ALLENDALE East Holstein breeders Bill and Jo Thompson continued their dominance of South East Holstein awards by winning a swag of titles at the 49th South East Holstein Fair held at the Mount Gambier Showgrounds last Friday.
Their Glenorleigh Holsteins stud won supreme best udder and junior and senior champion before the Thompsons were awarded the most successful exhibitor and premier breeder titles.
Judge Daniel Holmes, Arabella Holsteins, Brookstead, Qld, praised the senior champion cow Edenburg Toystory Lovely - which also won the Bill Hanel Memorial Trophy for supreme best udder - for her power, depth and balance.
"She is just so clean and dairy," he said.
"She is carrying that udder so well and even after having five calves, she just walks right past it.
"That extra capacity gives her the advantage over the reserve champion."
South East Holstein breeder Brett Fiebig, Warrabell Holsteins, Mount Gambier, won reserve senior champion female ribbon.
The Thompsons bought Edenburg Toystory Lovely from Simon and Virginia Ewing, Kalangadoo, about seven years ago out of the night sale the South East sub-branch of Holstein Australia used to hold in conjunction with the fair.
She has previously been a part of the supreme group of five and supreme group of three females in the dairy cattle interbreed judging at the Royal Adelaide Show.
"We bought her as a February 2007-drop calf in a pick of the flush lot for about $5800," Mr Thompson said.
"She was picked out by my wife Jo and is a beautifully tempered animal."
Mr Thompson thanked fellow breeder Craig Fisher for his help in getting the cow ready for the fair.
"She has the highest production index in our herd at 125 and she did 13,500 litres in her last lactation and close to 1000 kilograms of milk solids, so she pays her way."
Glenorleigh was successful in the junior champion judging with the February 2012-drop Glenorleigh Braxton Morty.
By highly rated United States sire Regancrest S Braxton, Mr Holmes said the heifer was "so balanced."
"I love her power and spring of rib," he said.
Mr Holmes praised the reserve junior champion - Wyena Brook Caboose, exhibited by Victorian Donna Edge, Carpendeit - for her depth of rib, saying "her day will come."
* Full report in Stock Journal, April 17, 2014 issue.
