Practice makes perfect; Koehler sisters excel in GJCF Dairy Show
After a successful year in 2020 exhibiting in the Great Jones County Fair Dairy Show, sisters Lauren and Leah Koehler of Monticello are certainly looking forward to a month from now when they return to the show ring.
Both girls did so well last summer that they’ll be competing against one another for the Master Showman championship title in the Dairy Show. Lauren, 16, won Champion Senior Showman, Champion Holstein Senior Calf, and Reserve Champion Holstein Senior Yearling last year. Leah, 14, won Champion Intermediate Showman and Champion Brown Swiss Senior Calf.
Now that both girls have won their respective showman classes, they are able to compete in the Master category.
“I’m super competitive,” admitted Lauren. “I want to win and it makes me work harder.”
Leah said, “I want to beat her.”
As if the list of Dairy Show awards wasn’t impressive on its own, this past summer was Lauren’s first time ever competing in the showman class, and to come out on top in her class says something.
“We just never stuck around at the end (of the show) because we’re tired and our calves are tired,” she admitted of the long day. “But I figured I would try it out.”
As luck would have it, when the judge asked Lauren questions about the various parts of her dairy cow, she was spot on. She credits her involvement in Monticello High School musical, “Into the Woods.” A certain song in the production mentions the body parts of a cow.
“Showmanship isn’t about the looks of the cow,” explained Lauren. “It’s how well you show and how the cow moves around the ring and remains in control.”
Both Koelher girls are members of the Prairie Hill 4-H Club. Lauren, a junior in high school, has been in 4-H since fourth grade. Leah, a freshman, has been involved since she was in third grade.
“I showed in the Kiddie Calf Show,” she said.
Succeeding in showing in the Dairy Show seems to come easy to the Koehlers. In fact, in Leah’s very first year in 4-H, she won Junior Champion with her prized heifer.
“I was really surprised because I didn’t know what would happen,” she said of reflecting on that day. “I had a really good calf, perfect as any heifer could be.”
From that experience, Leah took that same heifer and came in third place at the Cattle Congress in Waterloo, winning a $500 scholarship.
“That was a once in a lifetime situation,” Leah said. She had a lot of competition with just about every county is Iowa represented with their top heifers.
Showing at Cattle Congress is an invitation-only scenario, depending on how well the youth did at the county fair.
In comparing the 2020 GJCF to the others, or even what’s to come this year, the Koehlers said while the numbers were down at the Dairy Show, they liked the fact that they only had to be on the grounds for one day.
“It was less work on us,” Lauren said of bringing their cows in early. “We were in and out (in one day); it was easy.”
The girls have already started working with their cows in preparation for the GJCF. Lauren explained typically in late June they’re walking them around the yard, making sure they get plenty of water and food, in addition to washing them often.
“You want to get them used to you,” she said.
Leah said it’s important to get the cows used to a show halter versus a rope halter.
“You start using the show halter one to two weeks before the fair,” she explained, “so they know the feeling of it.
“We also make sure they’re clipped and groomed,” Leah added.
Lauren said just before the Dairy Show, they walk their cows around the ring at the fairgrounds to get them used to the sand.
“It’s a different feeling for them,” she said.
The Koehlers learned a lot about showing in the Dairy Show by doing tricks on their own, trial and error. They also attended several dairy clinics over the years, hosted by Jones County Extension and 4-H.
A couple of dairy experts, Katie Wernimont and Josh Fairbanks, have also been helpful, too.
The girls’ dad, Ted, said when it comes to the calves, Lauren and Leah take care of them all on their own.
“They don’t let Dad lead the calves,” he joked.
Lauren said if you, the handler/exhibitor, are nervous and anxious, the calf will pick up on that, especially during the fair.
“You have to have a good relationship with your calf,” she said.
The Koehler family is heavily involved in the Jones County Dairy Promoters, with the girls volunteering at the annual banquet. Lauren is preparing to throw her name in the hat and run for Jones County Dairy Princess, which will be announced in February.
“I care about dairy and it’s good to spread awareness and get people excited about it,” she said.
The girls stay extremely busy outside of the GJCF Dairy Show. Lauren works part-time for Back Home Chiropractic in Monticello. In school she’s involved in student council, speech and drama, jazz band, BPA, band, SODA, and National Honor Society. She loves music and plays the piano and percussion. She claims to find a new hobby every week due to her crafting abilities.
Leah is all about running and riding her bike. Her family thinks she’ll make varsity track and cross country her freshman year. She’s also on student council, jazz band, choir, band, speech and drama.
“I want to be in BPA and SODA, too,” she added.