Top dairy cows chase show glory
Cows travelling from as far as Christchurch
Acow from Christchurch will travel more than 500km to Levin to show off her udder at the Horowhenua AP & I show this weekend, stopping off overnight at Blenheim for hay and water before making the ferry trip across Cook Strait.
The Christchurch entry will join 107 other cows chasing the prestige of a Royal Show medal, a feature of this show this year. Royal Show medals and red-white-and-blue ribbons were coveted among breekders.
Competition steward Rodney Hudson said a record number of cows had entered the annual show this year, coming from as far north as Whanga¯rei and as far south as Christchurch.
Hudson said the prestige of being a Royal Show was a big carrot for breeders, as was a large prize booty.
“A Royal Show medal is not to be sneezed at,” he said.
The winners of each division — Jersey, Fresian, Ayrshire, Brown-Swiss
and Milking shorthorn — would each receive $1000, while the overall AllBreeds Champion would get $500 on top of that.
Hudson said the large prizemoney was due to fantastic support from sponsors.
“Most have doubled their sponsorship because it’s a Royal Show. We’re very fortunate,” he said.
Hudson himself was entering cows. He had bred Holstein Fresians for years. Most breeders had been in the game for decades, with cows that had been carefully bred for generations.
Before the advent of artificial insemination, showing cattle was a big deal for breeders because it could result in residual value for breeding bulls, or recognition for a line of cattle.
But you still can’t beat having the physical specimens gather in one place for judging as a way of determining superiority. There is still the ability to trade off being a champion breed.
A panel of five judges was coming from throughout New Zealand, including a resident in Sam Cunliffe from Tangimoana. The in-milk cow judging would be held on Saturday starting at 9am, and the dry stock category would be held on Sunday starting at 9am.
Royal events were started in 2001 by the Royal Agricultural and Pastoral Society (RAS) to promote specific sections at agricultural shows nationwide, and were held in a different region each year.