Page 103 - Demo

Shorthorn 103
she had a beautiful dairy frame, sharp over the shoulder
and an open, sweeping rib. It was the added strength and
levelness through the rump that gave her the advantage
over a great uddered cow in third.
Intermediate cow class came next, and I led with a
quality cow that stood out from the start. Again, she
was settled into her lactation a little longer, and is a cow
I predict will keep getting better with age. She had a
beautiful dairy frame, was hard topped and was a little
cleaner throughout than my second cow. In the udder,
she displayed more texture on the day, with a little more
veination, and also had the best locomotion of the class.
Second was a super fresh cow, very balanced through
the front end and a strong top line. A little too fresh in
the udder on the day to compete, but a cow that is put
together right for the future. It was the quality in the
S H O R T H O R N
Dairy
Champion – Cotonhall Jackpot Starlet
Reserve – Burbrook Lily Pamera
Honourable Mention – Kayl Proud Countess
udder, especially the length and quality of teat that
separated her from my third placed cow. Third over
fourth, just giving advantage to the cleaner boned cow,
with more dairyness through the front end over a strong
cow in fourth.
With 6 forward in the Senior cow class, it showed the
longevity within the breed. The first 4 cows averaged
just shy of 7 calvings each, and still looked youthful.
I led with one of these 7th calved cows, a cow with a
beautiful dairy frame, plenty of width throughout, and
a deep sweeping rib. Her udder was very well attached,
still comfortably above the hock, and full of milk. It was
the added height and width of rear udder, together
with a silkier texture through the rear udder that gave
her the advantage over a very similar light roan cow
in second. The cows in third and fourth were problem
cows in this class, as individuals they were both within
the top percentage of the breed, and no doubt could
win this class. However, I felt the immaturity of my
two winning 7th calvers, especially in the udder, gave
them advantage over a different type of cow that I had
in third. My third placed cow was a very strong type of
cow with a very deep body. She was very capacious
in the udder and certainly looked like she would be
one of the highest milk production cows in the class
on the day. Fourth is a cow that again is too good to
go without mention. A traditional cow, she again had
7 calves and looked tremendous. Slightly shorter than
my winning cows, she made up for it by being extremely
deep bodied and had exceptional legs and feet. Her
udder was also very well attached. She was followed
by another 2 more traditional cows, however it was her
extra cleanliness through the shoulder, her dairyness
throughout and her quality udder that gave her the
advantage. In fifth was a very balanced cow that got the
advantage on the day for being higher in the rear udder
attachment and a little more youthful than the more
senior cow in sixth.
The production inspection class was easily won by
my 4th place senior cow. A credit to the breed and her
breeders, no matter what your preference within the
breed, she is a cow that is admired by all sides.
Coming to my Championship line up, I was happy that
the type of animal I had strived to give preference to
follow a similar type all the way down the line. Quality
udders on cows that walked well on parade were my
choices and this line up of cows drew strong admiration
from the spectating crowd. I had hoped my winning
intermediate cow would continue to get better as the
day went on, and she didn’t disappoint by the time
the final class came. She had filled her rear udder and
was a real picture. It was her extreme dairy texture that
gave her the final advantage to clinch my Champion of
the day. In Reserve I followed with my 7th calf senior
cow, again getting the nod for her youthfulness. My
Honourable mention was the winning Junior cow. A cow
with a bright future that matched my two winning cows.
Congratulations to all the exhibitors for turning out a
fantastic line up of cattle.