The ABAB Calf Show was held over the weekend of October 15th/16th, at the Three Counties Showground near Malvern. Eleven Exhibitors had 26 calves forward for Judge Colin Gleed to Inspect.
In the Handling Classes, the champion Guernsey Handler was Emma Greenslade who was competing in her last ABAB. Reserve Champion was Megan Stratton who has struck up a wonderful partnership with Pollard and Coryn’s stunning calf, Annabelle. Hon Mention went to Heather Limond who has had a similar bond with Norman and Sales’ striking calf, Fiona.
Look for more details of the Handling classes on the Future Golden Breeders page in due coarse.
Judging the Calf classes was our President, Colin Gleed, who was faced with extremely quality line ups throughout all age groups. Colin found his Champion in Lucky Cow Princess Annabelle from Dawn and Pam Coryn and John Pollard. She was repeating her success from the S.W. Dairy Show where she was Supreme Champion calf over all breeds. Reserve Champion went to Matt Blanch and Georgina Sweet with Highway Legacy Ripple, who were competing in only their second show. Hon Mention went to Richard Normans, Hurdlebrook Blessing 3 who had also took the Reserve Champion Guernsey calf at the S.W. Dairy Show.
Championship line up.
Lucky Cow Princess Annabelle
Here are the results in full with Colin Gleed’s comments in bold type.
I was extremely impressed with the standard of showmanship and the quality of young stock present in all breeds. The Guernsey contingent showed great enthusiasm and presented their calves superbly well. The quality of the calves was of a very high standard throughout and I had to make some difficult choices, but I had an outstanding winner at the top of each class.
The first class was dominated by a calf of exceptional quality. She was stylish and deep bodied, with a lovely topline and rump and paraded beautifully. Although she was an easy winner, the other calves were very smart. The second calf was a good strong animal with a good body and a wide rump which gave her the advantage over the third calf who was very young but showed a lot of promise.
Calf born on or after 1st March 2016.
- M Blanch. Highway Legacy Ripple by B. Bluebells Henry.
- M Dawes. Egdehill Gotcha Violet.
- M Dawes. Edgehill Pistolls Holly.
- A. Thomas. Kimcote Lon Pride 6.
- Norman & Sales. Avalon Fernando Indus.
Highway Legacy Ripple.
The second class was also dominated by a calf that was an outstanding individual. She was extremely well balanced, stylish and graceful, with a superb body, topline, rump and teats. The second calf, although lacking the dairyness of the first, was very correct, which gave her the advantage over the third, which was a good deep bodied calf. There was very little to choose between the other six calves in this class, as they were all of a very high standard.
Calf born between 1st Dec 2015 and 28th Feb 2016
- Pollard & Coryn. Lucky Cow Princess Annabelle by Yogi’s Prince.
- B & S Adams. Wiltown Nancy by Hinton Assassin.
- M Blanch. Highway Legacy Valley by B. Bluebells Henry.
- A. Thomas. Kimcote Astronomer Lilac 8.
- M Blanch. Highway Legacy Tina by B.B. Henry.
- Dean Family. Hoppickers Levi’s Mollie.
- A Thomas. Kimcote Legend Claire 2.
- A. Marshall. Autumn Gold Rio by Levi.
Lucky Cow Princess Annabelle.
The top calf in the third class was very correct with good teats and topline. This put her in front of the second placed calf who was a good dairy heifer with a lovely body, which in turn, put her in front of a much smaller calf, who showed a lot of promise for the future.
Calf born between 1st Sept and 30th Nov 2015.
- R Norman. Hurdlebrook Blessing 3 by Navajo.
- A Thomas. Kimcote Lon Jessica 4.
- M & C Greenslade. Greensfield Lady of the Manor by F M Lon.
- M Blanch. Highway Legacy Chaise Longue by Andante.
- R Page. Blanches Levi Countess.
Hurdlebrook Blessing 3.
The next class was very strong, but after considerable thought, I went for style and dairyness over the length and strength of the next two heifers who were very similar. There were only very small margins between them and the other two calves in the class.
Calf born between 1st May and 31st Aug 2015.
- M & C Greenslade. Greensfield Lady Star by G. Lady Jay.
- A Thomas. Kimcote Astronomer Mayqueen.3.
- A Thomas. Kimcote Astronomer Lilac 6.
- Norman & Sales. Avalon Pinto Linda.
- B & S Adams. Hinton Rebecca by Hinton Assassin.
Greensfield Lady Star.
The final class was very close between two smart heifers, who were both well balanced with style, strength and quality. I just felt the first animal was slightly tidier over the rump.
Calf born between 1st Jan and 30th April 2015.
- A Thomas. Kimcote Legend Geranium 4.
- Norman & Sales. Avalon Pinto Fiona.
- M & C Greenslade. Greensfield Andante Star.
Kimcote Legend Geranium 4.
On to the Championship which was a fantastic experience. The quality of the young stock paraded before me was as high as I’ve ever known. Any of the first prize winners, and some of the seconds, would have made a good champion. Despite this, even at this level, one heifer stood out as it was difficult to fault her. In reserve, I went for the calf which is the best I’ve seen in this age group and hopefully will have a fantastic future. I could have picked any of the others for Hon Mention, but I went for the calf which I considered to be most correct.
Lucky Cow Princess Annabelle.
Highway Legacy Ripple.
Hurdlebrook Blessing 3.
I would like to congratulate everybody who made this such an enjoyable show. In particular, all the leaders who did such a great job, and the stewards who helped it all to run smoothly. It was very satisfying to judge such a wonderful show as the Society’s President.
Colin Gleed.
Congratulations to all Exhibitors and their calf handlers for making this ABAB a stand out event. Thank you to our Judge Colin Gleed for a proficient display of Judging and to Brian Adams and Sally Phillips for ensuring the smooth running of the classes.
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