Kent herd scoops Wexham Cup for second year in a row

The 64TH Annual Wexham Cup Bull Show and Sale of Pedigree Holstein bulls took place on bonfire night, 5th November, on behalf of members of the Western Holstein Club, but there wasn’t much spark about the whole sale. It seems the challenges the dairy industry is facing is really starting to bite.

Judge for the show was John Lawson of the Lancashire based Sweetings Herd. For his Champion bull on inspection only he selected Knowlesmere Roden, a son of Toc-Farm Goldfish, from Andrew and Jane Whittaker of Weston-under-Redcastle, Shrewsbury. In reserve was Ingleview Denton, a Goldwyn son from R and E Butterfield of Bentham, Lancashire.

The winner of the Wexham Cup for the second year running was John Downing of Edenbridge, Kent with his Wintersell Millisto, a son of De-Su 11236 Balisto and bred from the well known Mila family with his dam, Mila 26th, is a VG87 Garrett with 8426 kg 4.24% and 3.34% as a heifer. It was her dam the Ex93-3E Mila 10th that bred last year’s Wexham Cup winner.

Reserve for Wexham Cup was Yasmin Bradbury’s Peak Royalty, a son of the much talked about Brady and out of, in many people’s eyes, the best cow in Europe, Peak Goldwyn Rhapsody (Ex96-3E), the Supreme Champion at UK Dairy Expo and Agriscot last year as well as being the 2014 All Britain mature cow.

This year the Club introduced a class for genomically tested bulls and the 1st and 1nd in this class both went to entries from the Cottanabbots Herd of Andrew Walley at Waverton, Chester.

The top price of the sale was 2900 gns and this was achieved on two occasions; the first at this figure was the De-Su Observer son, Woodmarsh Zorber from M & JC Gould Ltd., of Bomere Heath, Shrewsbury. This bull is bred from 7 generations of VG/Ex dams from the well known Zandra family and was purchased by RH Lewis & Son of Crickheath, Oswestry. Also at this price was the second prize genomic bull, Cottonabbots Jaeger from Andrew Walley, a son of De-Su Balisto out of a VG85 Misty Springs Supersonic dam. He was purchased by Messrs Gaskin of Chirk, Wrexham.

Another from the Woodmarsh stable, Woodmarsh Elusive also by Balisto, from eight generations of high yielding VG/Ex dams of the Ever-Green-View E family sold for 2500 gns to JE Seals & Son of Shirland, Derbyshire and then at 2400 gns was the Wexham Cup winner who sold to W Bradbury of Earl Sterndale, Buxton. The Wexham Cup winner’s full brother Wintersell Barricade made 2350 gns selling to Robert Davies of Red Roses, Whitland, Carmarthenshire.

AVERAGES:
31 Bulls ÂŁ1756.21
WRIGHT MARSHALL