In search of the next frontier and great champion, the 2018 International Holstein Show is certainly shaping up to be a real shootout.
The Judges
Stepping up from the associate role last year is Carl Phoenix from Sunderland, Ontario will be this year’s Judge. Phoenix and his wife, Kera, and their three children milk along with their three kids – Clara, Carson and Weston – now own and operate Phoenixholm Holsteins, a 40-cow herd with 240 acres about 5 miles away from the home farm. He also farms in partnership with Phoenix Bros under the Dappledale prefix – a family partnership that involves his father, brothers, cousins and uncles. Over the past 12 years, Phoenix has placed cattle at the Irish National Show, The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, the Brazil State Show and numerous shows across Canada and the U.S., but his favourite assignment to date was placing the classes at the 2016 Wisconsin Championship Show. “The quality of that show was amazing for a state-level show. There were several cows that had been nominated All-American or All-Canadian the year before, and I just kept looking around the classes and thinking, ‘This is fun!’” He has also judged the Youth Showmanship Contest at WDE and at the TD Canadian 4-H Dairy Classic.
At his side will be his cousin, Joel Phoenix of Cannington, Ontario, the associate judge of this year’s show. Carl immediately thought of his cousin, Joel. “He’s so well-respected and well-liked in that part of the business. I’ve worked with him before, and we get along well. I know he’ll be a huge help, and I know he’ll have my back.” Carl’s father, Earl, and Joel’s father, Jim, are brothers, and the family always enjoyed showing Holsteins at every level, from county and 4-H shows all the way to the biggest event in Canada at the Royal Winter Fair every fall. Joel Phoenix has traveled the world as a dairy cattle fitter and showman and has worked with some of the breed’s most successful show strings. He and his wife, Jessica, farm in Cannington, Ontario, operating Phoenix Equestrian & Holsteins. Jessica is a world-class three-day eventer and a member of the Canadian Olympic team. They own about 50 head of Holsteins alone and in partnership with other breeders, using the Dappleview prefix. Joel has some experience on the colored shavings and in the associate’s role, as he assisted Gerald Coughlin with the 2011 International Holstein Show. “It’s always such an honor to have any judging position at World Dairy Expo. The quality of the cattle and the passion of the exhibitors is second to none!”.
Junior Classes
Heifer classes are always a hard one to handicap as they can change so much week to week let alone month to month. In a year that has not seen many of the top animals go head to head, it’s not a surprise that there really are no clear-cut favorites in any age group. Here are the ones to keep an eye out for in each age group.
Winter Calf
- PFAFFSWAY DEFIANT JEN A
- BESLEA DOORMAN LATITUDE
- LANORMANDE HIGH OCTANE LILLY
Fall Heifer Calf
- CERPOLAIT PETER SUNDAY
- ELMLO ABSOLUTE JACKPOT
- GABZ DEFIANT REAGAN
- PETICLERC SOLOMON TROPIC
- WILL-TATTOO DEFIANT TRULY
Summer Yearling
- BIRKENTREE DOORMAN LAINY
- MILKSOURCE TAELYN
- MISS PETITCLERC SERENA
- CLAIRCREST SOLOMON CHIPOLTE
Spring Yearling
- AHD DOORMAN SILK
- RYAN-VU GOLDWYN RAVISH
- ERNEST-ANTHONY LILY
- MS MAPLE-DOWNS A S GWEN
- WINRIGHT BEEMER BABY ENTHEM
Winter Yearling
- BRIGEEN BRASH PADDY
- BUDJON-ABBOTT ALEXANDRA
- WINRIGHT GOLD CHIP EXPLOSION
- CRAIGCREST RUBIES SMARTY PANTS
- HEART & SOUL GOLD RUNWAY
- TOPPGLEN ATWOOD WINNER
Fall Yearling (not in milk)
- XCARET GOLD CHIP ARIA
- CLAIRCREST ATWOOD ALLURE
- MAPLE-DOWNS HYPNOTIC ALI
- QUIETCOVE DOORMAN FLICKER
Just because you have been winning all year does not mean you are going to roll on through and win expo as well, especially with this year’s judge who tends to root for the underdog. Having said that here are some of the early contenders for the show.
Milking Yearlings
It is impossible to predict this class as many that will be shown in this class, are just recently fresh and have not been shown this year in milking form. From the few I have seen I can predict that it will be a very good class.
Junior 2-Year-Olds
FRAELAND DOORMAN BONNIE
With many Junior 2-year-olds being too fresh to attend many of the championship shows, this class is sure to have many surprises. If the rumours are true, the best cow in this class has not even attended a show yet this year, though FRAELAND DOORMAN BONNIE got a lot of attention when she won the Intermediate Champion title at the MidWest Spring Show earlier this year. Some other young cows to watch out for include:
- QUIETCOVE FOXYS LOLLIPOP
- MIDAS TOUCH JEDI JANGLE
- ROSEDALE UNSCRIPTED DRAMA
Senior Two-Year-Olds
SCO-LO DOOR ACURA 2218
Given that the Senior 2-year-olds have been calved in much longer than the Junior 2-year-olds, it is a lot easier to get a clear picture on who to look for. With 2017 Royal Winter Fair milking yearling champion FLORBIL DOORMAN LILLY due to calve any day now, this class really opens up. Some cows to watch for include:
- SCO-LO DOOR ACURA 2218
- MS SMITH OAK PW D MAGGIE
- RUANN DOORMAN JEAN 55162
- SCO-LO-AF SID SANGRIA
- MORSAN DOORMAN MISSY 3362
Junior Three-Year-Olds
R-M ATWOOD BRENDA
In watch should be one of the best battles of the day, three cows look to go head to head for the victory. They include 2017 World Dairy Expo Junior Two-Year-old winner, R-M ATWOOD BRENDA, 2017 Royal Winter Fairy winner, ERBACRES SNAPPLE SHAKIRA and UNIQUE DEMPSEY CHEERS. Which cow will rein supreme will come down to is who comes together wither the best on show day.
Senior Three Year Olds
MS GOLDWYN SATURDAY
While the anticipated battle between 2017 Royal Winter Fairy Senior Three-Year-old winner, ARETHUSA DARYL SIENNA and 2017 Expo winner, MS GOLDWYN SATURDAY will not happen. There are several cows that are looking to dethrone Saturday. They include:
- TEEBROOK DEMPSEY REBECCA
- VALE-O-SKENE LAUTHORITY KITTY
- CANYON-BREEZE MOR ARLEXIA
- KINGSWAY GOLDWYN LIP BALM
- MS APPLE ANZLEE
Four Year Olds
IDEE WINDBROOK LYNZI
With the Senior Three-year-olds and Junior Three-year-olds from 2017 now going head to head in the 2018 Four year old class, many great cows will now go head to head. While we won’t see a rematch of IDEE WINDBROOK LYNZI and TREFLE CHASSEP DOORMAN as Chassep is not at the show. LYNZI will have to go to battle again with WILLOWS-EDGE ATWOOD FAITH and for the first time, she will have to go head to head in class with 2017 Senior Two Your Old Royal and Expo winner JACOBS WINDBROOK AIMO. Other cows to watch for are:
- ACK-LEE DEMPSEY PASSION
- AP GAMBO ATWOOD KEENAN
Five Year Olds
CO-VALE DEMPSEY DINA 4270
Returning to the ring since her Grand Champion victory at the 2016 Royal Winter Fair, JACOBS GOLD LIANN is certainly a cow that many have their eyes on. She will be going head to head with 2017 Royal Winter Fair Grand Champion, CO-VALE DEMPSEY DINA 4270. These two cows will be a clash of the titans, and could catapult on of these cows into legendary status. Some cows not to be forgotten in this class are:
- AROLENE GOLDWYN DIVINE
- AL-SHAR DEMPSEY ALISON
- VALE-O-SKENE LAUTHORITY SCOTTY
Mature Cows
TK-PLAIN-VIEW RIPLEY
Another exciting class will see some real heavyweights going to battle. Leading the way will be the battle between TK-PLAIN-VIEW RIPLEY and BELLA-ROSA GW SARA. Both cows have been turning heads in recent months and will certainly be getting a lot of attention on Saturday. One cow to not forget is CAVANALECK BG BRUIN.
Production Cows
In what might be the most anticipated class of the day, LOYALYN GOLDWYN JUNE has been the talk of the tanbark trail for most of 2018 will go head to head with the very popular LIDDLEHOLME RESUR LU, who was not at the 2017 show as her breeder Adam Liddle was the official Judge. Two cows that don’t want to be forgotten in this battle will be CACHE-VALLEY LHEROS 2331 & TC SANCHEZ KRISTINA.
The Bullvine Bottom Line
It all comes down to how these amazing cows look when they walk out onto the colored shavings. Unlike 2017, the 2018 World Dairy Expo Holstein Show has the least number of classes with a clear-cut favorite that I can remember in recent history. With so many great cows making the trip to Expo, it’s going to be a great show.
Want to try your luck at predicting the winners? Check out the 2018 World Dairy Expo Fantasy Exhibitor Contest sponsored by World Wide Sires.