A trip to Italy for the Open Junior Show has proved triumphant for the team of Holstein Young Breeders with the UK winning both the Junior Champion and Senior Champion titles. With all team members in the top ten for the overall results, the team have led the way against their competition from across Europe.
Senior competitors Ben Coates (Yorkshire) and Steven Harris (Cornwall) were joined by junior competitors Iwan Thomas (South Wales) and Vikki Murch (Devon) to represent Holstein Young Breeders (HYB) in the highly esteemed dairy show in Cremona which takes place annually. This year’s judge was Zsolt Kőrösi from Mezőhegyes, Hungary.
Calves were drawn on Wednesday 23rd October and the young breeders became acquainted with their animals ahead of the first day of competition. On the first day, competitors participated in a timed clipping competition before presenting their calves in the ring to be inspected. Iwan won the junior class with his ‘beautiful and natural clip’ whilst Vikki came sixth. In the senior class of 18 competitors, Ben took first place for his ‘well presented, natural heifer and strong topline’, whilst Steven followed closely behind in third place.
Friday saw the competitors back in the ring for the showmanship classes with Iwan once again taking the top spot in the junior class with the Judge commenting that ‘he did everything right’. Vikki also impressed the Judge and was placed fourth out of the 17 junior competitors. In the senior class, Steven was placed second for his overall performance and being quick to set-up. Ben was placed in a very well-deserved fifth place.
Alongside the clipping and showmanship, the competition also focused on stock judging where Iwan came first in the junior class and Steven came third in the seniors, both adding to their total points considerably.
The final results are as follows:
Junior Classes (17 competitors)
Iwan: First Place (first overall)
Vikki: Fourth place (ninth overall)
Senior Classes (18 competitors)
Steven: First place (second overall)
Ben: Fourth place (sixth overall)
Away from the showground, the team also took the time to visit two of the region’s dairy farms – Palazzina Holsteins and Barozzi Holsteins. This proved to be a fantastic morning and the team really enjoyed seeing how the Italian dairy industry differs to that of the UK.
Cerys Petrie, National HYB Coordinator for Holstein UK, said; “We are extremely proud of Ben, Steven, Iwan and Vikki and for all that they achieved during their time in Cremona. All of the classes were strong with some of the best young breeders from across Europe coming together to showcase their skills. The results are a strong testament to the quality of our young breeders here in the UK. Congratulations to the team and thank you ANAFI for hosting the event!”
Release and photos provided by Holstein UK