More than 300 youths from across Canada are attending Summer Synergy in Olds at the Olds Agricultural Society grounds.The event, featuring the Alberta 4-H Beef Heifer Show, started on Saturday and ran until today, while today until Friday all of the Alberta beef breed associations are holding their events. The provincial 4-H dairy and sheep shows also run today through Friday.More than 600 head of livestock will be on display at the various events, which includes the Canadian Charlois Association's youth conference, a national showcase for youth breeding Charlois cattle, and the Canadian National Junior Limosin Association youth show.“Those (latter) two nationals are a really big deal and we're very proud to host them, so that's exciting,” said Tracy Lundago, OAS special events coordinator.A majority of the participants in all the events are aged nine to 20, with some younger participants as well. More than $80,000 in scholarships and prizes is up for grabs. In addition, those winning red ribbons in all the purebred beef, commercial beef, dairy and sheep classes will go to the Calgary Stampede July 14 and vie for one of the scholarships. A total of 55 participants will be called up on stage in Calgary.The youth will be doing everything from showing the conformation of their animals to marketing, trimming and public speaking.“There's all sorts of … different things that the kids will do throughout the time that they're here,” Lundago said, noting that much of the OAS grounds will be taken up with the events.
