National Hereford Club virtual show

Pulham and HighHouse top online horned show

Achieving 200 entries forward for the second year running, the National Hereford Virtual Show allowed Hereford cattle registered in the horned section of the herd book to be showcased.

The task of judging fell to Aled and Jen Jones of Dendor Herefords, Wales; Anselm Fitzgerald of Grianan Herefords, Republic of Ireland and Erica Haliday of Ben Nevis Angus, Australia, who were all separately asked to place every animal in each class and to make their final selections from the winners to decide the male and female championships, which were also contributed to by a public vote. Taking the male championship and receiving a £150 feed voucher kindly offered by NHC Virtual Show sponsor Manor Farm Feeds was Drumatee Rocket from JR Whitlow and family of HighHouse Herefords, Worcester. Spotted as a calf by the Whitlows as a potential future herd sire, Rocket was purchased at the NIHBA premier show and sale at Dungannon back in February 2020 from breeder John Conlon, County Armagh. Sired by two-time winner of the best stock bull award in the NIHBA herd competition, Cill Cormaic Nevada, and out of Drumatee Blossom 813, it was consistently popular with both with the public and judges. Erica Haliday praised Drumatee Rocket for having ‘natural thickness through the lower part of his hindquarters and being muscled closely to the hock.’ The overall female champion came from the largest class of the competition with 29 entries forward, for cows born between September 2015 and August 2018. It was Clipston Pansy B3, owned by Drumatee Rocket from JR Whitlow and family

PRJ and LR Vincent, Norfolk, and bred by R and R Westaway, Market Harborough, which triumphed with its January 2021born calf Pulham Pansy 28th at-foot.

As her choice for female champion, judge Erica Haliday praised the animal.

She said: “She is a stunning female who best combines structural correctness and natural thickness with an extra special quality element; mostly this is in her beautiful fine skin which indicates softness, doing ability and carcase quality.”

Clipston Pansy B3 is sired by the renowned Irish bull Moyclare Malcolm bred by M Molloy, Offaly and is out of Clipston Pansy K15. As winners of the female championship, the Vincent family received a Moocall calving sensor kindly

sponsored by Moocall.

Following a remarkably successful showing of entries from the Dieulacresse herd, yielding top-five placings for eight of their animals across seven classes, the competition finished with both the reserve male and reserve female championships awarded to home-bred animals from Messrs Spooner, Leek. In the male ranking it was Dieulacresse Tic Tac, winner of the January 2020 to August 2020 bull class, which took the reserve male champion title.

Erica Haliday described it as a ‘standout bull for quality with a flawless combination of natural thickness and correctness, as well as having balance and sire appeal’.

Clipston Pansy B3 from PRJ and LR Vincent

breeding including grand-sire Mara Humorous bred by RN and MA Borwick, a prolific producer of show winners, and itself a winner of the HCBA best stock bull and progeny award in 2016. Winning the reserve female championship was Dieulacresse Dowager 41st also from Messrs Spooner; winner of the most senior female class of the show for cows born in August 2015 or before. Born in October 2014 and with January 2021-born heifer calf Dieulacresse Dowager 56th at-foot, this cow is by the prolific Australian AI sire Mawarra After Shock, of which the EU semen rights are jointly owned by the Dieulacresse and Haven herds.

This cow was described by judges Aled and Jen Jones as a ‘good smooth cow with very little waste on her and an excellent udder’.

Among the further class winners, it was also a well-rewarded effort for D Thurman of the Brambles herd, Isle of Wight, who not only scooped the first and second prizes in the September 2018 to August 2019 female class with Brambles Luna and Brambles Ophelia respectively, but also achieved topfive placings in the eldest two female classes and the January 2020 bull class, all with home-bred stock. Class winner Brambles Luna is sired by Haven Neptune by EL Lewis and son. Also experiencing double success in one class were J and L Lewis of Boycefield Herefords, Dilwyn, Herefordshire, placing first and second in the hotly contested section for heifers born September 2019 to December 2019. Pipping its stable mate to the post was Boycefield Curly 27th, sired by Lisrace Lumberjack 18th and out of home-bred Boycefield Curly 7th.

W and R Kemp and sons, Bishop Auckland rose to the top of the January 2020 to March 2020 heifer class with Auckvale Lively 1971T. A heifer with a show-winning pedigree, it is out of Auckvale Lively 1058H, senior female champion at the 2018 National Hereford Show at Tenbury Wells, and sired by Auckvale Kalgoorlie 1322K, reserve senior male champion in 2019 at the same event.

Having been placed first in its class as a calf in last year’s competition, it was Hayestone Wyandot T135 bred and owned by AG Cork, Wolverhampton, which took the top spot this time in the April 2020 to August 2020 heifer class. Sired by Miss H Cork’s Hayes Phoenix, bred from the widely successful Badlingham Blossom family, and out of Dovemount Wyandot K1. Pulham Blossom 29th from PRJ and LR Vincent took first place in another well-supported class, this time for heifers born between September 2020 and December 2020. A daughter of the previous year’s reserve male champion of the NHC Virtual Show, Shiloh-Farm Elite bred by H and S Murray, Westmeath, its dam Pulham Blossom 23rd, also descended from the Badlingham Blossom family. The winner of the youngest female class of the competition was Broughan Jubilee, bred and owned by S Curry, Armagh, Northern Ireland. Born in March 2021 and just five months old at the time of judging, this promising young calf, along with herd mate Broughan Juniper which placed second in this class, is by Gurteragh Aristocrat 758, bred by M O’Keefe, Cork.

Back to the male standings, and it was perhaps no surprise that Haven Rover, owned by DJ Makin, Hereford caught

Dieulacresse Dowager 41st from Messrs Spooner

the eye of the judges in its bulls born in December 2017 or before class. A son of Haven Lamborghini, male champion in the 2020 Virtual Show and twice senior male champion at the National Hereford Show in 2017 and 2019.

Another herd which is never far from the top of the line-up is that of RA Bradstock and partners, Free Town, Tarrington who dominated the September 2019

Results

(Judge: A and J Jones, Caersws; Anselm Fitzgerald, EIRE; Erica Haliday, Australia)

Cow, in-calf or with calf at-foot, born

on or before 31 Aug 2015, 1st, Messrs Spooner, Dieulacresse Dowager 41st; 2nd, J R Whitlow, Haven Dowager 170th; 3rd, B Vincent, Pulham Princess Pansy 4th

Cow, in-calf or with calf at-foot, born on or between 1 Sept 2015 And 31 Aug

2018, 1st, PRJ and LR Vincent, Clipston Pansy B3; 2nd, Free Town Gigi, RA Bradstock and partners; 3rd, PRJ and LR Vincent, Pulham Blossom 23rd

Heifer, in-calf or with calf at-foot, born on or between 1 Sept 2018 and

31 Aug 2019; 1st, D Thurman, Brambles Luna; 2nd, D Thurman, Brambles Ophelia; 3rd, G and T Morton, Trillick Charm

Heifer, born on or between 1 Sept 2019

and 31 Dec 2019, 1st, J Lewis, Boycefield Curly 27th; 2nd, J Lewis, Boycefield Louisa 38th; 3rd, PRJ and LR Vincent Pulham Pansy 22nd

Heifer, born on or between 1 Jan 2020

and 31 Mar 2020, 1st, Auckvale Lively to December 2019 bull class with Free Town Truman in first place, Free Town Talent in second place, and having bred the fifth-placed Free Town Tiger, exhibited by owners Robert and Nicola Birchall of the Deanery herd, Stafford.

It was Pulham Vanguard, owned and bred by PRJ and LR Vincent, Norfolk and sired by former National Hereford Show junior male champion Pulham Powerhouse,

1971T, W and R Kemp and sons; 2nd, PRJ and LR Vincent, Pulham Hazel 17th; 3rd, RA Bradstock and partners, Free Town Deft

Heifer, born on or between 1 Apr

2020 and 31 Aug 2020; 1st, G Cork, Hayestone Wyandot; 2nd, B Vincent, Beckhall Princess Katie; 3rd, AG, LE and AA Gifford, Twilight Ceres 688

Heifer, born on or between 1 Sept

2020 And 31 Dec 2020, 1st, PRJ and LR Vincent, Pulham Blossom 29th; 2nd, PRJ and LR Vincent, Pulham Diadem 6th; 3rd, EL Lewis and son, Haven Thrush 74th

Heifer, born on or between 1 January

2021 and 30 April 2021, 1st, S Curry, Broughan Jubilee; 2nd, S Curry, Broughan Juniper; 3rd, Messrs Spooner, Dieulacresse Dowager 56th

Bull, born on or before 31 December

2017, 1st, DJ Makin, Haven Rover; 2nd, G and T Morton, Pulham Providence; 3rd, Oxton Farm, Auckvale Panache 1639P

Bull, born on or between 1 January

2018 and 31 August 2019, 1st, JR Whitlow, Drumatee Rocket; 2nd, DJ which stood first in the September 2020 to December 2020 bull calf class.

Standing second was Pulham Va Va Voom, also exhibited by breeders PRJ and LR Vincent, fighting off close competition in the form of two Haven calves from EL Lewis and son, Haven Virtual and Haven Voltage.

The final class of the show was for the youngest of the male section, won by DC Smith and son, Talog with Marchborn Laxfield Silverado. Sired by Laxfield Wilberforce and out of Laxfield Silver 11th. DC Smith and son also took the second placing in this class with Laxfield Condor.

The National Hereford Club would again like to thank sponsors Moocall and Manor Farm Feeds for their continued support, and also the many exhibitors who took time to contribute to the competition, presenting such an outstanding selection of cattle for the judges to contemplate in every class. Special thanks also go to the international panel of judges for the event: Aled and Jen Jones of Dendor Herefords; Anselm Fitzgerald of Grianan Herefords and Erica Haliday of Ben Nevis Angus.

Makin, Border Salerno S19; 3rd, D Thurman, Haven Sherlock

Bull, born on or between 1 September

2019 and 31 December 2019, 1st, RA Bradstock and partners, Free Town Truman; 2nd, RA Bradstock and partners, Free Town Talent; 3rd, S Cowle, Highhedges Trehangr

Bull, born on or between 1 January

2020 and 31 August 2020; 1st, Messrs Spooner Dieulacresse Tic Tac; 2nd, EL Lewis and son, Haven Theo; 3rd, S Curry, Broughan Ice

Bull calf, born on or between 1 September 2020 and 31 December

2020, 1st, Pulham Vanguard, PRJ and LR Vincent; 2nd, PRJ and LR Vincent, Pulham Va Va Voom; 3rd, EL Lewis and son, Haven Virtual,

Bull calf, born on or between 1 January 2021 and 30 April 2021,

1st, DC Smith and sons, Laxfield Silverado; 2nd, D C Smith and sons, Laxfield Condor; 3rd, Messrs Spooner Dieulacresse Vernon