(Featured photo: The Grand Champion of the International Junior Holstein Show went to Arolene Dempsey Ella, exhibited by Alyson Doiron of Cap-Santé, Quebec, Canada. Reserve Grand Champion honors went to Go-Sho Tatoos In Jericho-ET, exhibited by Tessa & Stella Schmocker, Sadie Kropf, and Tristan Ostrom, Whitewater, Wisconsin.)
For young dairy exhibitors, getting a cow to World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, can be an accomplishment in itself. But earning one of the show’s biggest titles during the 2026 International Junior Holstein Show, makes the experience even more memorable. Several Wisconsin youth competitors from Whitewater and Barron will take home some of the top honors after a show with more than 300 entries from across the U.S. and Canada.
The show’s top honor of Grand Champion is five-year-old cow Arolene Dempsey Ella, owned by Alyson Doiron of Cap-Santé, Quebec, Canada.
But the Reserve Grand Champion is a Wisconsin success story.
The winning Senior Three-Year-Old is Go-Sho Tatoos In Jericho-ET. The cow is owned by Tessa and Stella Schmocker, Sadie Kropf, and Tristan Ostrom of Whitewater, Wisconsin. Jericho was also named Intermediate Champion, earning the group a Lillian and Keith King and Jim King Reserve Grand Champion of the Junior Show Award.
Two Wisconsin cows make the Junior Champion lineup
The Wisconsin wins didn’t stop with the Grand Champion titles. Kaylee and Carter Jackson of Barron, Wisconsin, showed the first-place Winter Yearling. Walk-Era Aint She Fancy-ET was named Junior Champion of the 2026 International Junior Holstein Show.
(Photo: The Junior Champion of the International Junior Holstein Show was Walk-Era Aint She Fancy-ET, exhibited by Kaylee and Carter Jackson of Barron, Wisconsin. Heritage Crazy Drama-ET, was Reserve Junior Champion, exhibited by Madison & Melanie Sarabacker of Whitewater, Wisconsin.)
And another Whitewater pair, Madison and Melanie Sarbacker, had the winning Winter Heifer. Heritage Crazy Drama-ET went on to earn Reserve Junior Champion honors, too.
That’s a lot of Wisconsin representation among the show’s biggest winners.
Wisconsin judge helps evaluate the competition
Adding one more Wisconsin connection, official judge Ben Wallace from Stoughton, Wisconsin. He evaluated the 301 entries alongside associate judge Phillip Topp of Botkins, Ohio.
The International Junior Holstein Show gives young dairy exhibitors an opportunity to showcase the animals they’ve been working with while competing on one of the biggest stages in the dairy industry.
You can learn more about it here.
