More About Me

Now that the excitement of Costa Rica has worn off, I wanted to tell you all a little bit more about me and my life. As I said before, I am 18 years old (And I voted for the first time today) and live southeast of Calgary, Alberta. My father works for Sterling Valve Automation in Calgary, and Mom stays home and runs a tack and feed store from our property. We moved to the farm here in 2002 when my Grandmother fell ill, and we haven't looked back since.
I joined the local 4-H club in 2002, Bow Valley Beef and Multi, and in my first year I built a train set. The next year I had a market steer project, and then the cattle really took off. I had been riding semi-competitively in the show jumping and dressage disciplines up until that time, but after I got that first steer (which I named Western Tornado) the horse end of my life became the cattle end. My interests and skills have grown, and so has my herd. I now own six females of the total 20+ running around my farm.


My first pen of market hogs



This past year I also undertook the first market hog 4-H project the Calgary region has seen in many decades, and one of very few in the province. That went so well that I decided to do it again this year. In addition to this project, last April I purchased two very special heifers from a sale in Texas. They are of a breed called Beefmaster, which I plan to cover another day. They are the only two registered purebred females in Canada, and since then I have been working closely with the Beefmaster Breeders United in San Antonio to get the breed Canadian Recognition. It is a project, and I am proud to be a part of it.



My yearling Beefmaster female who took Reserve Grand Champion Multi breed Female at the 2010 Farmfair International




The same heifer earlier that year in Bashaw-she came last in class

HRZ Western Legend 5W last fall. We recently sold him to Hudson Limousin

A fullblood limousin heifer calf. I own half interest in her mother with Mountain Park Limousin of Turner Valley, Alberta

Ivy's Temptation 50T, the conerstone in my breeding program. Daughter of 2003 National Champion Female Ivy's Necessity and L7 Lucky Me



A neat candid shot of me showing Temptation at the 2008 International Youth Livestock Show at the Calgary Stampede. She came in Reserve Champion Beef Female.




Temptation as a two year old with her March heifer calf at side in Virden, Manitoba during the National Junior Limousin Conference




Grandpa and Grandma Morris are far left. The animal is theirs, but we don't know which bull it is.



When I have any free time, I like to curl (when the weather is appropriately cold) and I am committed whole-heartedly to my education. I was recently accepted to Texas A&M University for a 4 year Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Animal Sciences. I am very excited to start this new part of my life this fall, and right now I am looking forward to a good final year to 4-H and my high school graduation in a little over two weeks.

One of many heifer calves that has come from the Olson herd