ALL LINED UP AND READY TO SHOW 

Cows at the Royal Winter Fair strut their stuff while hundreds of spectators enjoy the show. 

The Royal Winter Fair in Toronto is apparently very well known for its infamous "Cow Shows". I, for one wasn't even aware they existed. But upon walking into the main show hall and seeing the masses of spectators all sitting intently focused on the arena of well-bred cows before them, I experienced first hand the farming phenomena that is "Cow Showing".

I wondered what was so fascinating about watching all these large cows being led around the arena being judged until I interviewed a spectator hurrying to the lemonade stand so he didn't have to miss too much. Luckily he was generous enough to give me a quick interview.


Frank Walkerman, 63 years of age, hails from Durham, Ontario and makes the two and a half hour drive down to exhibition place at least twice a year with his wife to experience the "pure beauty" of the cow shows at the Royal Winter Fair here in Toronto. When asked why he drove all the way down here just to see some cows he replied; "The quality of the shows and the cows in them are absolutely breathtaking to any farmer with any knowledge of the cow industry. Every farmer who owns cows knows that to have goodlookin' cows is absolutely essential. It's a matter of pride I guess. If ya' have ugly cows there's really no point in breedin' them at all. Seeing all these cows bred to almost perfection gives us cow fellows something to strive for when breeding our cows." Who knew cows were such an important part of a farmer's life! In reply to the question of what he enjoys the most about the shows he answered with "I think the best part is when the cows all line up in a long row across the arena for the final round of judgement and predicting which cow will be the winner. It's a thing a' beauty to see all those fine cows lined up like that, almost as fine as seeing those frisky young fillies lined up at a pageant," he chuckles to himself, "but all in all it's a really good atmosphere where cow lovers such as myself can come and experience the best of the best of the cow industry here in Canada and on the plus side they serve a mighty fine lemonade at this place, gotta remind my wife to pick up a couple of jugs on the way out!" After thanking him for his time he bustled off back to his seat in order to catch the remaining judging of the cows. All in all it seemed like a great time for experienced and new cow-lovers alike so if you have time during your week and would love to learn more about these fascinating cow shows, make your way down to the Royal Winter Fair located at the Exhibition Centre in Toronto.

-Ellie Cookson
Devil's Report