Towards the conclusion of YBS 2025, the top three performers took to the podium, surrounded by dignitaries. The first, second and third place finishers are (in blue golf shirts, from left) Audrey Labbé, Overall Reserve Champion, (Canada, Quebec) Ariane Lebel, Overall, Champion (Canada, Quebec), and Maria Otero Naval, third place (Spain.) Guillaume May. Courtesy Photo

BATTICE, BELGIUM – Canada’s dairy youth finished on top at this year’s Young Breeders School (YBS), the international training-and-competition program that draws teams from around the world to Belgium each late summer. On the final day, Quebec’s Ariane Lebel won the overall title with Audrey Labbé of Quebec taking second. Ontario’s Nadia Uhr cracked the top 10 in ninth, and Labbé added the Showmanship Reserve Champion award, marking one of Canada’s strongest performances on the YBS stage. 

The Young Breeders School is a week-long, hands-on education program for dairy youth focused on the Holstein breed. Created in 1999 by Belgium’s Association Wallonne des Éleveurs (AWE), the school’s purpose is to teach young breeders, generally ages 13 to 25, how to better know their animals, optimize selection, and prepare heifers for the show ring. YBS has grown from a regional initiative involving Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Germany into a recognized international reference point for training in clipping, fitting, showmanship and judging, with instruction offered in French, German, English and Dutch. 

YBS follows a clear format: three days of training followed by two days of competition. Participants rotate through practical modules – washing and bedding, feeding, clipping, judging, showmanship, and classroom sessions on topics such as marketing and professional photography, before testing those skills in the ring. The week emphasizes teamwork: youth are grouped in small squads and evaluated on their individual contributions throughout the preparation process. Many visiting participants are matched with local heifers provided by Walloon breeders, while local youth can bring their own animals.

The school is hosted each year in Battice, Belgium, typically at the end of August or early September, in conjunction with the Battice Agricultural Fair. The 2025 edition ran Sept. 3 to 7. 

In Canada, Holstein Canada coordinates national involvement and assembles a team of six youth delegates. Generally, delegates emerge from provincial programs and youth competitions, with Ontario’s pathway, for example, drawing from EastGen provincial show champions and finalists in senior showmanship and inter-county judging. Candidates must meet age requirements and apply through their branch; selection can include interviews. Nationally, Holstein Canada describes YBS as a “showing and learning” opportunity that blends competition with skill development and international networking. 

Organizers reported the 23rd edition of YBS featured five days on site with training and competition, drawing well over 100 competitors and teams from multiple countries; the official event hub lists 2025 dates and program details, with results posted by the organizers. 

2025 was a banner year for Canadians. Consider these results:

  • Overall Champion: Ariane Lebel (Québec)
  • Overall Reserve: Audrey Labbé (Québec)
  • Overall 9th: Nadia Uhr (Ontario, North Stormont)
  • Showmanship Reserve Champion: Audrey Labbé (Québec)
  • Most Deserving Youth Leader Award: Nicole Verhoef (Alberta)

This year’s result builds on a pattern of strong Canadian showings – Canada produced the overall winner in 2024 as well (Kyle Vaandrager), with several Canadians in the Top 20 that year. 

For Canadian participants, YBS compresses a season’s worth of learning into a single week: ringcraft, cattle presentation, teamwork, and judging fundamentals under European judges and tutors. Alumni routinely go on to larger national and international shows. For the broader industry, the program is a pipeline: today’s competitors are tomorrow’s herd managers, fitters, classifiers and breeders.

In practice, Canada has built a strong pathway to success.

  • National umbrella: Holstein Canada coordinates Team Canada, promotes the opportunity and showcases past delegates. 
  • Provincial routes: Provinces such as Ontario set explicit qualification criteria (e.g., EastGen championship results, top placings at the TD Canadian 4-H Dairy Classic, and inter-county judging honours), followed by an application window.
  • Age & readiness: Applicants typically must be 18 or older by summer of the event year to travel and compete internationally. (Age windows and criteria are set by branches and the event.)
  • Beyond the medals, YBS is known for its cultural exchange. Many participants stay with host farm families near Battice, bringing day-to-day farm life into the experience and forging connections that often resurface later in the barn or show ring.