Team members, left to right: Austin Potts, Caleb Drake, Parker Smith, Isaac Drake, Vance Lawless, Chloe Whalen, Gabrielle Naddy, and Cassidy Holmes
2024 Sponsors
Platinum Level Sponsor
PEI Department of Agriculture
Gold Level Sponsors
Cavendish Agri Services
Hansen Solar Energy
Silver Level Sponsors
Kensington Agri Services
PEI Mutual Insurance
Robinson’s INC Titan Homes LTD
Bronze Level Sponsors
Atlantic Beef Products
Good Equipment LTD
Green Diamond Equipment
Hilltop Produce LTD
Kings County Construction
Friends of the Team
Charlottetown Vet Clinic
Crosby’s Construction Farm Credit Canada
Naddy Construction
PEI Cattle Producers
PEI Potato Board
Phillips Agri Services
Provincial Credit Union
MacLean’s Ready Mix
MacRae’s Backhoe & Trucking
McCain’s Produce
Metro Home Building Supplies
New Glasgow Lobster Suppers
Online Auction Donors
A Touch of Gold
Alan Powers
Avondale Golf Course
Belfast Highland Greens
Belfast Rink
Bertha Lawless
Caleb Drake
Canadian Simmental Assoc.
Cassidy Holmes
Cheryl Drake
Chez Shea Spa
Chloe Whalen
Clarence Farm Services Ltd
Clow's Red & White
Crickers Creamery
Powerhouse Realty PEI
Dust 2 Shine
Fox Meadow Golf Course
G Visser & Sons
Gass' Clover Farm
Isaac Drake
J&D Custom Butchery
Jennifer Drake
Julie Mutch
Karen Drake
Kitchen's Unlimited
KM Liquid Waste Removal
Krista Whalen Photography
Landmark Oyster House
Loyalist View Angus
MacPhee's Meats Clyde River
Make It Shine
Maritime Madness Hot Sauce
Norring Road Custom
North Rustico Food Market
North Rustico Home Hardware
North Rustico Food Market
PEI Federation of Agriculture
PEI Veterinary Association
Stewart McKelvey
Old Home Week
O'Shea's Pub & Eatery
Patty-Jo Hickey
Sammy Jo Steeves
Pharmasave Montague
Potts Sleigh Rides
Pownal Sports Centre
Red Rock Speckle Park
Rena Thompson
Robert & Dawn Holmes
Sobey's Montague
Steerman's Quality Meats
Taylor's Jewelers
The Old Barn Flower Company
Thomas Carver
Valarie MacRae
Vogue Optical
Worth-a-Bit Angus
2024 Royal Fair Recap
Members of the 2024 4-H PEI Royal Beef Team were chosen at the Dundas Plowing Match on August 24th. Being a member of the team is no small commitment. The amount of work and organization that goes into preparing the Team to leave is remarkable, along with the amount of time the team takes to prepare themselves and their animal for the show.
The 2024 4-H PEI Royal Beef Team had a very successful competition at the Masterfeeds National Junior Beef Heifer Show. Bearing a wide range of experience, with some members competing at The Royal for 3+ years, to some having their first experience this year! The members were proud to represent PEI and learn incredibly valuable skills to apply to their future shows.
All of the Beef Team worked extremely well together and it showed in the presentation of their animals. Conformation Class is where the 4-H members really stood out. The results for the Conformation Classes for each breed are as follows:
Caleb Drake (Millview-Vernon River) placed 7th in his heat of Angus Yearlings.
Isaac Drake (Millview-Vernon River) placed 8th in his heat of Angus Yearlings.
Cassidy Holmes (North River) placed 6th in her heat of Simmental Yearlings.
Vance Lawless (Freetown-Harmony) placed 8th in his heat of Angus Yearlings.
Gabrielle Naddy (Millview-Vernon River) placed 7th in her heat of Hereford Yearlings.
Austin Potts (North River) placed 7th in his heat of Angus Yearlings.
Parker Smith (North River) placed 6th in his heat of Angus Yearlings.
Chloe Whalen (Millview-Vernon River) placed 4th in her heat of Hereford Yearlings.
The Team extends a sincere thank you to all of the sponsors who made it possible for them to travel to Toronto to participate in the Masterfeeds National Junior Beef Heifer Show. This year Prince Edward Island Government Department of Agriculture was the Team’s Platinum Sponsor. The contributions from individuals and local businesses across the Island ensure that young Islanders have the opportunity to travel to Toronto. Many thanks to Billy Naddy, Freda Jay, Dawn Holmes, and Jill Potts for agreeing to chaperone the team. Along with all the “team parents” who helped with fundraising, tasks that needed to be completed, and those who travelled to Toronto to accompany their child on the team.
Caleb Drake
My name is Caleb Drake, I have been apart of the Vernon River 4-H club for 6 years. In those 6 years I have completed the market beef project and the summer beef project. This was my second time attending the Royal Agricultural Winter fair with 7 other 2024 4-H beef team members. This year at the Royal I showed my angus yearling heifer named First Line Erica. I really enjoyed my experience at the Royal and hope to be able to go again next year. My favourite part of trip was working together with team members to get the cows ready, as well as seeing all the great cattle from other provinces, and touring all the different shops and stores on site. This year we did a number of different activities like take in a hockey game, tour the hockey hall of fame, and watch the supreme class at the Royal. All of these activities were a lot of fun and it was a great group of members and chaperones to do it with. I would like to give one more big thanks to all the sponsors and generous donors who made this trip possible.
My name is Isaac Drake, I am a senior member of the Millview-Vernon River 4-H Club. This year was my second time attending the Royal Winter Fair with the PEI Royal Team. It Truly is an experience, as a Team we worked together with the presentation of our animals. Meet lots of new friends from other provinces. The cattle you see there are incredible. This trip would not have been possible without all the many sponsors and friends and family that helped with donations and the bidders on the Online Auction. Also a huge thank you to our four chaperones, this would not be possible without you all!
Isaac Drake
I would like to share about my experience at the Royal Winter Fair as part of the 2024 4-H P.E.I Beef Team. First I would like to thank you, the sponsors, for your generous donations and supporting the team, without you we wouldn’t be able to make this trip happen. This trip allowed me to learn new skills and get to know other 4-H members on the island better. I learned how to work successfully as a team and got to know each of the members on a personal level. Being able to go on this trip gave me the opportunity to get a better appreciation for the quality of cattle throughout the country. This trip wouldn’t be possible without the chaperones who volunteered their time to help the team be as successful as we were. I look forward to participating in this event again in the future.
Cassidy Holmes
I am Vance Lawless and I am 17 and I am part of the Freetown Harmony 4-H Club. During my time at the Royal Winter Fair I had loads of fun. It was amazing to go up there and just see all the amazing cattle and just to get that experience. On show days it was getting stressful and I believe we worked well as a team and everyone got along. When we were not in the barns we enjoyed time with each other exploring the city of Toronto such as attending a hockey game, CN Tower, Hockey Hall of Fame and lots of group dinners. One thing that I learned on this trip is to never get stressed out and to always work as a team.
This was my first time going to the Royal and I hope to be able to go for a couple more years now. This trip allowed me to meet many new friends and gain lots of new friendships. I would like to thank the chaperones for sharing all their knowledge with us and to all the sponsors for sponsoring this trip because the trip wouldn't have been able to happen without you.
Gabrielle Naddy
My name is Gabrielle Naddy, I am 17 years old and I am a part of the Millview-Vernon River 4-H Club. I have been in the beef project for seven years and I can now proudly say that I have shown at The Royal Winter Fair three times!
One of my favorite parts of The Royal was walking my yearling down the streets of Toronto and seeing the CN tower off in the distance. It was honestly a surreal experience to be able to take part in. The eight of us who went up worked very well as a team and got every task done efficiently.
When I woke up on show morning, I was pretty nervous, but as soon as I got out into the ring my smile was real with the excitement that I had. It was an amazing show to be a part of and we would have never gotten up there without all of the sponsors. So, I want to thank all the sponsors for making this trip and experience possible.
My second experience at the Royal was definitely one to remember. In the National Junior Beef Heifer show I came seventh in a strong class of Angus yearlings. The team and I all had an amazing time in Toronto whether it was at the Royal grounds or touring the city and watching the hockey game. All of this would not have been possible without our generous sponsors and friends of the team. I'd like to thank everyone who made this trip possible for us and I can't wait to attend again in the future.
Parker Smith
My name is Parker Smith, I have been a part of the North River 4H club for 6 years. In these 6 years I’ve been in the beef, market steer, and dairy programs. This year I traveled to Toronto to participate in the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair along with 7 other members on the 2024 4H Royal Beef Team. I attended the fair with my angus yearling heifer. At the show we placed 6th out of 9.
This was my third year traveling to the Royal and will definitely be back. I think it is a great experience for many to attend this fair because it gives you a real understanding of what a national show is, and is a great spot to learn lots of new things from other people. I’d like to thank all the sponsors for their generous donations to help make all this happen, without you guys this trip wouldn’t be possible.
This was my first year as a member of the PEI 4-H Royal Beef Team. This year I showed a heifer I purchased last year in the Source for Success sale in Ontario. Her name is Shady Birch Lupin 8L. My experience was so far the best experience from all the work being put in by all team members, parents, and family to being able to show in the Ring of Excellence.
This year was my second year attending the Royal and being a part of the team has been a blast. I have learned a lot from people on the team and also from other 4-H members from other provinces. I was able to see my sister while in Toronto as well as old friends. Lulu and I did well in our classes, she placed 4th in her heat in confirmation and exceeded my expectations. My favourite part of the Royal was everyone pitching in to get others ready to go to the ring. Lastly, a huge thank you to our sponsors without all of you this trip would not be possible.
It is not an easy task to get our team and Animals from PEI to Toronto, thank you to our incredible sponsors for giving these members The Experience Of a Lifetime!
Learn To Do By Doing
