Paula Hynes: Delight at Dairy Expo and seeing calf sheds emptying
Georgie Hynes winning the Junior Showmanship at UK Dairy Expo alongside Stacey Creighton of sponsor Cattle Information Service
A quick flight to Manchester followed by a train to Carlisle took us to Borderway UK Dairy Expo this week for what is one of my favourite shows on the circuit.
Glyn Lucas and the team at Harrison and Hetherington run a fantastic show and always have a lineup of fantastic judges which in turn attracts top-class cows to compete at the show. Arriving late on the Thursday evening, it was an early start on the Friday morning to link up with Katherine Jenkinson and her team of Jerseys, Katherine and Georgie are in partnership with Georgies jersey heifer Blythbridge Chocochip Ravina.
UK Dairy Expo always begins with the showmanship classes, the show is a phenomenal supporter of young people as they know well that the youth are the future of our industry and they always attract big entries for the showmanship classes.
With Will Horsley officiating as the judge, he knows exactly what it takes to be an outstanding handler, 24 entries in Georgie's class, as will put the handlers through their paces and Georgie focused on her job with Ravina, she was pulled in top spot in the first lineup and eventually tapped out to win the class with the judge commenting she took the win by remaining cool on the halter, always having the heifers head carriage correct and setting her up quick when asked.
For Georgie it was a magical way to start the 2025 show season.
Georgie was also prepping the heifers this weekend, while the team were all clipped prior to arrival, Georgie was trying her hand at toplining them and did quite a good job for an 11-year-old. In the heifer classes she finished in fourth place in a hotly contested Jersey incalf heifer class with Ravina which we were delighted with. With day one finished, it was time for dinner and a catch up phonecall home with Pete and Becky who were busy keeping the farm running at home and then bedtime as there was an early start again on Saturday. Day two of UK Dairy Day is always the day for the milking animals to be shown, a big step up for Georgie as Katherine had asked her to show two milkers.
It’s a big step up for Georgie showing animals in milk as she is still so young and these animals have more power and strength and are also a little wiser to their job so they know quickly if they can get away with a little mischief. Showing a Jersey heifer in milk, she finished in third place and later finishing in fourth place with a senior Jersey cow.
UK Dairy Expo 2025 will always be a show of many firsts for Georgie and not all those firsts needed to be rosettes as she gained a wealth of experience and confidence. The show had an outstanding group of young judges this year who did an incredible job judging, our friends the Lairds who bred Ravina won the Holstein championship and Interbreed championship with Mag Pandor sired by Sidekick. Pandor is the complete package of a cow and this is her second year to claim the title at the show, she looked superb having given birth to twin heifers sired by Lambda in January.
I met so many friends at the show and made so many more new friends, many asking where Becky was and complimenting Georgie on her handling skills, she even has an offer now to show Brown Swiss whenever she wants. As we began the journey home, I thought to myself how lucky we are that so many have helped, inspired, mentored and encouraged the girls. We are only showing a few years and it amazes me at times how confident the girls have got and have the ability to compete at top level anywhere.
Little did I think at the beginning of the year that the 2025 show season would kick of with Becky winning in Australia and Georgie winning in Carlisle but ultimately it sums up the dairy industry and dairy showing.
If you want to succeed in the dairy industry, you just have to be willing to work hard and have a passion for the job, there are always those willing to share knowledge, give opportunities.
For any young person thinking they would like to have a go at showing dairy cattle, all you have to do is contact the IHFA in Clonakilty and they will give you the contact details for your local YMA club who are always there to encourage the next generation of handlers. The great thing about showmanship is, you don’t have to have the best calf, it’s all about the handlers ability, everyday is a learning day, judges are always willing to give great tips and advice.
Ultimately, if you work hard, it can give great opportunities at home and abroad and show teams are always looking for help from young people who have a true passion for cows. We have two French girls spending the summer with us this year, both are not from farming backgrounds but they love working with show cows and are adamant in forging a future showing dairy animals.
Arriving back home early on the Sunday morning, it was straight back to work as we had two more batches of Charolais calves leaving for beef farms, it’s great to see the calf sheds emptying now and the last few cows are on the point of calving. Grazing conditions are absolutely superb and ground conditions make it easy to get slurry and fertilizer spread. As we pass St Patrick's Day, the workload is a lot easier this years so hopefully the second half of March will be kind to us.
