The excitement of the latest Holstein show season draws to a close this month with the announcement of the winners in the 2018 All-Canadian Holstein contest. This is the 77th consecutive year that the Holstein Journal has sponsored and conducted this respected competition that recognizes the best Holstein animals who have competed at shows in Canada.
While there was great unanimity of opinion among the judges on our All-Canadian Selection Committee this time, there were still several close races that were thrilling to watch as the votes came in. The milking yearling class proved to be the most exciting with four of the six nominated animals garnering first place votes. A final tally of the ballots resulted in a tie for Reserve All-Canadian, with the deadlock broken on the basis of the nominee receiving the highest number of first place votes. The last time there was a tie for All-Canadian or Reserve was in 2008. There were also tight battles for Reserve honours in the junior 3-year-olds, senior calves, and senior 3-year-olds. The Selection Committee was unanimous in its choice of the All-Canadian winner in nine classes, and there were five more classes where the All-Canadian was just one vote shy of being the clear-cut pick. Repeating as an All-Canadian winner for a second straight year were Jacobs Windbrook Aimo and Florbil Doorman Lilly. Eleven other animals who earned an All-Canadian, Reserve or Honourable Mention prize in 2017 returned to take another award in 2018. Family ties are also evident in our list of winners. Idee Windbrook Lynzie, who is Reserve All-Canadian 4-year-old in 2018, is the mother of the All-Canadian summer yearling, JM Valley Dempsey Lyzara. A pair of maternal sisters, Garay Awesome Beauty and Garay Doorman Blind Date, took All-Canadian honours in the junior 2-year-old and senior calf classes, respectively.
The leading exhibitor of All-Canadians in 2018 is Brian Joseph Enright and family of Winright Holsteins, Winchester, Ont. Junior Premier Exhibitor at the recent Royal Agricultural Winter Fair’s National Holstein Show, this is the first time that the Enrights have achieved this title and it caps off an outstanding show season for the Winright team headed by Matt and Erica Enright. The Enrights claimed an impressive three All-Canadian titles and one Honourable Mention from their five nominated junior females, who they showed for all or part of the show season. They were also elated to learn that they had the unanimous All-Canadian Junior Breeder’s Herd and are co-breeders/owners of a Winright animal that was named All-Canadian in the 4-H division.
Leading breeder of All-Canadians for the third straight year, and runner-up for leading exhibitor, is the Jacobs family of Ferme Jacobs Inc., Cap-Sante, Que. Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor at the 2018 Royal Winter Fair National Holstein Show, this highly regarded three-time Master Breeder herd bred six nominated milking females in 2018. Of these, three cows went on to capture a coveted All-Canadian award and one a Honourable Mention prize. Those three All-Canadian cows – Jacobs Lauthority Loana, Jacobs Windbrook Aimo and Jacobs Jordan Carmel (the latter owned by Ferme Blondin, Saint-Placide, Que.) – also comprised the All-Canadian winning Breeder’s Herd for Ferme Jacobs. This is the first time that all of the members of an All-Canadian Breeder’s Herd have been an All-Canadian winner in their own right in the same year. This is the sixth consecutive year that Ferme Jacobs has had the All-Canadian Breeder’s Herd. In total over the years, Ferme Jacobs has now won eight All-Canadian Breeder’s Herd titles, tying them with Quality Holsteins, Vaughan, Ont., for the most All-Canadian wins in the history of this class.
Gaspard Fillion, Saint-Sebastien-de-Frontenac, Que., is runner-up for leading breeder. His Garay prefix appeared on three nominated animals in the contest of which two, who are maternal sisters, went on to become All-Canadian for their new owners. Fillion also had the Honourable Mention All-Canadian Junior Breeder’s Herd.
Capturing the designation of leading sire of All-Canadians for the second year in a row is Val-Bisson Doorman. This popular Semex owned bull had 11 daughters nominated in the open portion of the All-Canadian competition, the oldest of which are just senior 2-year-olds. His daughters did him proud securing four All-Canadian, three Reserve and two Honourable Mention awards. “Doorman” also had the most nominated daughters in the 4-H division with eight, and they went on to clinch two All-Canadian and three Honourable Mention prizes.
Finishing in second place for sire is Braedale Goldwyn. He had the most nominated daughters in the 2018 contest with 12. These daughters eventually captured one All-Canadian, two Reserve and four Honourable Mention awards. “Goldwyn”, who was the leading sire of All-Canadians from 2007 through 2014 and again in 2016, is now in the waning years of his impact as a dominant sire of show daughters. There is no denying, however, the influence he has had on the breed with an incredible 91 offspring having now achieved a total of 65 All-Canadian and 61 Reserve All-Canadian awards. One of “Goldwyn’s” many sons, Lirr Drew Dempsey, finishes in third place for sire. “Dempsey’s” five nominated daughters claimed one All-Canadian, two Reserves and one Honourable Mention prize. Other sires doing well in the contest include Dymentholm Mr Apples Avalanche, whose seven nominated daughters in the open competition realized one All-Canadian and two Honourable Mentions, and Gillette Windbrook, who sired both the All-Canadian and the Reserve All-Canadian in the 4-year-old class.
The six nominated animals or groups in the 22 All-Canadian Holstein classes were chosen in early December by a Nominating Committee comprised of Joël Lepage, Amqui, Que., Adam Liddle, Argyle, N.Y., Carl Phoenix, Sunderland, Ont., and Bloyce Thompson, Frenchfort, P.E.I. Advance page proofs of the nominations were then sent to 20 judges who served as the All-Canadian Selection Committee. Serving on the Selection Committee were the four members of the Nominating Committee, along with Jamie Black, Brushton, N.Y.; Pierre Boulet, Montmagny, Que.; Justin Burdette, Mercersburg, Penn.; Yvon Chabot, Victoriaville, Que.; Gerald Coughlin Jr., Peterborough, Ont.; Steve Fraser, Fergus, Ont.; Thierry Jaton, Compton, Que.; Kevin McGriskin, Melancthon, Ont.; Stephanie Murphy, Hastings, Ont.; Joel Phoenix, Cannington, Ont.; Orville Schmidt, Leduc County, Alta.; Jeff Stephens, Troy, Ont.; Paul Trapp, Taylor, Wis.; Blair Weeks, Pleasant Valley, P.E.I.; Mike West, East Garafraxa, Ont.; and Ridley Wikkerink, Cobble Hill, B.C. By means of a ballot vote, these judges indicated their choice for first, second and third place in each class. No judge was permitted to vote in a class in which an animal he bred or owned was nominated. This will explain the variation in number of ballots cast in each class. A first place vote was worth 7 points, a second 3 points, and a third 1 point. The nominee with the highest point total is declared All-Canadian, second highest is Reserve, and 10 points or more is required for Honourable Mention.
The Holstein Journal extends a sincere and heartfelt thank you to the exhibitors, livestock photographers, show organizers and Holstein Canada personnel, provincially and nationally, who help to make the All-Canadian contest a success. Your support is greatly appreciated. Congratulations to all of the 2018 All-Canadian Holstein winners!
Click here to see the results of the 2018 All-Canadian Holstein contest voting.
Source: Holstein Journal
