We are home!! WOW, what a congress!! I hope that everyone who continued on to the post tour is having a great time in the mountains. Many thanks to all the organizers for a wonderful 2 weeks. We had a blast, got to know some really great people and made memories we won't soon forget. Here are a few pictures of some of the great people we met over the Congress.

Patrik and Annette

Bruce and Mona

The closing congress dinner was this evening. While over 80 delegates will be continuing on the post tour, many will be heading for home (including us). After the meal, we had a chance to catch up with many of our new friends and say goodbye. You will all be missed here in Canada, and safe journey's home!

The ceremonial transfer of the world congress banner to the planning committee from the UK. Can't wait to see everyone there in 2008..

The last official day of the congress started off with a breakfast at the hotel between 9:00 and 11:00. Everyone actually got to sleep in today. We all boarded the bus for the stampede grounds to see the rodeo finals!! What a show!!! They say that it is the "greatest outdoor show on earth" and we now believe them!!

Calf Roping, wow these guys are fast!

Today is Sale day. After a breakfast at Heritage Park, everyone made their way down to the Stampede grounds. The sale was held in the Victorian Pavillion. Our embryos sold well, with Lot A going to Bar 5 Simmentals, and Lot B going to Buzzard Hollow Ranches. Thanks to both for your purchases. We were also happy to purchase Lot 10, a bred heifer and Lot 14, a heifer calf. After the sale there was much socializing in the Remington tent, followed by a fun evening of Chuckwagon races and the Grandstand show.

(L to R) Lisa, Margo and John Cartwright, Miles Immerkar, Jean Marc Leblanc and Brian from Bar 5 get ready to watch the World Simmental Congress auction.

WHAT A DAY!!! It was a great day, but are we tired!! We arrived at 7:30 to the stampede grounds to make sure everything was ready for the delegates, and it was. The show started at 9am with a welcome from the Simmental dignitaries, a Stampede representative and the horseriders (see below). The show went great with everything going off without a hitch. Our farm sponsored the Grand Champion Bull, awarded to Wheatland Simmental Stock Farms. We presented our prize in the show ring. Watch for a picture on our local happenings page in the near future. After the show, everyone visited in the Remington tent, walking among the many dislays (including ours) with a cold drink. We capped off the evening with the Internation Awards and Social evening at the Victorian Pavillion. Everyone had a good time.

Dignitaries, show judges and ring officials are introduced to the audience.

After a brief (30 minutes) stop at Bragg Creek, it was on to JB Livestock Farm. JB and Wells' Crossing hosted over 200 visitors at a great location overlooking Calgary in the distance. They had live music, horse draw wagon rides, a Mountie for pictures, and even Elk and Buffalo hot dogs. Delegates got a chance to see a selection of cattle from JB Livestock Farm and Wells' Crossing. Many thanks to the Bruketa and Cichon families for an afternoon that everyone will remember. We could have stayed and visited for hours.

Delegates enjoyed seeing the cattle.

Lisa and I went down to the Stampede grounds this morning to set up the signs for Ms Sinful's display in the Remington tent. Her embryo lots will go on the auction block on Saturday.

Ms Sinful's pen is all ready for her. She was next up for the wash rack, but we had to leave to catch up with the group tour to Bragg Creek.

Tonight was the official kick off to Congress 2006. Organizers did a fabulous job of welcoming the delegates with a taste of Canadian cuisine, music and hospitality. We look forward to the rest of the week here in Calgary.

Over 300 delegates enjoyed some food and drink prior to the opening ceremonies.

Since there was no formal events planned for today, Lisa and I decided to show our new friends from Namibia the Canadian Rocky Mountains. We rented a car and made the short drive to Banff. Both Sidney and Michael really enjoyed the scenery and the history of Banff National Park.

We took the gondola up to the top of Sulpher Mountain. Even though it was a bit cloudy, you could still see a great distance.

Welcome to Calgary!!! After unpacking all of our bags, we were off to dinner with some of our new friends from the pre-tour. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at The Belvedere in downtown Calgary. It was a wonderful dinner, but also sad since our 2 friends from Sweden must return home tomorrow. Not to worry though, since email will keep us in touch. And they may even come back to Canada again, since they enjoyed Canada and the people so much.

Our dinner companions: (L to R) Patrik Blomqvist, Cam Emerson, Lisa Schuller, Annette Blomqvist, Carol Emerson, Andrew Schuller

Today started off with a tour of Regina, Saskatchewan. We visited the provincial parliment buildings and the local museum. We then went to the RCMP historical museum before heading to the airport for our flight to Calgary. We arrived at the Westin hotel and were all very happy to be settled in one place. Calgary is definitely in the "cowboy" spirit!!

The flowers are in bloom in front of the provincial parliment buildings in Regina.

Richard Dimler and family welcomed the tour guests to Double Bar D in Grenfell, Saskatchewan. They run 10,000 acres of farm land and showcased their full flechvieh cattle and bulls. After spending time in the field, we enjoyed another great meal and entertainment provided by 2 local musicians.

Richard Dimler, far left, talks about his breeding program and his family's involvement.

Welcome to Saskatchewan!!! We left Elkhorn Resort for Moosomin in Saskatchewan. Many thanks to Rick MacIntosh for being our "on bus" tour guide. We arrived at Spring Creek Simmentals and were greeted by Brian McCarthy and his family. After a great steak lunch and yummy desserts, we toured his paddocks and enjoyed our time at Spring Creek. This family does not work off the farm and depends wholely upon the cattle for income.

Brian McCarthy, far left, talks about his breeding program and the family farm history.

We travelled to Neepawa to see the Manitoba Youth Canadian Simmental show. Many animals were shown, in many different classes as well as a jackpot show to finish off the evening. We ate (again) a wonderful dinner with great hospitality. The evening will draw to a close with a visit to the hospitality chalet, hosted by the Manitoba Simmental club.

One of the cow/calf pairs that was shown today.

Archie Londry welcomed all the delegates to the Air Training Museum in Brandon, Manitoba. WWII pilots from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and GB among others, were trained to fly here (many by Archie himself). The museum works actively to restore planes and other vehicles used at their base. What a wonderful display of Canadian and world history for the delegates. Many thanks to Archie for his time and stories about his past adventures.

Archie Londry (on the far left) speaks of the importance of the Brandon training centre.

Welcome to Manitoba!!! We arrived at Nyholf Dairy Farm for a tour of the operations. They are introducing Fleckvieh genetics into their jersey and holstein milking operation. It was a interesting tour, as we arrived during the milking process. Everyone enjoyed the display and the hospitality of the Nyholf family. From there we travelled on the Elkhorn Resort and enjoyed the vast scenery of the prairies.

We were welcomed at the Nyholf farm.

David explains and shows his operation.

We arrived at Vaughn Gibbons farm in the Niagara region. We were able to tour his herd and operation and then were treated to a wonderful musical drum display by aboriginal Canadians. A great lunch was served and everyone enjoyed themselves. We left for Niagara Falls and experienced the "Maid of the Mist"!! The day was capped off by a fireworks display over the illuninated falls.

Vaughn Gibbons (blue shirt) welcomed everyone to his farm. The great weather made for a wonderful visit at a great location.

We left for Niagara Falls and experienced the "Maid of the Mist"!! The day was capped off by a fireworks display over the illuninated falls.

The Maid of the Mist approaches the bottom of Horseshoe Falls.

Dinner and the races at Mohawk Raceway. Although we had a fun time betting, the horses we pick weren't the winning ones.

Andrew with Sidney and Michael from Namibia had a great time picking the horses for Lisa to bet on.

We arrived bright and early at Bar 5 Stock Farms in Markdale, Ontario. The weather was beautiful and the set up was great. We were greeted by the Nolan family and their wonderful hospitality. Delegates were toured through Bar 5's operations as well as fellow Ontario simmental breeder displays. A tasty simmental steak lunch was served (cooked by Ron Woodisse) followed by a small parade of animals through the show ring. Many thanks to the Nolan family for a wonderful day, as a great time was had by all. What a great way to kick off Congress 2006.

Lisa and I in front of our PHS promo table. Many thanks to Bar 5 for the opportunity to display our selection of animals.

Congress delegates enjoyed a great evening at the Sheraton Hotel. The food was great, especially the cheese cake!!

Everyone had a nice evening.

Congress guests were welcomed to Canada by Bruce and Alana during the opening night reception. They both mentioned what a priviledge and honour it is to welcome all visitors to Congress and how excited they were to showcase the Canadian Simmental breed. A special thank you goes to the Ontario Simmbells, and all sponsors, for organizing a fun evening.

Bruce Holmquist, president of the Canadian Simmental Association (CSA) welcoming all Congress participants to Canada.

Alana Lunn, CSA Marketing/PR specialist, explained the exciting agenda for the next few days.

And the Congress Pre-tour begins!! We've made it to the Toronto airport and checked into the Sheraton Hotel at Terminal 3.

Here is the view from our room.

Our display animals have arrived at Bar 5 in Markdale. They seem happy to be there and travelled well.

AP 15K and the rest of the animals are checking out their new surroundings at Bar 5.

We've picked some of our animals to be on display at Bar 5 on July 6th. Here are a couple of the lucky ones.

AP 7M and her heifer calf AP 1S, sired by Pfalzer, are both polled.

RJMC 112P and her Expert polled bull calf AP 6S make a nice looking pair.

One of our newest calves, AP 14S, might make the trip. She is only 7 weeks old but shows great promise.

HVB 5J is one of our tried and true mothers. She gives a great calf every year, with this one being sired by Pfalzer!!