Grand Champion Ayrshire, while Sam Hager (Mooreville) claimed Grand Champion Brown Swiss honors. Janeice Leonard earned Grand Champion Guernsey, while Adam Moore (Mount Ulla) and Steven Wetmore claimed Grand Champion Holstein and Grand Champion Jersey, respectively.
Division Champions are as follows:
Junior Champion Ayrshire: Valerie Karriker;
Junior Champion Brown Swiss: Luke Hager;
Senior Champion Brown Swiss: Sam Hager;
Junior Champion Guernsey: Janeice Leonard;
Junior Champion Holstein: Colby Menius;
Senior Champion Holstein: Adam Moore;
Junior Champion Jersey: Steven Wetmore
Sponsorship for the Rowan County Junior Dairy Show is provided by a large number of local businesses, organizations and individuals, while the show itself is conducted by the Rowan County Holstein Club.
See additional photo on A5. Brad Johnson is a Rowan County extension agent.