The TD 4-H Dairy Classic – Canada’s premier national youth dairy show – announced the showmanship judges for the 2024 show. The Showmanship portion of the Classic will take place on Monday, November 4th and the conformation classes will be judged on Tuesday, November 5th, 2024.
Showmanship Judge
Curtis McNeil is from Goderich, Ontario where he operates Heather Holme Farms with his wife Cathy, their children Sam, Beth, James and Clark, along with his parents Glen & Vanda McNeil. The farm consists of 115 kg of quota and 300 acres. Heather Holme is an entirely homebred herd with a current classification of 26 EX, 47 VG, 24 GP. They have earned three Master Breeder shields, numerous All- Canadian, All-Canadian Nominations and All-Ontario Awards.
After graduating from the University of Guelph Curtis was a full time cattle fitter and traveled across Canada, the US, Australia, Italy, Spain, Holland, Germany and Switzerland. Curtis has judged showmanship at the Western Canada Classic and World Dairy Expo. He has judged many breeders cups and county shows across Ontario, as well as internationally at the India National Show in Punjub, India.
In 2005, Curtis was Champion Showperson at the TD Classic 4-H Show and the Holstein Canada Presidents Cup, being the first person to ever win both in the same week. He is an Executive board member of the Semex Alliance and a board member of Eastgen, a two-time Past President of the Huron County Holstein Club, 4-H leader for 17 years and past president of the Huron County 4-H Leaders Association. Curtis is always happy to support 4-H or youth programs whenever possible.
Associate Showmanship Judge
Richard Osborne along with his wife, Teresa, and children, Easton and Sienna, own and operate their farm under the Willow Creek Genetics prefix. Here they milk approximately 100 Holsteins and Jerseys on a 200 acre farm in Hagersville, Ontario. Willow Creek has bred and owned several All-Canadian and All Ontario nominated cattle. The herd currently is comprised of 23 EX, 68 VG and 8 GP cattle.
