Foulden Hill a cattle quinella
The Gibson family of Middlemarch’s Foulden Hill earned a quinella when their cattle took out first and second places in the Meat & Wool Cup at the Canterbury A&P Show.
Yearling hereford bull Foulden Hill Mustang narrowly pipped its two-year-old santa gertrudis colleague to take the title.
What’s more, Mustang had earlier won the Junior Meat & Wool Cup over a charolais heifer owned by the Fisher family of Banks Peninsula.
The Fishers were last year’s winners.
For the Gibsons, who own both a hereford and a santa gertrudis stud, coming first and second was ‘‘exhilarating.’’
Liz Gibson said she got ‘‘a bit emotional’’ for a moment.
‘‘It was a team effort from the family.’’
Judge Mick O’Sullivan described Mustang as ‘‘outstanding, the exact type to make money from’’ and was a bull that was sound, travelled well and would get cows in calf.
Another judge, Chris Douglas, said the young bull had ‘‘tremendous volume and width across the loin’’ and was a clear winner in its class.
Of the santa gertrudis cow, O’Sullivan said it was ‘‘a sweet heifer, refined up front and with smooth, clean lines.’’ In the junior event, the Fishers’ charolais heifer was described by the judges as ‘‘feminine, with depth, length, and with a kind eye.’’
‘‘She is all champion, with charisma and a lot of meat,’’ said judge Wayne McLaren.
The Gibsons have run the santa gertrudis stud for 14 years and the hereford for nine years.
‘‘We used to do a lot more shows, but with demands of work and the farm, now we target the main two, Wanaka and Christchurch,’’ Gibson said.
‘‘It’s a way we can exhibit and show people what we do. It’s not a hobby it’s an absolute business.’’
She said the santa gertrudis heifer and its mother were supreme champion exhibit at the Wanaka Show this year.
‘‘We always take cattle up to Future Beef, but it’s a lot of work. Future Beef New Zealand (FBNZ) has been created to reshape and reignite youth involvement in the beef industry.’’
Both breeds are run commercially, and the studs are put out with the herd. The property is dry hill country.
‘‘Our clients need to know that they are buying animals that can get out and do what they need to on the hill, Gibson said.
‘‘The santa gertrudis is a lesser known breed in New Zealand, but they are an excellent terminal sire and also heifer mating sire as calves are born small but grow very fast, she said.