ALAMEDA — Bowyn Freitag is grateful for the support he received by selling his 4-H steer.
Bowyn, a 10-year-old member of the Alameda Beef 4-H Club, announced earlier this year he was going to sell his steer, Fancy Jim, to support the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre in Regina, in honour of his late father Cory, who spent 10 months at the centre after suffering a spinal cord injury in an automobile rollover. Jim is the last of Cory's steers that Bowyn will show in 4-H.
Bowyn initially planned to donate half of the proceeds from his steer sale to the centre, but instead decided to send all of the money he made. Jim weighed at 1,325 pounds and sold for $8.55 per pound, bringing in a total of $11,200. Bowyn also received two donations at the sale for $1,300 each, bringing the total to $13,800, and Bowyn's mother Rayanne contributed $200 more for an even $14,000.
Jim was sold to Friends of Cory – a group of close family and friends of Cory Freitag.
"We were so amazed by all the bids we received that day," said Rayanne. "We received a lot of bids. We appreciate every one of them."
Jim looked good in the show ring, they said. Bowyn had him groomed, prepped and ready for show, and he lived up to the Fancy moniker that Cory gave the steer.
"I had to wake up early, lead him to the wash rack, wash him out with soap and water and then bring him to the chute and blow dry him," Bowyn recalled.
He also talked to a lot of people his father worked with leading up to the show and made a lot of phone calls to promote his efforts.
The fundraiser proved to be a good learning experience for Bowyn. He gained more knowledge about steers, grooming techniques and things he wants to do differently for next year.
Bowyn and Rayanne are thankful to Chopper K Auction Services for allowing them to use the facility, and they thanked the 4-H community and everyone who bid on Fancy Jim
The donation to the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre will likely be presented in a few weeks.
