A view of a
once in a lifetime
animal is only
one of the
attractions as
Eric Robinson
opens his farm
for fundraising tours

Thursday, August 17, 2006, pg. A1
www.owensoundsuntimes.com
by Maria Canton     Sun Times Correspondent

Samson an Extraordinary Sight

It seems like an odd combination, but elk farm owner Eric Robinson is betting the public will make sense of it all on Saturday.

What started as a quest to raise money for a new set of playground equipment for Wiarton's new school, has turned into an opportunity for the public to see Samson, a bull elk with one of the largest antler racks in North America. Officially measuring more than one-and-half-metres from outside antler tip to outside antler tip, five-year-old Samson is a trophy bull if ever there was one.

"He is an exceptional animal. You will probably never see another elk like this one in your lifetime," said Robinson, who with his wife Dale owns Regal Point Elk Farm in Oxenden, about five kilometres west of Wiarton.

"He was born on the farm and just has fantastic genetics."

Certainly the way he throws his head, swinging along with it an oversized set of bone-coloured hard antler, a few strands of brown velvet still hanging on, is a sight to behold.

According to Safari Club International measuring standards, a recognized rating system used when ranking elk, Samson's antlers measured in at almost 1,300 centimetres after taking into account the beam length, inside spread, circumference and the length of every tine.

Tagged #11, Samson will be taking visitors on Saturday when Robinson opens his farm for tours in what is to be the final fundraising effort in the drive to purchase and install the playground equipment before school starts in September.

Like Samson's rack, Robinson's ability to raise a lot of money in a short period of time is phenomenal. With a young granddaughter who will one day attend the Wiarton school, Robinson was concerned about the lack of playground equipment at the school.

Namely, there wasn't any.

As a member of the local Rotary Club, the 52-year-old approached his membership last month and together they started putting together a plan.

It's only been three weeks, but they have already raised more than $25,000. Their goal is $30,000.

"It was really just a matter of making it happen," he said. "We just understand what it takes to do it."

With two $5,000 donations from the Town of South Bruce Peninsula and the Rotary Club, as well as $2,000 from the Wiarton's Lion's Club and several other donations from $1,300 right down to $100, the group was quickly dealing with enough money to make the purchase happen.

The admission for Saturday's elk farm tour is a simple donation, but in exchange visitors will get a short presentation on elk and elk farming, an opportunity to taste elk meat, hear live music and take a wagon ridge out to the fields where the elk live.

"We felt like this would be a fun family and community activity and a chance for people to do something that's a little unusual," said Robinson.

"Elk are very majestic animals and at this time of the year they are at their finest."

And considering the animals don't roam this area, it may be the only time some people will get to see a herd of 125 elk.