Page 132 - Demo

All Breeds All Britain Calf Show
6th- 8th October 2023
JUDGE: OWAIN HARRIES
On reflection I think the difference
said a lot about where the breed has
gone in that time, something that
was pretty evident down the bottom
of the lines, with good quality calves
right the way through. Credit must
go to the breeders and exhibitors
that had turned their stock out in
exceptional form and made it a great
show to be a part of.
In the baby calf class, there was no
question on where my first placing
was going. I loved this calf from
first glance, a great combination of
balance, style and functionality. This
calf flowed from nose to tail, being
stronger than my second placed
calf whilst retaining dairy quality.
However, it was the correctness in
the rump that gave her the main
advantage, this correctness made
her excel in leg set, especially on
parade. My second placed calf in
this class was an extreme dairy red
calf, I gave her the advantage over
my third placing for having more
width to the chest floor and being
more open and angular throughout.
Third I went with a slightly smaller
calf, but I rewarded her balance over
the taller, longer calf in fourth. I also
Shorthorn
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Churchroyd Tulip 2
gave her advantage for being stronger
in the chine and also for tracking
straighter on parade. Fourth was the
big heifer where I appreciated her
cleaner bone and more ideal leg set.
Fifth was a heifer that had a lovely front
end, being cleaner over the shoulder
and pins than my sixth calf. Sixth over
seventh, as expected these calves were
slightly younger in the class, needing
more time to develop., In the end I
went with the stronger of the 2 calves,
giving her the advantage over the
youngest calf of the class for being a
little more correct throughout.
Second class of the day was the
Junior calf, and it was the oldest
calf of the class that stood out for
me. A very balanced calf, with more
depth of fore rib than my second
calf. A calf that stood out from both
the front and side angle, combining
strength with dairyness, and plenty
of stretch. Second a very stylish calf,
that walked extremely well, she
was also better grown for her age,
and longer making her a very eye
catching heifer. Third was a smaller
calf, but again well balanced. I gave
her clear advantage in this class
for her openness of rib, strength of
chine, rump setting and quality of
locomotion. Four and five were a
close placing, one that I swapped last
minute given how close they were. I
rewarded the strength of the 4th calf
in the end over the extremely clean
boned calf that followed. It was the
Cotonhall Chrome Wild Daisy
It was a massive honour to be asked to officiate at the National Calf Show for a second time,
and having been presented with an excellent selection of calves in 2012, I did wonder how
2023 would compare.