by Carrie Horman, American Simmental-Simbrah Foundation
The best week of the summer is the AJSA National Classic! It’s a busy week for everyone involved, from taking care of the cattle, competing in contests, and making meals, to catching up with old friends and making new ones — there’s not a shortage of things to do.
The American Simmental-Simbrah Foundation (ASF) has a lot to offer to get involved all week with the Simmental Sizzle Cook-off, Breeders Cup Golf Tournament, Silent Auction, and daily giveaway prizes to the juniors. There is something for everyone!
On Tuesday, teams from Iowa and Mississippi worked together to prepare samples of tri-tip roasts donated by Upper Iowa Beef, pork loins donated by Prestage Farms, chicken hindquarters donated by Peco Foods, and different cheese combinations from the donation by Mousehouse Cheese House. Then at 2:00, teams from Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, and Mississippi competed in the inaugural ribeye cookoff. They provided ribeye steaks from their state that were of Simmental origin and prepared them for our celebrity judge’s panel of AJSA Board President Walker Housley, ASA Board Chairman Victor Guerra, and ASA EVP Dr. Jon DeClerck. Team Mississippi was crowned champion of the contest, while team Kansas was selected as Reserve Champion. Proceeds from the event were broken down with 50% going back to the Mississippi Junior Simmental-Simbrah Association, 25% to the Kansas Junior Simmental Association, and 25% to the ASF.
The next day, 17 teams from Minnesota, Texas, Indiana, Utah, Oklahoma, Iowa, and everywhere in between showcased their golfing talents at the 8th annual ASF Breeders Cup Golf Tournament held at the Pleasant View Golf Course. Good times were had by all with a little friendly competition, but only a few were able to take home banners from the three-way tie for first place! EJ Lillesand, Tyler Peterson, Eric McClure, and Ryan Goehring from Wisconsin came out on top, taking home the champion team banners. Tim Schaffer, Nate Tice, Jess Recknor, and Jeremy Clark were a close Reserve Champion team. Illinois boys Scott Fredrick, Tyler Babbs, Justin Adcock, and Darin Clark (“Sherm”) were third in the finishing.
The course was in great shape and beautiful for individual competitions throughout the tournament. Taking home the Closest to the Pin in One award was Garret Cloud. Craig McCallum was crafty in his ability to hit the Closest to Water without Going In mark. David Dotson hit an impressive 28-foot putt for one of the Longest Putt Made competitions while Colton Sand earned the other Longest Putt Made banner. The Longest Drive in the Fairway banners were awarded to Scott Grass and Brett Benefiel.
Teams lined up for the 8th annual ASF Breeders Cup Golf Tournament.
Golfers competed as teams, and in individual competitions like Closest to the Pin in One, and Longest Putt Made.
If you weren’t able to partake in the cook-off or golf tournament, the Silent Auction was heavily decorated with many unique items for anyone to place their highest bid on. Many states composed a basket of goodies, while junior participant, Wyatt Phillips, donated his craftsmanship chair made out of lariat rope. By the end of the week, the silent auction was able to raise $4,700 to be donated to the Foundation.
The Foundation is also always looking for ways to get the junior participants involved throughout the week. The daily giveaway items from Sullivan Supply, Weaver Livestock, SureChamp, ShowTimes Magazine, and Show Fresh H2O were awarded to the lucky juniors’ who were randomly picked throughout the week.
The ASF cannot thank everyone enough for all of their support and generous contributions throughout our week in Madison. It is a magical time of the summer and can’t wait to see what Grand Island has in store for 2026.
