KAREN BUTLER
Maryland Correspondent
KNOXVILLE, Md. The
Maryland 4-H dairy judging team
will soon travel to The Royal
Highland livestock show in Edin
burgh to participate in a judging
contest. ■
The four-member team has
dominated in dairy judging at the
national level, with a winning
streak that culminated in their lay
ing claim to the largest victory
ever by a team at Madison.
The competition in Scotland
will give the youth an opportunity
to compete with their peers at the
international level.
The group got together recently
at Savage-Leigh Farm, Knoxville,
for a practice session; their first
since the big win at Madison. The
award winning Savage-Leigh
cows provided an excellent oppor
tunity to get in some judging prac
tice before heading overseas.
The members of the team were
selected at the state fair in Septem
ber after a grueling competition
where 30 classes of dairy cattle
were judged in an intense day and
a half of competition. These four
young people came out on top.
“After that workout, the rest is
fun,’’ said Lee Majeskie, coach for
the team.
Traveling abroad for the com
petition has a special meaning for
16-year-old Maik Schnebly. His
father was a member of the win
ning 4-H dairy judging team that
went to Europe in 1967.
Mark, the son of William and
Susan Schnebly of Clearspring,
has been in 4-H since he was eight
years old and is a member of the
Washington County dairy and calf
club. He lives on Crown Stone
Farms, where his father and uncle
John Schnebly far in a partnership,
milking 80 Guernseys. Mark tends
the heifers, feeds calves, and helps
with the milking.
Howard County’s Chris Sey
mour lives on a sheep farm and
has been judging livestock for
eight years. Last year the 17-year
old was on the State livestock
judging team before switching to
dairy judging. Chris plays saxo
phone in the jazz and symphonic
bands at his school and has been in
the Maryland Allstate Band. He
also runs track, and his relay team
will be competing at the nationals
in North Carolina this month. He
is a nine-year member of the West
Friendship 4-H Club. His parents
are Sam and Judy Seymour. He
will be attending Duke University
next year and plans to major in
biochemistry.
Sixteen-year-old Jessica Fritz
of New Windsor started judging
dairy cattle through 4-H when she
Darren, Chris, Mark, and Jessica look over a class of senior 2-year-olds in the Sa
vage-Lelgh barn during the practice judging session.
Maryland’s Best To Shine In Europe
was eight years old. She demon
strated her skill at Madison last
year by taking home the highest
score ever in oral reasons; 243
points out of a possible 250. Jessi
ca, the daughter of Daniel and
Sharon Fritz, also finds time to
represent Carroll County as the
dairy princess and to volunteer in
her church nursery. She lives on a
dairy farm in New Windsor,
where she feeds calves. The fami
ly milks approximately 65 Hol
steins.
Darren Remsburg is a 10-'year
member of the Middletown Valley
dairy club. For nine of those 10
years he has been involved in
judging. Darren himself owns ap
proximately 10 animals. His
grandmother, Helen Remsburg,
raises heifers, and Darren helps
out on her farm. He is also editor
in-chief of his high school news
paper. Darren, the 18-year-old son
of Denny and Marsha Remsburg
of Jefferson, will be attending Vir
ginia Tech, this fall, where he
plans to study dairy science.
Dr. Lee Majeskie is the driving
force behind the University of
Maryland’s consistent success in
dairy judging at the regional and
national levels. In the 14 years he
has been coaching at Maryland,
the judging teams have come in
first place at the national level four
times, second place five times,
third place three times, and fourth
one time. Majeskie is an extension
dairy specialist with the coopera
tive extension service and also a
professor at the University in Col
lege Park. From 1970-1975 he
was director of program develop
ment with the Brown Swiss Asso
ciation, a position which he says
gave him excellent experience in
working with a lot of different
people.
Jeff Sender, 4-H agent from
Harford County, also coaches the
team. Semler is very active in
youth dairy projects. He is super
intendent of the 4-H dairy show at
the state fair and is in charge of the
junior dairyman’s contest. He
coached dairy judging as a grad
student at the University of Con
necticut. While he was with the
West Virginia Extension Service
in Berkeley County, he coached
the first place dairy judging team
at the county level.
Majeskie and Semler stress that
they are not training cattle judges;
rather, they are training students to
have the kind of discipline and
that will make them better indivi
duals. '
“Even if they hadn’t won the
national contest, going to Wiscon
sin was a very worthwhile experi
ence,” said Majeskie. He says tra
veling to Europe will expose the
The team poses with C Mapledeul Aerostat Hazel at Savage-Lelgh Farm. From left
are*Chlp Savage at Hazel’s halter, Dr. Lee Majeskle, Darren Remsburg, Mark Schneb
ly, and Chris Seymour. In front row are Jessica Fritz and Jeff Semler, coach.
it* *
Jessica, Darren, Mark, and Chris listen as Dr. Majeskie and Jeff Semler, coaches
for the dairy Judging team, talk about the high points of a 4-year-old cow from the
Savage-Leigh herd. Chip Savage is at the halter. The cow, C Mapledeul Aerostar Ha
zel, is classified Ex 90 and was fresh In September.
youth group to a variety of new as responsibility,
experiences that will enrich their But it is the team members’ ex
lives, while at the same time rein- cellence in dairy judging that will
forcing fundamental values such be their ticket to Europe. Majeskie
said he stresses oral reasons in his
coaching. In fact, the team was the
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. P \^J
A JM
f I
V * 4M
Maryland Correspondent Kar
en Butler lives in Yellow
Springs, Frederick County. She
holds a degree in art history and
history from Western Maryland
College, Westminster. Her past
experiences include research
work at the Baltimore Museum
of Art and a year as education
specialist for the Maryland Mu
seum of African Art in Colum
bia, Md.,
Karen is a homemaker. She
and her husband Bryan have
some cows, too many chickens,
and assorted other animals at
home. They also grow produce
and fruit Karen enjoys writing,
gardening, and decorating cakes.
V ,X*
Karen and her husband have
two sons Beau, age 4, and
Tommy, age 3, and a daughter.
. 1
highest placing team ever at Madi
son in oral reasons.
“Don’t use negative words in
your reasons,” he told the group
during their recent practice ses
(Turn to Pago A 35)
Erin Eleanore, who is 18 months
old. They are looking forward to
the arrival of baby number four
late this summer.
Karen Butler