North Midlands Regional Association of Shorthorn Breeders

North Midlands Region of Dairy Shorthorns - Herd Competition Report 2022 | Judge: Marshall Crank

When I was asked to judge the North Midlands Herd Competition I felt truly honoured. I accepted the invitation and asked Rebecca to assist me with the photography, clerical tasks and to accompany me on my travels. We set off on Friday 19th August with the plan that Anne had emailed to me with all the arrangements for the first weekend of judging. First stop was the Cotonhall herd, the Kite family. Rob was our guide for the morning and very accomplished at it he was. His knowledge of the shorthorn breed is truly exceptional. Rob has used a lot of his own genetics that is seen to great effect, quality is seen right through the Cotonhall cattle ranging from young to old. The highlights for me were Cotonhall Joyland Daughters, the Moonlights in the dam and daughter class and the really smart Amber Corona Bull. Rob is doing a great job exploring breeding opportunities to help keep our breed moving with the times.

Next stop was The Burbrook herd Richard Harper, in the beautiful Cheshire countryside, not big in numbers these days but some really good mature cows that were looking in fine fettle. Unfortunately, his Royal Cheshire Show Champion Drisgol Belladonna 349 wasn’t there for inspiration on this occasion and the Nejay Foggy 91 cow was dry. After a quick cup of tea we returned home for the evening. Saturday 20th August, day two. First stop was The Boothdale herd David Wainwright, another small herd but some good cattle on view starting with some Churchroyd Pharaoh daughters in the young stock. The Duchess family having the largest representation in the shorthorn milking herd with the heifer Boothdale Duchess 46 catching my eye she is one for the future. With the Boothdale Lily Fairs, Rosie Belle’s & Broom’s also in attendance. Then off into Wales to the picturesque White Stone Valley, home to the Bailey brothers The Tanat herd. Shorthorns have been chosen for their adaptability due to the terrain. Frank was our host for the afternoon with some really good, smart and more dairy looking shorthorn cows than I was expecting due to the hilly nature of the location. In the milking herd the daughters of Irthingvale Megaman stood out but the highlight for me was the heifer in milk Tanat Grey Rose 3. After a late lunch we headed home again for the evening.

Cotonhall Joyland Duchess Ann

The White Stone Valley

Sunday 21st August we set off to Gary & Anne Norbury’s Broadlane herd, starting off with a group of young heifers mostly by Broadlane Vinnies Lad. We moved onto the incalf & bulling heifer field where we also found Broadlane Barrington Premier 2 who caught my eye, from the Poppy Barrington Family, he is a very smart young bull one to keep an eye on. Onto the milking herd with some cracking cows and cow families on show, The Muriel’s Wild Eyes, Violets & Lady Barrington’s to name a few, with the dam grand dam and sisters of the young bull in attendance Poppy Barrington 10. 16. 21 & 22. Then a lovely lunch and catch up with Gary & Anne and off to the next herd.

The Royle Family’s Dunham Herd. Stuart was on hand to guide us around this large herd of good hard working milky shorthorn cows, displaying a type throughout, bred totally from the use of stock bulls no A.I. used here, the younger members being by Dunham Atlas. But the Brinsbury Barney daughters took centre stage for me with some striking individuals, in particular Dunham Pansy 87 is a really smart heifer. The trend set by Atlas and Barney continued in the young stock; the future is bright at Dunham. Then on to the final stop. Rob, Liz & Kayle Boote, the Kayl herd is in the small herd section but is full of quality cows. Featuring the Lily Fairs, Proud Countess & Rosie Bell families to name a few with great representatives from all of those families. My picks would be Lily Fair 18 & 19. This ended the first three days of Judging we headed home looking forward to next Friday when we were to start again. Friday 26th we set off to The Brookside herd of Edward & Matthew Kirk in the small herd section. There were some quality cows on view and the young stock featured some really striking individuals by Bushmills Jazz the one that partially stood out for me was Brookside Jazz Darlington. We then headed north to the next herd. The Amber herd of James & Julie Hole. Our guides for the afternoon were Mick and his wingman Josh, after a superb lunch we set about inspecting this well established large herd that I admired from the start with great cows & heifers in every direction you looked. The highlights for me were Amber Lady Annetta 88. Amber Millicent 37, and the heifer Princess Anne 143 my ideal shorthorn cows. They are absolute beauties. Millicent was in the dry cow field at the time of inspection. Also there were two older cows that had produced almost 100 tonne of milk looking on great form, which is always good to see. Then we headed home to recharge for the final day.

Large herd 1st Amber J Hole 2nd Cotonhall R Kite 3rd Rantonall D Winnington Small herd 1st Kayl R Boote 2nd Tanat F Bailey 3rd Brookside E & M Kirk Young Stock Large Herd 1st Dunham S Royle 2nd Cotonhall R Kite 3rd Broadlane G Norbury Young Stock Small Herd 1st Brookside E & M Kirk 2nd Kayl R Boote 3rd Rockstar T Poole-Bailey Bull on Inspection (7 entries) 1st Amber Corona R Kite 2nd Broadlane Barrington Premier 2 G Norbury 3rd Amber Poseidon J Hole 4th Brinsbury Barney S Royle Bull Progeny (9 entries) 1st Cotonhall Joyland R Kite 2nd Rantonall Stephen D Winnington 3rd Amber Lightening J Hole 4th Kayl National Park R Boote

Dunham Pansy 87

Tanat Grey Rose 3

Dam & Daughter (13 entries) 1st Cotonhall Maurice Moonlight & Cotonhall Tuck Moonlight R Kite

2nd Kayl Lily Fair 18 & 19 3rd Amber Millicent 34 & 37 4th Cotonhall Butternut Sapphire & Cotonhall Pimp Sapphire R Kite

Milk Heifer (14 entries) 1st Amber Princess Anne 143 2nd Tanat Grey Rose 3

F Bailey 3rd Dunham Pansy 87 S Royle 4th Cotonhall Dynamic Empress R Kite Milk Cow (17 entries) 1st Rantonall Songstress 50 2nd Amber Lady Annetta 88 3rd Cotonhall Joyland Duchess Ann R Kite 4th Kayl Lily Fair 19 R Boote 60,000 KG (8 entries) 1st Cotonhall Pingerley Sonnschein R Kite 2nd Amber Millicent 34 J Hole 3rd Amber Dainty Princess 155 J Hole 4th Broadlane Poppy Barrington 10 G Norbury shorthorn 59

Saturday 27th Rantonall herd with David & Debbie Winnington in the large herd section. Here the cattle are more of a traditional type displaying longevity, tremendous legs and feet and are very much all of a type they are doing a great job for David. The highlights for me were The Rantonall Stephen daughters and Rantonall Kirklevington 37 then there was the queen of the herd, Rantonall Songstress 50 all shining examples of the breed and all this achieved without the use of outside genetics. Proving the fact that blending isn’t always necessary providing you’re using the right bulls of which David is clearly a master. We enjoyed a lovely lunch and headed off to see some useful young stock for the future. Next we had a new herd in the making, The Rockstar herd of The Poole Davies family. On entry to the farm the cows were grazing in the field, the shorthorns had been separated from the rest of the herd so they could be viewed to their best advantage. Being in the small herd section and newly established, the bought in cows making up the herd are of good quality throughout. There was also a promising group of young stock, most had been bought in, however some Rockstar youngsters had started to appear. Thuma showed great enthusiasm in the breeding of their cattle, the family’s dedication to the breed shows the herd will have a promising future. That concluded the judging so we headed home to finalise the results.

I have to say it’s been an absolute pressure and privilege and I have thoroughly enjoyed judging the cattle in this region. I have found it challenging at times with the high standard and the broad range of types from extreme to traditional that makes this Dairy Shorthorn breed unique. There is something for everyone. And I can and did appreciate them all! The placings were extremely close from top to bottom in most of the classes. So congratulations must go to all the breeders on such a high standard of cattle throughout this region. You are all winners and you should all be very proud of the standard you have achieved! Finally, the welcome & hospitality we received has been excellent so thank you to each and everyone of you, now last but not least a special thank you to Anne Norbury for arranging this herd competition as always top class again. Marshall Crank

Rantonall Kirklevington 37