It takes a lot of courage and tenacity to strike out onto the big stage, but for Rustin Chartier, his trip to Manitoba late last year has taught him plenty of valuable lessons.
Chartier was in the prairie province across late October and early November 2025 to bring his Charolais cattle to the Manitoba AG EX, an agricultural fair and expo held each year as part of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba cycle that also features the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair and Manitoba Summer Fair. Held each fall in Brandon, Man., the Manitoba AG EX touts itself as “a celebration of agricultural excellence, youth development, and community learning with high-level competition in purebred livestock, interactive learning experiences for youth.”
For Chartier, it was a chance to show off his skills and cattle, learn more from other young and seasoned handlers, and get to learn a lot more about an industry for which he’s passionate.
“I’ve always done the local 4-H here, and Kim Jo Bliss is one of my leaders,” Chartier said of the decision to go to the Manitoba Ag Ex.
“That’s what kind of got me into it, and my parents got me into it at a young age. Anybody can go out there and do it, you just have to have the animals and be set up to go out there. It’s quite a big commitment, though. We were out there for a week, we left Saturday and came home Sunday the next week.”
For those familiar with the 4-H and other cattle shows at events like the Emo Fair, the Manitoba AG EX is similar, but on a larger scale. Bringing in participants from across Western Canada and beyond, as well as serving as a battleground for the opportunity to continue onto the Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, Sask., the Manitoba AG EX is the province’s largest all-breeds cattle show, and for Chartier it was an opportunity to learn even more about preparing and showing off his animals.
“When it comes to showing cattle, there’s a lot to it,” he said.
“There’s learning how to fit and clip, all that stuff. That’s really what I learned a lot. Then also how to properly feed and prepare them too. I learned a lot about that. You go and talk to some of them guys, there’s a lot you can learn just by talking to them about their feeding programs and all of that.”
While Chartier said that there were relatively few animals in the Charolais category he competed in, and he didn’t place high in his splits, he mentioned other categories could have upwards of 30 animals competing for the top spots, which in some cases included cash prizes to go along with the prestige and advancement to the Canadian Western Agribition.
But, just like the Emo Fair, there’s also plenty of other things to see when you wander the site, even if you don’t have much time to wander.
“I never really looked at too much, but there’s sheep down there,” Chartier said.
“There’s vendors that come through for a lot of different things. There was even this one guy who was selling massage chairs. It was kind of cool.”
Chartier said he was kept busy learning more about preparing his cattle for presentation, including from local cattleman Aaron Bujold, with whom Chartier went to the Manitoba AG EX and who also competed with some of his own animals. Chartier said he also got plenty of valuable help, tips and advice from his dad, along with Paul Robertson and Bert McDonald, which he said is indicative of how the agricultural community pulls together and helps each other out.
“Me and Aaron hauled the cattle down there, and then my dad came a couple days later with all the equipment,” he said.
“It was just kind of me and my dad for our animals, but the cattle community is kind of funny that way, we all help each other out. I also got to help Eden Meadows [Farms] Limo (Limousin cattle) show and fit cattle there. The Limo and Charolais shows are on different days, so I’d go over and help them and they actually came over and helped me, which was great.”
Heading to the Manitoba AG EX in 2025 was a bountiful experience for Chartier, and he said it won’t be the last time he does it, either. He also encouraged any other young locals curious about the experience, or passionate about the cattle industry, to give it a try for themselves too.
“You just got to get into it,” he said.
“You’ve got to start. I wasn’t sure if I was going to go this year. I started picking away at it, and then as the registration deadlines came up, I thought, ‘you know what? We have a shot.’ So we registered, we went down there. You just gotta get into it with both feet. Meeting people, learning things throughout the industry; if you’re going to get into the cattle industry, it’s really cool to go there.”
To learn more about the Manitoba AG EX, check out their website at provincialexhibition.com/manitoba-ag-ex/.
