This month, Covey Hill Ranch attended the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair for the first time. The ranch team arrived with their bull, Captain 12H, and his maternal sister; however, it was Captain (lovingly referred to as “Cap”) who swept the competition.
Since the ranch began in 2018, the owners have not been able to attend the Royal with their own cattle. In 2019, they assisted a friend there, and then due to the pandemic, they couldn’t go in 2020 or 2021. The fact that 2022 also happened to be the Royal’s 100th anniversary only made their achievements at this year’s prestigious show even more special.
Sabrina Chenail of Covey Hill Ranch shared Cap’s accolades by saying, “Captain was Reserve Senior Champion Angus Bull, and he made the ‘Grand Drive’.” However, before they even arrived at the Royal, they knew he was qualified for the Supreme Show. “We also qualified for the Supreme Show by winning Supreme Interbreed Bull at Expo Boeuf in Quebec; so at the Royal he got pulled in [automatically] as a top-five finalist as a Supreme qualifier.”
Cap was born and raised at Covey Hill Ranch in Havelock. His mother was purchased as a two-year-old and she gave birth to him soon after her arrival at the ranch. Due to COVID, Cap could not be shown as a calf, but Chenail says, “We showed him as a yearling, and he did well; he was Reserve Grand Champion Angus Bull as a yearling in Quebec.” This fellow has been impressive since he was very young.
The bull is co-owned by Covey Hill Ranch and the neighbouring Mac Angus Farms. Chenail explains that the folks at Mac Angus became mentors: “Our first set of cows was bought from Mac Angus … We’re really close friends with them now; we talk every day and we’re neighbours.” Cap isn’t the first bull that the two enterprises decided to share: “In 2018 we had a mishap with one of our other bulls, and Mac Angus kind of saved us that year so we shared one bull then.” When Cap was born, those at Mac Angus really liked him and saw that he was something special. As a thank-you, Covey Hill Ranch offered to share him.
Captain also qualified for Agribition in Regina, Saskatchewan, which is the final show of 2022 in Canada. Chenail says “Cap’s in the Open Show, and he’s going to be walking the Supreme as a qualifier…We’re really excited about it!”
