Whately girl earns honor in dairy showing

[ Originally published on: Saturday, November 21, 2009 ]

WHATELY -- On Oct. 1, while most of her peers were sitting in class back at home, 16-year-old Sarah Belder of Whately was making the rounds in the colossal show ring at the World Dairy Exposition in Madison, Wis. After traveling halfway across the country and competing in three grueling rounds in the Youth Showmanship category, Belder was named the 10th best youth dairy showman in the world

Belder, a sophomore at Frontier Regional School, has had lots of time to practice for the showmanship contest: She has been showing cows for a decade. Her family's second-generation dairy farm on Chestnut Plain Road milks about 80 Brown Swiss and Holstein cows. Her parents, Brian and Christine Belder, own the farm with her uncle, Ronald Belder.

Sarah Belder said she was glad just to be able to show at the World Dairy Expo, where the top cows and exhibitors compete from Sept. 29 through Oct. 3. Most of the young people who competed against Belder were from the United States, and most of the cows exhibited were from this country or Canada, although their owners are often from foreign countries, she said. Three other young people from Franklin County also competed in the event, including Ashley Sears of Deerfield.

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