Carey Sisters Bring Impressive Resume to Farm Show

Chris Torres
Staff Writer

JERSEY SHORE, Pa. — Cramming four sisters into a small van for a two-hour drive down to the Farm Show during the wee hours of the morning can mean disaster for some.

But for the Carey sisters of Montoursville, it’s all about strengthening their sisterly bond.

Ever since they were little girls, Madison, Chandler, Delaney, and Brynlin have shared a love for showing market lambs.

Don’t kid yourself though. They’re sisters. Not all moments in the ring have been heartfelt.

“Delaney doesn’t like to lose,” said Chandler, speaking of her little sister’s ultra competitive nature in the show ring.

“When we’re in the ring, we’re gunning for each other,” Delaney fires back.

But while each talks the talk, at least to each other, they have walked the walk too.

The award case at Belpine Farm, where the girls keep their market lambs, is filled with ribbons, plaques, and newspaper clips from the successful shows the girls have under their belts.

In a week, they will each bring some of their prized lambs to the Pennsylvania Farm Show in hopes of adding to their impressive collection.

For Madison, 18, the oldest of the group, it will be her last time competing at the Farm Show.

“The showing is fun. I’ll miss it,” she said.

She is the leader of the pack, not only because she is the oldest, but because she has been showing the longest. She started showing animals at age 10.

Next up is Chandler, 16. She’s been showing animals ever since she was 8 years old and has dabbled not only with lambs, but also with market hogs, where she has enjoyed lots of success in both.

Then there is Delaney, 14.

If there is a firecracker in the group, it’s probably her. She has a biting wit and personality all of her own. But she also works hard at what she does.

“I have no friends during the summer. I’m just working with the animals,” she said.

Finally, there is Brynlin, 12, the youngest of the group.

Brynlin has been showing animals for only three years but has already made her mark at local shows and at the Farm Show.

In 2008, she won the champion lightweight banner in the crossbred show.

The girls’ mother, Cindy, leads a busy schedule as a nurse working third shift. She travels with the girls to their various competitions, spending a lot of money for them to be able to compete.

Not to mention she’s had to anchor the family through a recent divorce.

“People tell me that raising four girls like this is horrible, but it’s great,” said Cindy, who grew up on a dairy farm. “It keeps them busy and out of trouble, which is a good thing.”

When it comes to showing lambs, the girls attribute much of their success to Jim Arnold, owner of Belpine Farm in Jersey Shore, the place they keep their animals.

In 2003, Jim met the girls while they were at a livestock sale in Clinton County with his own three kids.

He was impressed with their work ethic and skill, but saw that they needed some improvement in handling the animals.

So he offered to coach the girls and even gave them the chance to use his farm to house their animals.

“I just saw they had the potential. They just excelled in the show ring,” he said.

It was a strange situation for Madison, given the fact that up to that point, the sisters had done everything on their own.

“It was so weird. It’s only ever been a family thing and I was doing pretty good. He just wanted to make me better and he did,” she said.

Jim immediately went to work with the girls and developed a close relationship with them. He helped to acquire animals for them and spent most of his time trying to make them better at handling the lambs.

“I think showing lambs, there are some unique aspects to it,” Jim said. “It’s not just putting them into the ring and holding them. You’ve got to get them to work.”

“Really in the summer, it’s a full-time job working with them,” Chandler said.

Most of the lambs the girls show come from Shroyer Show Stock in DeGraff, Ohio. Each May, the girls attend lamb camp at the DeGraff Farm, where they learn selection, bracing, shearing, showmanship, nutrition, and show preparation.

They compete as part of Team Belpine, a group of 16 kids from Lycoming and Clinton County that compete at local and state shows.

Their work with Jim and attending lamb camp has paid off.

In 2007, Chandler won the reserve champion banner in the Farm Show market lamb competition. Last year, she walked away with several first place ribbons in various weight class competitions.

This past year, she won reserve champion in the Keystone Classic Show.

This year has been a big one for Delaney. She got the grand champion banner in the I-70 Summer Classic show and won reserve champion in the Eastern National Livestock Show.

Along with these awards, she’s roared through the jackpot circuit and has won banners and ribbons at numerous county fairs throughout the state.

Madison has won a grand champion banner at the Farm Show and continues to rack up the awards in various weight classes.

Brynlin has also won numerous awards at Farm Show and at other local shows.

“I don’t think we would have liked showing as much if it wasn’t for Jim,” Madison said. “It’s kind of like a family with him and going to the shows.”

The entire team, along with Jim and Cindy, will be traveling to the Farm Show along with a total of 17 lambs. The days will be long, getting up at 5 a.m. and staying up late taking care of the animals.

The girls look up to Jim as a second dad and have made it a tradition of showing their love for him while in Harrisburg. Well, they actually play pranks on him.

One year, the girls startled Jim by calling him late at night in his hotel room, claiming to be Farm Show security, urging him to get to the complex to rescue a lamb caught in a fence. Of course, the call was a hoax and they were waiting outside his hotel room laughing it up.

They’ve ducktaped his hotel room door and have even put Kool-Aid powder in his shower head.

Lots of love indeed.

But when it comes to showing the lambs, you can be sure the girls will be ready.

“We are competitive in the ring but we show love to each other too,” Madison said. “It’s just a fun event to be at.”