The Irish Hereford Breed Society in conjunction with Next-Gen Herefords, North Leinster Hereford Branch, and Genetic Gems held a national Hereford breed event at GVM Tullamore, Co. Offaly on Friday, November 17 and Saturday, November 18.
The event is now three years running, and a report from the breed society said this year’s event “built on the success of the event from 2021 and 2022”.
The weekend kicked off on Friday, November 17 with the Next Gen Herefords Youth Competition, which saw 30 young handlers competing against each other.
This year, the committee made a change to the entry of the young handlers competition, whereby young handlers who placed first or second in the Hereford Young Handler Classes at Charleville show, Arva show and Trim show, were automatically through to the finals in GVM Tullamore on Friday night in either the junior, intermediate or senior category.
Any young handlers who didn’t place first or second, or didn’t compete in any of these three shows, were entitled to enter the wild card class on the Friday night ahead of the finals.
The event incorporated a Young Handlers Competition, whereby each young handler showed an animal.
The competition was judged by Co. Tipperary man and breeder of the popular AI sire Kilsunny Goliath, Mr. Edward Dudley from Kilsunny Herefords.
Grooming of each animal was also incorporated into the competition, and each competitor were given an hour to prepare their animal in advance of the show.
The committee also incorporated a third element to the evening for attendees which involved a demo hosted by Tennyson Egar from Irish Hereford Prime; all about beef carcase traits including weights and conformation, cuts of beef and a brief about the new CBV value and DBI index.
The Next Gen Herefords Youth Competition winners were as follows:
Junior Young Handlers
First: Aveen Curtin;
Second: Adrianna Egar;
Third: Daire O’Reilly
Intermediate Young Handlers:
First: Liam O’Reilly;
Second: Aine Heffernan;
Third: Conor O’Rourke.
Senior Young Handlers:
First: Elisa Drumm;
Second: Paul Bohan;
Third: John O’Dwyer.
The society congratulated all competitors who participated in the event. The judge and committee also noted the high standard of the competitors and said “it is humbling to see young handlers competing and continuously improving their skills year on year”.
National Hereford Calf Show 2023
The National Hereford Calf Show was held on Saturday, November18, at GVM Tullamore. The event featured over 90 calves making for “good competition across all classes”, according to the society.
The calf show, once again this year, was part of the greater event that included the Next Gen Herefords Youth Competition on Friday night, and the Genetic Gems Heifer sale following the calf show.
The National Hereford Calf Show Champions were as follows:
Supreme Female Champion: Mark Hyland with his entry 80633, Hillockpoll 1 Holly;
Reserve Supreme Female Champion: Michael O’Keeffe with his entry 51087, Drominarigle 1 Diana 1087;
Moocall Senior Female Champion: Mark Hyland with his entry: 80633, Hillockpoll 1 Holly;
Reserve Senior Female Champion: Brian Duignan with his entry 20042, Shancorpoll 1 Vanilla Rose;
Allsure Junior Female Champion: Michael O’Keeffe with his entry 51087, Drominarigle 1 Diana 1087;
Reserve Junior Female Champion: Michael Bird with his entry 20428, Dunlever Elegant;
Supreme Male Champion: Mary Pat Dineen with her entry 61264, Dunworleypoll 1 Percy;
Reserve Supreme Male Champion: Tara Drumm with her entry 90032, Crowenstown Hanley;
Herdwatch Senior Male Champion: E and R Jones with their entry 10509, Keenagh Titanium;
Reserve Senior Male Champion: Phil and Catherine Smyth with their entry 50974, Ardmulchan Upside Down;
Dectomax Junior Male Champion:Mary Pat Dineen with her entry 61264, Dunworleypoll 1 Percy;
Reserve Junior Male Champion: Tara Drumm with her entry 90032, Crowenstown Hanley.
The judges on the day were Mr. Trevor Masterson from Galbally Herefords, Co. Wexford. The DBI class and the traditional commercial class was judged by Mr. John Canty, Portanob Herefords, Co. Meath.
A full list of the results from each class is available on the Irish Hereford Breed Society website.