Pierre Boulet and Mike Berry’s “Booster” cow earns the easiest tap of the day as JP Charest rewards mammary quality, dairy strength, and rib openness from start to finish.
If JP Charest told the crowd once, he told them five times: when this 5-year-old walked into the ring, the day was over. Lone Pine Jordan Booster, owned by Pierre Boulet and Mike Berry, was named Grand Champion of the 2026 Quebec Spring Jersey Show on Thursday, April 16, in Victoriaville — and Charest didn’t try to hide that she was, in his own words, “probably one of the easiest decisions of the day”.
A field of 117 Jerseys (88 junior, 29 senior) came through the ring in front of Charest, with Maryse, Marie-Eve and Martin Veronneau as ring masters. The day belonged to Booster, but the supporting cast — Top Gene, Homeridge, Lahetriere, Dulet — all left Victoriaville with banners worth bragging about.
Booster Was Never in Doubt
Charest pulled five exceptional cows for the Grand Champion drive, and he made his reasoning plain: Booster had the udder he wanted, the openness through the rib he wanted, and the dairy strength to win it from any angle. He gave her the nod over Intermediate Champion Top Gene Dubelmont Kandju Two on a “little bit more definition to that crease” and a rear udder that sat “a little bit higher and wider.” Over the mature cow in honorable mention, Cliric Victorious Crest, he praised Booster’s added milk, added width, and openness through the ribs — while tipping his cap to a Crest cow that “stood the test of time.”
Honestly, the whole drive felt like a coronation. Booster also won Best Udder of the 5-year-old class, and her win pushed Pierre Boulet (a fixture in Quebec Grand Champion conversations) onto the championship line twice — Grand with Booster, Honorable Mention with Crest.
The Intermediate Pull: Top Gene Runs Away with It
The Intermediate Championship belonged to Top Gene Dubelmont Kandju Two, the fall 2-year-old owned by Stéphane Marceau, Marie St-Cyr, Marie Claire Girod and Select Jersey. She came in already wearing three banners from her own class — first, Best Udder, and Best Bred & Owned — and Charest called her a “pretty handy winner,” pointing to the open rib, the width through her parts, and a mammary system “with quality and vein” that put her over the senior 3-year-old in reserve.
That Reserve Intermediate Champion, Homeridge Channing Beaconess of Ferme Day Break, won the senior 3-year-old class on frame, panister rib, and chest width. Charest gave the slight edge to Top Gene on dairy character and bone refinement, but admitted Beaconess wasn’t far off.
Sugar Hill Kamakazi Mason — the winning winter 2-year-old for Gary & Maureen Bowers and Lencrest de la Vallée — picked up Honorable Mention Intermediate. Charest noted she had a tighter front and rear rib than Top Gene, but said the cow “has a great future” thanks to her udder.
Junior Champion: Lahetriere Lightning Eloise Edges a Tight Pull
Charest brought five heifers into the Junior Champion drive and called the top two “really tough to separate.” In the end, Lahetriere Lightning Eloise — the November-born fall yearling bred and owned by Ferme de l’Hétrière — took the tap. Charest leaned on her Hawk flexion, her straighter rear leg set, and her overall dairy quality.
Reserve Junior Champion went to Morastar Chocolate Baby of Hy-Haven Genetique, with Charest noting she showed “a bit more pop” through her rib structure than the spring yearling honorable mention. Boutch Bright Storm (Charles-Antoine Bouchard & Hy-Haven Genetique) — already wearing the Junior Honorable Mention ribbon from her class — rounded out the championship trio.
The junior pull capped a strong morning of heifer classes. The fall calf class produced Roggua Mr Bright Sassya for Ferme Roggua as the winning bred & owned heifer, while Oakriver Joel Miranda Lambert topped the deeper fall heifer class for Ferme Mibelson, Ferme Jean-Paul Petitclerc et Fils, and Jenna Eden.
Day Break Owns the Senior Banners. Hétrière and Dulet Own the Junior Side.
If you want a quick read on which programs are firing on all cylinders right now, look at the banner tally:
- Senior Premier Breeder & Premier Exhibitor: Ferme Day Break (Homeridge prefix), 132 exhibitor points and 126 breeder points — comfortably clear of Ferme de l’Hétrière (94 / 73) and Ferme Monten (39) / Ferme Dulet (45).
- Junior Premier Exhibitor: Ferme de l’Hétrière, with Ferme Mibelson and Ferme Dulet rounding out the top three.
- Junior Premier Breeder: Ferme Dulet (Suzanne Ouellet & Francis Dumais), edging Ferme de l’Hétrière (Stephanie Jobin) and Roggua (Rachel Guay).
Day Break also took the senior Breeder’s Herd — and Charest lingered on it, saying the trio had “incredible mammary systems” and was the kind of group that “could have taken on competition” if anyone had answered the bell.
Best Bulls of the Day
- Junior: Du Lait Mr Bright (46 points) over Avonlea Choco Chip (35) and Du Lait Goldorak (28).
- Senior: River Valley Victorious (98 points) — a runaway — over Rejebel Barnabas Channing (58) and Avonlea Choco Chip (55).
Du Lait Mr Bright stamping the top of the junior list lines up with what the heifer classes showed. His daughters were everywhere on Saturday, and Roggua’s Mr Bright Sassya leading the winter calf class — bred and owned — only adds to the case.
What This Show Tells Us
A few things stood out from the rail:
- Pierre Boulet remains the man to beat in mature Jersey classes. Grand Champion with Booster, HM Grand with Crest, and a 2nd in the spring 2-year-old class with Pierstein Boomerang Sweety. Three different partnerships, three different cow families, all in championship contention.
- Ferme Day Break’s Homeridge program is in a deep, deep groove. Senior Breeder Banner, Senior Exhibitor Banner, the senior Breeder’s Herd, Reserve Intermediate Champion, plus first place wins in the 2-year-old spring class (Channing Honey, also Best Udder), the junior 3-year-old (Chococchip Lisa, Best Udder), and the 5-year-old class right behind Booster. That’s stacked.
- Charest was consistent all day. Open ribs. Dairy character. Rear udder height and width. Bone quality. Cleanliness through the head and neck. He rewarded the same traits in a fall calf as he did in a 5-year-old, which is exactly what you want to see from an evaluator.
- The Lahetriere prefix is stacking depth in the heifer ring. Junior Champion, Junior Exhibitor Banner, multiple class winners — Stephanie Jobin’s program is breeding the kind of females other programs are buying.
JP Charest closed the day the way he opened it — by thanking exhibitors, his wife Maryse for serving as his ring steward, his kids Louis and Juliette ringside, his family and uncle holding the fort, and the Expo Printemps committee. Then he summed the day up cleanly: “We got five exceptional cows that exemplified the Jersey breed, and how strong it is in Quebec.”
Hard to argue with that.
CHAMPIONS — JERSEY
| Award | Animal | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Champion | Lone Pine Jordan Booster (1st 5-yr-old, Best Udder) | Pierre Boulet & Mike Berry |
| Reserve Grand Champion | Top Gene Dubelmont Kandju Two (1st fall 2-yr-old, Best Udder, Best Bred & Owned) | S. Marceau, M. St-Cyr, M.C. Girod & Select Jersey |
| HM Grand Champion | Cliric Victorious Crest (1st mature cow, Best Udder) | Ferme Pierre Boulet Inc. |
| Intermediate Champion | Top Gene Dubelmont Kandju Two | S. Marceau, M. St-Cyr, M.C. Girod & Select Jersey |
| Reserve Intermediate Champion | Homeridge Channing Beaconess (1st senior 3-yr-old) | Ferme Day Break |
| HM Intermediate Champion | Sugar Hill Kamakazi Mason (1st winter 2-yr-old, Best Udder) | Gary & Maureen Bowers & Lencrest de la Vallée |
| Junior Champion | Lahetriere Lightning Eloise (1st fall yearling) | Ferme de l’Hétrière |
| Reserve Junior Champion | Morastar Chocolate Baby | Hy-Haven Genetique |
| HM Junior Champion | Boutch Bright Storm | Charles-Antoine Bouchard & Hy-Haven Genetique |
SPECIAL AWARDS
| Award | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Senior Premier Breeder | Ferme Day Break (Homeridge) — 126 pts |
| Senior Premier Exhibitor | Ferme Day Break — 132 pts |
| Junior Premier Breeder | Suzanne Ouellet & Francis Dumais / Ferme Dulet (Dulet) |
| Junior Premier Exhibitor | Ferme de l’Hétrière |
| Senior Breeder’s Herd | Homeridge — Ferme Day Break |
| Best Junior Bull | Du Lait Mr Bright (46 pts) |
| Best Senior Bull | River Valley Victorious (98 pts) |
CLASS WINNERS
Winter Heifer Calf (10 head) — Roggua Mr Bright Sassya (1st Bred & Owned) — Ferme Roggua
Fall Heifer Calf (19 head) — Oakriver Joel Miranda Lambert ET — Ferme Mibelson, Petitclerc & Fils, Jenna Eden
Summer Yearling — Top Gene Leomi Sonya — Ferme Mibelson
Spring Yearling — Boutch Bright Storm (Junior HM) — Charles-Antoine Bouchard & Hy-Haven
Winter Yearling (16 head) — Dulet Goldorak Sasha (1st Bred & Owned) — Ferme Dulet
Fall Yearling — Lahetriere Lightning Eloise (1st B&O, Junior Champion) — Ferme de l’Hétrière
Summer 2-Year-Old — Lahetriere Virtuoso Marielle (Best Udder, 1st B&O) — Ferme de l’Hétrière
Spring 2-Year-Old — Homeridge Channing Honey (Best Udder, 1st B&O) — Ferme Day Break
Winter 2-Year-Old — Sugar Hill Kamakazi Mason (Best Udder, HM Intermediate) — Bowers & Lencrest
Fall 2-Year-Old — Top Gene Dubelmont Kandju Two (Best Udder, 1st B&O, Intermediate Champion, Reserve Grand) — Marceau, St-Cyr, Girod & Select Jersey
Junior 3-Year-Old — Homeridge Chococchip Lisa (Best Udder, 1st B&O) — Ferme Day Break
Senior 3-Year-Old — Homeridge Channing Beaconess (1st B&O, Reserve Intermediate) — Ferme Day Break
4-Year-Old — Redview Joel Mimi (Best Udder) — Ferme Day Break
5-Year-Old — Lone Pine Jordan Booster (Best Udder, Grand Champion) — Pierre Boulet & Mike Berry
Mature Cow — Cliric Victorious Crest (Best Udder, HM Grand) — Ferme Pierre Boulet Inc.
Breeder’s Herd (3 head) — Homeridge — Ferme Day Break
Junior Breeder’s Herd — Dulet — Ferme Dulet
Total head: 117 (88 junior, 29 senior). Judge: Jean-Philippe Charest.