Years of determination and heart pay off at Rockton World’s Fair

Brant County Youth Garners Title “Reserve Grand Champion Showman”

With this win, Devin joined Brant 4-H Dairy Team at the Royal Winter Fair for the second year in a row.

By Laura Richardson

Those who know Devin Coleman best would not have been surprised to learn that the teen who does everything with heart and determination impressed Aylmer judge Brent Howe at the first ever Rockton World’s Fair “Countdown to the Classic” dairy show. Over 100 4-H dairy members from both central and southern Ontario competed, with 15-year-old Coleman awarded reserve grand champion showman, qualifying him to represent the Brant 4-H Dairy Team in the prestigious TD Classic at the Royal Winter Fair, which annually hosts about 300,000 people eager to celebrate the best of agriculture.

Preparation for making it all the way to The Royal began when Coleman competed in under-10 competitions. He saw his first big success in 2018 as the Pee-Wee Showmanship Champion at the Brant-Wentworth Holstein Show. Since then, he has been awarded 1st Junior Showman at the 2023 Ontario Summer Show, 3rd place in the Intermediate Clipping Competition at the 2024 World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin, and first-place Jr Showmanship at the South Western Jersey Show also in 2024. Success at the Rockton World’s Fair required consistent effort and attention to detail.

Recollections of Coleman’s success wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the “lady of the hour”, show heifer Bridon ACC Elaine Summer Yearling, born in June of 2023. Elaine is a Jersey calf with an impressive heritage which reflects careful breeding and a dedication to excellence.

Coleman feels that Elaine is calm and easy-going, making her a pleasure to work with during preparation as well as in the show ring and reflects, “It’s all about putting in the time and really understanding your animal.”

In preparation for the show, Coleman fine-tuned Elaine’s stance and movement, and applied razor sharp focus to every detail of grooming and clipping.

Coleman was captivated by cows at a very early age, where tagging along with dad, Pete and grandpa, Brian on their family farm taught him hard work and the rewards of farming which developed into a deep appreciation for the cows in the barn.

Now, with the win at Rockton and the valuable experience at The Royal under his belt, Coleman already has his sights set on the next show season, where his goals include improving his skills in showmanship and animal care, and working towards even greater success at the 2025 Royal Winter Fair. Coleman can be found tending to his studies as a tenth grader at Pauline Johnson High School in Brantford and playing baseball, but most often he is with the cows, improving his skills in showmanship and animal care and taking on more farming responsibilities, preparing himself for a successful future taking over the family farm which would continue a proud tradition that spans generations.