MEADOW GREEN ABSO FANNY RED (ABSOLUTE), TRIPLE-T HOLSTEINS, M BERRY, T&L CATTLE & F & D BORBA, OH
Red & White Holsteins take centre stage this month as the Holstein Journal proudly reveals the results of the 2015 All-Canadian Red & White Holstein contest.
It was another exciting competition with the All-Canadian Selection Committee only unanimous in their choice of the All-Canadian Senior Cow, Meadow Green Abso Fanny-Red-ET. The closest races came in the junior females. In the Heifer Calves, just one point separated the Reserve and Honourable Mention. With just three awards given in each of our four All-Canadian Red & White classes it is not easy to win one of those coveted prizes. That was true this time in the Yearling Heifers where four entrants split the first place votes. Despite getting two first place votes, an entrant in that class fell short of the podium for Honourable Mention as her overall point total was still not high enough to achieve an award.
Crescentmead Swetie Pie-Red is the only repeat winner from a previous year. In 2014 Swetie Pie was Honourable Mention Junior Cow and in 2015 she has convincingly moved right to the top of that class to take the All-Canadian title.
There was no one leading breeder or exhibitor in the All-Canadian Red & White contest in 2015 based on the point formula and rules used to determine these. There are several American exhibitors, however, who definitely deserve applause for their achievements. MilkSource Genetics, Kaukauna, Wis., who were the leading exhibitor in the All-Canadian Holstein competition, bred two Reserve All-Canadian Red & Whites. They are also the co-owner of one All-Canadian and the owner of one Reserve winner. In the Junior Cow class, Grady Wendorf, the 13-year-old son of Troy and Sarah Wendorf of Crescentmead Farms, Ixonia, Wis., is the co-owner of the All-Canadian winner and a partner with his younger brother and two other junior members from Wisconsin in the Reserve All-Canadian. California Holstein breeders and great supporters of Canadian Holsteins, Frank A. and Diane Borba, Modesto, Calif., are partners in both the All-Canadian and Reserve All-Canadian Senior Cows. Rounding out the list is Nathan Thomas and his family of Triple-T Holsteins, North Lewisburg, Ohio, who are partners in one All-Canadian and one Honourable Mention in the cow classes in 2015.
Eleven different bulls sired a top three finisher in the contest. Earning the distinction of leading sire of All-Canadian Red & Whites is Scientific Director-Red-ET. He sired the All-Canadian Yearling Heifer and Honourable Mention Senior Cow. Owned by Select Sires Inc., “Director” is a maternal brother to the 2014 leading sire of All-Canadian Red & Whites, Scientific Destry-ET, and a son of KHW Kite Advent-Red-ET, who was leading sire in 2008, 2009 and 2012. Both “Director” and “Destry” are sons of Scientific Debutante Rae-ET (Ex-92-USA-DOM-GMD-3*).
This is the ninth year the Holstein Journal has sponsored and conducted the All-Canadian Red & White contest. Thirty-one entries were submitted for the 2015 competition representing exhibitors from three Canadian provinces and nine states of the United States. Two classes drew nine entries – the Heifer Calves (junior, intermediate and senior calves) and Junior Cows (milking yearlings, junior and senior 2-year-olds, and junior and senior 3-year-olds). The Yearling Heifers (summer, junior, intermediate and senior yearlings) attracted seven entries, while the Senior Cows (4 and 5-year-olds and mature cows) had six entries. There is no nomination process in the All-Canadian Red & White contest and no nominees are named. To be eligible for an entry, the animal must simply have competed in a Holstein Canada recognized Red & White Holstein Show and/or Holstein Show during the latest show season. Only those exhibitors who have an animal chosen All-Canadian, Reserve or Honourable Mention are required to pay an entry fee. The entry fee could have been applied as a credit towards an advertisement in this issue.
Pages containing pictures and show placings for the Red & White entrants was mailed or e-mailed in early January to a group of judges. 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 entered. A first place vote was worth 7 points, a second 3 points, and a third 1 point. The animal with the highest point total is All-Canadian, second highest is Reserve, and third highest is Honourable Mention. A breakdown of the vote for the top three finishing animals in each class is found here: All-Canadian Red and White Vote 2015.pdf. Other animals who received votes, but did not finish in the top three, do not appear on this list. This will explain the variation in number of ballots seen in each class.
Serving on the 2015 All-Canadian Red & White Selection Committee were judges from last year’s Red & White Shows in Canada, along with other judges who closely follow the Red & White Holstein show scene. The eight judges casting ballots were: Daniel Brochu, Tingwick, Que.; Pat Conroy, Angola, Ind.; David Crack Jr., Richmond, Que.; Brian Craswell, Hunter River, P.E.I.; Michel Guay, Brownsburg-Chatham, Que.; Thierry Jaton, Compton, Que.; Joël Lepage, Amqui, Que.; and Carl Phoenix, Sunderland, Ont.
A sincere thank you to all of the exhibitors who supported the 2015 All-Canadian Red & White contest. Congratulations to the winners!
