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A G r i c u L t u r e<br />
E C A r e v i e w H A N N A / C o r o N A t i o n / S t e t t l e r , A b N o v e m b e r 2 9 ' 1 8 9<br />
Bashaw family wins<br />
supreme champion bull<br />
Terri Huxley<br />
<strong>ECA</strong> <strong>Review</strong><br />
Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton<br />
was packed for the much anticipated<br />
Farm Fair International Nov. 7 - <strong>11</strong>.<br />
All breeds and classes of animals<br />
were showcased throughout the event,<br />
often awarded for reserve or grand<br />
champion.<br />
Participants from east central<br />
Alberta were from Bashaw, Edgerton,<br />
Hand Hills, Stettler, Carbon, Killam,<br />
Forestburg, Irma, Hardisty and more<br />
were in attendance to present the best<br />
livestock they owned in an effort to<br />
win big.<br />
For one family, this was the greatest<br />
achievement the ranch has ever seen.<br />
The Wilsons of Bashaw won<br />
Supreme Champion Bull at the livestock<br />
event for their two year old Black<br />
Angus bull.<br />
The key to success came from a mix<br />
of both genetics and hard work.<br />
“Genetics are absolutely paramount<br />
but my parents put in so much leg work<br />
to get out and find the best genetics,”<br />
said Ty Wilson, son of Lee and Dawn<br />
Wilson. “They got to be cattle that<br />
work for us that we like and they also<br />
have to be something that is a little bit<br />
against the grain on what everybody<br />
else is doing.”<br />
“They really go the extra mile and<br />
leaving no stone unturned to make<br />
sure they have the best genetics so that<br />
and once you’ve got them that’s one<br />
thing but then you have to get them<br />
from A to B.<br />
“Just a single cell embryo in some<br />
cases to grown and fed properly and<br />
maintained properly and get them in<br />
peak conditioning for the show and get<br />
them down the road and even if all that<br />
goes perfectly, you still got to get a<br />
judge that prefers your type of cow,”<br />
Wilson explained.<br />
The family was extremely excited to<br />
work with this bull since Day 1. He had<br />
already proven his value at other<br />
shows. As a cow-calf pair, his mother<br />
and the bull won Agribition the year<br />
before.<br />
From there, the bull went onto the<br />
Canadian Bull Congress. The show has<br />
a deal where if the owner and show<br />
cattle were to win three out of four<br />
components of the show, they win<br />
$10,000, which the show calls the<br />
‘Triple Crown’.<br />
In its 30th year, the Triple Crown<br />
was won by a family the Wilsons knew<br />
well from attending similar shows in<br />
the past.<br />
“Everyone was blown back saying<br />
that was amazing, the odds are insurmountable,<br />
that will never happen<br />
again – well the very next year with<br />
this guy as a calf, he won the Rancher’s<br />
Choice for bull calves and he won as a<br />
part of the Pen of 3 and then they won<br />
the third component and they did it<br />
again,” said Wilson.<br />
In total, the Triple Crown was won<br />
three years in a row, twice with the<br />
same bull in the mix.<br />
The level of competition displayed at<br />
Farm Fair International along with<br />
any national or international showing<br />
event is high.<br />
Winning can even come down to the<br />
right judges and how they are feeling<br />
that day.<br />
“We were really excited about him<br />
because that is just so rare and to bring<br />
him to here, I don’t know, everything<br />
just kind of lined up,” said Wilson.<br />
“We had a great panel of judges and<br />
the level of competition in that show is<br />
unbelievable and rightfully so.”<br />
Partner, Glen Gable<br />
The Wilsons work with their partner<br />
Glen Gable who owns the decorated<br />
bull. The longtime cowboy from<br />
Saskatchewan saw the unique and<br />
striking quality of the animal along<br />
with other interested buyers but beat<br />
them to the punch to pay top dollar<br />
before the bull even won Agribition the<br />
first time.<br />
Through their partnership, the<br />
Wilsons are able to keep the bull at<br />
their ranch near Bashaw although it is<br />
owned by Gable.<br />
About six months ago while walking<br />
his daughter-in-law down the aisle in<br />
Mexico, Gable was apparently bitten by<br />
a bug carrying disease which left him<br />
extremely ill. He was moved back to<br />
Canadian soil where he recovered but<br />
was paralyzed from the neck down.<br />
Since then, he has rebounded as he<br />
continues to learn to walk again.<br />
“I know this turn out and him being<br />
our partner is one of those things that<br />
makes you believe there is something<br />
going on to the universe I guess,” said<br />
Wilson. “It’s a pretty cool story surrounding<br />
the bull.”<br />
Most times when the family is<br />
raising these animals and finds a<br />
future prospect, the calf is sold and<br />
never to be heard of again as they fulfill<br />
their natural job to breed. That was<br />
not the case when it came to Glen<br />
Gable.<br />
“He was so invested right from the<br />
get-go but to his own detriment<br />
because that was all time that that bull<br />
could have gone to his place and been<br />
working but he said ‘No, I want to see<br />
what he can do here.’<br />
“He invested in him twice because of<br />
the fact that he bought him but then<br />
invested in him that he left him out<br />
here and was very supportive of what<br />
we needed to do. It’s been unbelievable<br />
so far.”<br />
Wilson’s parents, Lee and Dawn<br />
Wilson, have put in 30 years to raising<br />
and showing cattle. They are already<br />
looking down the road at opportunities<br />
for next year. “As long as Farm Fair<br />
keeps putting on a show, we are going<br />
to go there. It is absolutely a phenomenal<br />
event.”<br />
Dawn Wilson, center,<br />
reaches for a can as<br />
daughter, Jaelayne<br />
Jacobs at the bulls<br />
hind leg and Lee<br />
Wilson at the back<br />
continue clipping<br />
and preparing their<br />
prized Black Angus<br />
bull during Farm Fair<br />
International from<br />
Nov. 7 - <strong>11</strong>, <strong>2018</strong>.<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
Emily H Photography<br />
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