When Tyler Blanchette’s three children, Bennett, Briar and Briggs, developed a love for showing cattle, he did the only thing he could — he started a herd of purebred Charolais.
“The kids were involved in 4-H and they were looking to become a little bit more competitive, which led us to the Charolais breed,” Tyler said.
“And we sort of took off from there. We started showing and had some success.”
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They started building their purebred Charolais herd in the fall of 2023. Prior to that, they had strictly commercial cattle.
Now, since the start of their purebred operations, Tyler thinks they have attended around 26 shows.
“We’re not really halfway people. We felt like if we were going to do it, we wanted to be successful. We’re extremely competitive. So that’s the start of it, and it’s just like anything, if you don’t dedicate yourself to it, then you’ll be far less successful.”
They have a large commercial operation on which they exclusively use Charolais bulls. So when they started pursuing a purebred operation, they could see how it could be beneficial.
“It ties in nicely into what we do on a daily basis, too, on the ranch. It makes a lot of connections,” Tyler’s wife, Kim Blanchette, said.
The Blanchettes have been successful at the shows they’ve attended, but Agribition has been on the next level: they finished in first in youth team grooming for both the intermediate and junior classes, and second in the senior class. In the First Lady Classic, their cow made it into the top five. They also had a bull in the Beef Supreme on the last night of Agribition that made it into the top 10.
Tyler says he is proud of their accomplishments, both at Agribition and throughout their first year at cattle shows.
“The grooming and the showmanship at Agribition would definitely be at the top. I think the toughest competition in all of Canada is here, for sure,” Tyler said.
For their children, the past year has only helped propel their passion for showing cattle.
“My favourite part is probably doing it as a family because you get to spend more time with each other,” Briar said.
“And also, probably showing (cattle). I like to be in the ring.”
For their oldest child, Bennett, his favourite part is meeting new people and connecting with the other Charolais producers.
Tyler echoes this. While they have had a great year at the shows, it hasn’t come without its challenges. He said they have been lucky to have a great community who has helped them learn.
“We’ve got connected with some very good mentors that have helped us out at the shows and at home as well, to help kind of guide the kids and make sure the cattle are ready, and just kind of keep us on the right track. And so that’s really helped with our success and our kids’ learning.”
Tyler says they may cut back on the number shows they do per year, but they plan on continuing showing.
“We’re quite a bit more informed than we were before we went, and so we might select the ones that we enjoyed the most and kind of suit our schedule, but I’m pretty confident we will continue showing, for sure.”
SVY Covergirl 232K, exhibited by Serhienko Cattle Co. of Maymont, Sask., was selected grand champion female of the Charolais show on Nov. 29 with her calf at her side. Reserve was from the Harvie Ranching Co. near Olds, Alta.
The grand champion bull was Beck’s Throttle 201K, exhibited by Steppler Farms Ltd. of Miami, Man. Reserve was CKE Bankdraft 35M and exhibited by CK Stock Farms of Candiac, Sask.
