Erin Curtis-Szalach has been busy the past two months. In addition to normal school and family responsibilities, the Cazenovia eighth grader — and the Ayrshire cow she owns and raises, named “Colata” — has won five grand championship awards at three national dairy shows in three states since the end of August.
And Curtis-Szalach is only 13 years old.
“I like competing; it’s just fun, and I get to see a lot of my friends that I don’t usually see,” she said last week, not long after winning 10 different awards at the International Ayrshire Show at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis., on Sept. 29. This was after she previously won two grand championships at the New York State Fair in late August and then the grand championship at the All-American Dairy Show in Harrisburg, Pa., in September.
“When I won [in Madison] I was speechless, I didn’t think it happened,” Erin said. “I cried.”
“To get Grand Champion at a state fair is awesome,” said Erin’s mother, Diana Curtis. “To get Grand Champion at the World Dairy Expo is like winning Miss America, the Super Bowl and the World Series by one 13-year-old.”
“To me, it’s like having a 13-year-old quarterback at the Super Bowl — it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Erin’s father, Joe Szalach.
Erin is not an anomaly in her family — she is, in fact, the eighth generation of the Curtis side of her family to be involved in the dairy business. While the Curtis family has lived in the Ballina Road area of Cazenovia for generations, Erin’s great-great-grandfather started registering the family’ animals in 1924, according to Diana. Diana’s father, Jim Curtis, owns the family’s Cedar Cut Farm on East Road on which all their cattle live, and is Erin’s teacher and mentor. Along with Erin, her brother Andrew Curtis -Szalach, 9, and her cousin, Kayla McCaulley, 14, also showed and won ribbons at the state fair this year.
“It’s very much a team effort at Cedar Cut Farm,” Diana said.
Erin has been around Ayrshire cattle her entire life and began showing cattle by the time she was five years old, she said. Erin, along with her brother and cousin, participates in the local 4-H Club, the Junior Ayrshire Club and attends the numerous dairy shows every year. She is a national Ayrshire youth book winner, member of the National Champion Ayrshire Quiz Bowl team and plans to pursue large animal veterinary studies at Cornell.
Her champion cow, Colata (known officially as “Cedarcut Burdette Clove Colata,” which designates her farm, her sire, her mother and her own name) has been Erin’s cow since she was born with the leter “C” looking mark on her face that led to her name. Erin said she tries to spend time every day with Colata; she leads her (walks her), washes her, clips her hair and keeps her healthy.
At this year’s New York State Far, Erin and Colata won the dairy cattle competition for Senior Three-Year-Old, Senior Champion Female and Grand Champion Female. About two weeks later, Erin and Colata traveled to Harrisburg. Pa., to the Premier National Junior Ayrshire Show at the 52nd All-American Dairy Show, where they won intermediate champion and then grand champion.
Most recently, Erin and Colata traveled to Madison, Wis., where they won nearly dozen awards, including: First Place Senior Three Year old, Intermediate Champion International Junior Show, Total Performance Cow of the International Junior Show, Grand Champion International Junior Ayrshire Show, Production Award Winner International Junior Show, First Place Senior Three Year old International Ayrshire Show, Production Award Winner International Ayrshire Show, Intermediate Champion International Ayrshire Show and Grand Champion International Ayrshire Show.
There were 265 animals were shown at the event, which is recognized as the meeting place for the global dairy industry and attracts more than 70,000 attendees from more than 90 countries each year.
“I knew Colata was a very good cow and having her named Grand Champion of both shows at World Dairy Expo was amazing. Definitely a dream come true for me and my entire family,” Erin said. “t is an experience that my family and I will never forget. We are very proud of Colata and we look forward to her future.”
First and foremost after all the traveling, showing and winning, is “sleep,” Erin said with a laugh — and catching up on school work, her parents added.
All of the dairy shows have ended for this year, so Erin said she hopes to continue entering Colata in dairy shows in 2016, including the state fair.
But, as humble as Erin is, she and Colata are somewhat of celebrities in Ayrshire and dairy circles, according to Diana. Colata is now “very much sought after” to be purchased or at least bred by others in the dairy world, while Erin this year accomplished what few others have. “In a matter of weeks, she achieved what many men and woman just dream about,” Diana said of her daughter. “We’re very proud of her.”
