Harrisburg, Pennsylvania— Four Pierce County, Wisconsin, dairy enthusiasts went over 1,000 miles to Harrisburg for the All-American Dairy Show Invitational Youth Dairy Cattle Judging Contest a month after earning second in the Wisconsin 4-H State Dairy Judging Contest. Two players placed first and second individually after the team won.
The Bob Traynor-Peter Coyne-coached team included Braeden Bechel, Hannah Fesenmaier, Ava Kolodzienski, and Abby Thompson.
Bechel won and placed fifth in reasoning, whereas Kolodzienski placed second and 10th. The team placed third in oral reasons. Bechel led his squad to triumph in the Guernsey breed. Fesenmaier was the Jersey breed’s top.
While competing, the four judged 10 classes—five cows and five heifers—and offered four spoken reasons, including one on a heifer class.
“We had a really good trip,” Traynor remarked. “We were proud of them. Peter and I have coached for 39 years, and this was fun.”
These two teams have competed in Harrisburg before. They’re targeting next year with all four members of this year’s winning team returning and some young judges they’re keen to promote.
“We’re liking our chances for next year, and our future,” Traynor added.
He added Braeden and Ava are experienced and Abby and Hannah are young and promising. He noted that Hannah’s second year with explanations and Abby’s second year with judging make placing in the Top 20 in a nationwide contest commendable.
“We just plan to keep developing,” he said. “These kids love practices. Coaches consider that gravy. When kids want it, coaching is fun.”
Bechel said his first trip to Pennsylvania will be memorable.
“I thought I could be competitive; I’ve been doing well this year,” Bechel remarked. “I thought the classes were hard, and my reasons didn’t work. “I thought I could have done better, but it worked out OK.”
Bechel started 4-H judging young and enjoys learning.
“I really enjoy the reasons,” Bechel stated. I like explaining why I like cows. Sometimes my instructor and I disagree on placements, but I can usually negotiate.”
Every team member contributed to their accomplishment.
“Everyone has their job, on the team,” Bechel remarked. I’m good at reasons, and Ava sees cows best. Hannah and Abby consistently submit high scores. It takes everyone to succeed.”
Kolodzienski said seeing cows is her strength, but not always.
“I started judging in fifth grade, and I wasn’t very good at it,” Kolodzienski recalled. “Then something clicked in seventh or eighth grade, and I improved. Though placings are easier now, I still battle with justifications. I prefer placement and type analysis questions.”
Bechel and Kolodzienski agree that judgment offered unexpected doors.
“I’ve never played sports, so this is my thing,” Kolodzienski added. “Being good is rewarding. It makes you push yourself and attempt new things.”
Both feel better communication has helped them.
“I was never very good at giving speeches in school,” Bechel stated. Getting better at giving reasons has improved my public speaking overall.
Kolodzienski concurred.
“It’s not the easiest thing to do, to stand in front of a random stranger and tell them what you think when you don’t know if you’re right or wrong,” Kolodzienski said. “I’ve gained confidence in expressing myself.”
The couple also stressed dairy judging’s social side.
“I love meeting people through dairy judging,” Bechel remarked. “I’ve made many new friends with similar interests.”
Kolodzienski loves the closer bonds with her instructors and colleagues.
Kolodzienski remarked, “(We) have a lot of fun together.” “That closeness makes judging exciting and makes us all want to do better.”
Over years of studying and competing, such relationships formed.
“It’s not the easiest thing to learn, but stick with it,” Kolodzienski added. “You’ll love it once it makes sense. You’ll improve with practice.”
Bechel argued that spoken reasoning improves with experience.
“Don’t be too rough on yourself at the start and don’t be scared of reasons,” Bechel advised. Focus on TAQs—they’ll help you rationalize later. All comes with age, time, and practice.”
Traynor and Coyne believe this team has yet to finish their story due to their mindset and hard ethic.
I’ve written down what I expect the day before and shared it with them after the contest to see how close I came in the last three contests this year, Traynor said. “For this contest, I predicted they would win and have at least two in the top 10. For various reasons, I predicted a top-three finish and breed winners. My hopes were entirely exceeded.”