The Montana Royal Junior Livestock Show was held July 15-18 at the Flathead County Fairgrounds in Kalispell. Two local youth, Wylie and Wacee Simenson came away from the event with several awards, including Grand and Reserve Champion Angus.

Following the goat show on Sunday, July 17, the beef competition began. There were categories for Market Steer, Mini Market Steer, and Flathead County Market Steer. In showmanship groupings, entries appeared in Senior Beef Showmanship, Intermediate Beef Showmanship, Junior Beef Showmanship, Peewee Beef Showmanship, and Overall Beef Showmanship. For that top prize, the top two showmen in each division face off for the Supreme Overall Beef Showman. Finally, breeding heifers competed, with the owners of "supreme heifers" receiving belt buckles.

Once the judges had conducted their assessments, Wylie emerged triumphant, winning Grand Champion Angus with his heifer named G2. Keeping the awards in the family, brother Wacee captured Reserve Champion Angus with his heifer Mariah-a heifer that he raised himself from one of his cows.

In the show ring, Wylee won Reserve Champion Intermediate Showman status, while Wacee placed third in the Overall Junior Showman category. Because G2 was Grand Champion Angus, she went on to the "Supreme Drive" where she placed fifth overall as a breeding heifer.

About their achievements, the boys' mother, Tomi Simenson expressed pride but was especially impressed with G2's performance. "She's a young calf that Wylee got in April, and she's only been to a couple of shows, so she's still learning about all of this. She was the youngest heifer [at Montana Royal], too, which was also exciting because she went up against quite a few older heifers that were already bred. Wylee is excited about her potential and hopes she keeps growing and turns into a competitor for him."

The Montana Royal Show got its start in 2010 under the leadership of Brooke Johnston. During its early years, the event was called the Birch Creek Junior Livestock Show and was hosted on the Johnston ranch until 2012 when the Flathead County Fairgrounds became the venue. In early 2013, Johnston wanted to breathe new life into the show and decided to pass the torch.

Under the leadership of Kevin and Inga Lake and their business partner Julie Brubaker, the show was rebranded as the Flathead Agapé Classic. From 2013 to 2015, participation in the Flathead Agapé Classic grew exponentially with beef, lamb, and hog showmen traveling from all across Montana to participate. The Lakes and Brubakers were aware of the growing jackpot trend in the show world and saw an opportunity to create a premier livestock event for youth.

In 2016, the Flathead Agapé Classic transformed, and the Montana Royal Junior Livestock Show was born. The Lakes and Brubakers had the vision to create an educational livestock event in Northwest Montana, and the team began recruiting exhibitors and sponsorship from across the United States.

Currently, the Montana Royal is sanctioned with the Beyond the Ring Junior Livestock Association and the 509 Show Circuit, creating the opportunity for exhibitors to earn points.

The next show for the cattle and their young handlers will be the 2022 State Fair in Great Falls, July 29-August 6.