A New Hampshire cow from a tie-stall corner of Barn 2 beat a record-scale field for the second straight year. Meanwhile, Corstar’s junior three put the breed’s future on display, Lazy M ran the table as breeder, and Mega Lottery kept its grip on the Premier Sire banner.
Last year, Mountainview TC Fired Up was the surprise. This year, she was the standard.
Emily and Randi Fisher’s aged cow, a daughter of Triple Crown out of Pittsfield, New Hampshire, won her class, took Best Udder, and then went on to claim Senior and Grand Champion of the 2026 International Milking Shorthorn Show. That makes two titles in a row in Madison. She was a five-year-old when she won in 2025. In 2026 she was a year older and, going by the chatter in the media corner, a better cow.
Emily wasn’t counting on it, though.
“I had no idea,” she said afterward. “I thought she looked better than last year, but you never know here.”
Reserve Grand went to Lazy M Jekyll Zella Exp, second in the aged cow class for Britton Allen of Stitzer, Wisconsin. She’d already been named Grand Champion of the Junior Show. Honorable Mention Grand was Corstar Bentley Rae, the junior three-year-old that official judge Matt Henkes of Luana, Iowa, clearly didn’t want to let go of.
A Show Built on Depth
Henkes and associate judge Marjorie Rida of Cummington, Massachusetts, worked through roughly 270 head over two days: 145 heifers on Sunday and the cows on Monday. Henkes called it “one of the biggest Shorthorn shows in recent times,” and the class sizes back him up. The winter calf class alone had 37 entries. The spring calf class had 27, and the senior two-year-olds came in at 22.
What’s unusual about Henkes is his route into the breed. He came up with Holsteins and got into Milking Shorthorns only 10 or 12 years ago. Today the breed makes up about 10 of the 65 cows his family milks. That working-herd perspective came through in almost everything he said.
He also had a practical explanation for why the breed keeps growing. It isn’t about whole herds converting.
“We’re not going to get more whole herds of Milking Shorthorns,” he said. “But if we can get two or three heifers in every string, someone to buy them — that’s why the show has grown.”
For breeders, that’s the real market signal from this show. Growth in this breed comes from show strings and junior projects, one heifer at a time.
The Grand Champion: A Cow Built to Last
Fired Up’s case rested on the qualities Henkes kept coming back to all day: bloom, capacity, and an udder that holds up with age. She won the aged cow class over Zella and then took Best Udder of the entire show.
Henkes didn’t hide his bias.
“I’m a sucker for old cows,” he admitted. “When those aged cows came in, they just stopped you in your tracks.”
The result wasn’t obvious going into the final lineup, though. Henkes said the moment finally caught up with him right before he picked the Senior Champion.
“We love that junior three-year-old,” he said. “Right before senior champion, I walked over to the table, and it all hit me like a ton of bricks… it’s happening. It’s the end.”
In the end, the older cow won out. For a dairy that The Bullvine profiled last year as an 18-cow operation, that’s a big deal. Winning Madison twice with the same cow isn’t a lucky day. It points to a cow that’s genuinely built to last.
Inside the Fisher Camp
Emily credited the team back home first. Her parents, Scott and Randi Fisher, handle the work at the farm whenever she’s away. Lydia Ridley, from Maine and at her first Expo, came to help. Cody Mills, who also had a heifer in the show, helped all week.
They weren’t working with ideal conditions, either. The Fisher string was tied against the back wall of Barn 2, so the display Emily had planned for a panel setup had to be reworked on the spot.
“We were planning for one of those panels, and then we got here and we’re like, ‘Oh, okay, now we have to change everything,'” she said.
As for what’s next: Fired Up is done showing for 2026. The immediate plan is embryo work, because “people want some babies,” and maybe breeding her back for another shot next year.
“We’ll see for next year,” Emily said.
The Fishers had more than one entry, too. Their Ridale Special Shotta Crown, another Triple Crown daughter, placed sixth in a 22-head senior two-year-old class.
Senior Division: Kuhn’s Four-Year-Old and a Lottery Legacy
Behind the top two, Henkes named Kuhnkuh Moscato Exp (by Ocean) Honorable Mention Senior Champion. She was the winning four-year-old and Best Udder of her class for Jordan Kuhn of Wawaka, Indiana, and she beat 15 others to do it.
“That young four-year-old has such a bright future,” Henkes said. “She came in, turned that corner — the front end, the style, the crispness. Just a tremendous frame cow.”
The rest of the senior division:
- Five-year-old: Lazy M Petrone Equisitely (Petrone) won with Best Udder for Peter Vail of Englewood, Florida. Bettin On Lottery Magnolia was second and Bred & Owned for Skyler Mays of Glasgow, Kentucky.
- Aged cow: Lazy M Presto Eska Exp stood third for Mike Gregory, Michelle Upchurch and Holbric Holsteins, behind Fired Up and Zella.
- Lifetime merit: Molehill Lottery Caliente won the class with Best Udder for Mike Gregory and Tyler Endres of Hebron, Illinois. She also won the Total Performance award. Hard Core C-Tie Sundance-ET was second and Bred & Owned for Keith and Donnette Fisher. Heavenly Zora-ET, last year’s Reserve Grand Champion, placed third for Breanne Freeman of Bremen, Indiana. Zora also collected the Holstein Marketplace Sires International Type & Production Award.
Intermediate Division: Corstar’s Big Day
If anyone owned the middle of the show, it was Corstar.
Corstar Bentley Rae, a Bentley daughter, won a 13-head junior three-year-old class. She took Best Udder and Bred & Owned honors on the way to Intermediate Champion for Cory and Kristen Salzl of Litchfield, Minnesota. Reserve Intermediate went to the cow right behind her, Corstar MM Roomba-ET (by Money), shown by Bailey and Tate Komar of Hiseville, Kentucky. The Salzls then won Best Three Females.
Henkes said standing behind that class was the highlight of his day.
“I milk cows every day, and to stand behind that group, top to bottom, I’d put any of them in my barn,” he said. “The bloom, the capacity… they have a will to milk. You’ve got to perform at home, and it’s fun when you can perform at the show as well.”
Other intermediate class winners:
- Milking yearling: Topp-View Stargazer Pocahontas won with Best Udder and Bred & Owned for Mackenzie and Grant Topp of Wapakoneta, Ohio. She was Honorable Mention Intermediate Champion. “She just stopped me in my tracks,” Henkes said. “The quality, the venation — just a tremendous young cow.”
- National Futurity No. 69: Mt View Legendman Miley (Legend Man) won for Mt View Meadows, Rick Kaut and Megan Martin of Winlock, Washington.
- Summer junior two-year-old: Lazy M L Glamorous (Liam) won with Best Udder for Peter Vail.
- Spring junior two-year-old: Valley-View KnH Legend Hazel won for Joe Gibbs of Epworth, Iowa. Miley was second with Best Udder.
- Senior two-year-old: Hard Core Tanbark Rio-ET won with Best Udder and Bred & Owned for Chriselle Fisher of Hard Core Farm. Lazy M Money Laundering-ET-P, last year’s Junior Champion, was third and the top junior entry.
- Senior three-year-old: Mile High Light My Fire Exp (Legacy) won for Dale and Deanna Bendig and Peter Vail.
Heifer Show: Money Talks
Cold Springs PV M Believe N Me-ET won the spring yearling class and was named Junior Champion for Erin and Tyler Marotz and Dean Engelman of Dyersville, Iowa. Reserve went to Old-Bankston Legacy-EXP, the winter calf winner from a 37-head class, for Libby Carpenter and Ally Brooks. Legacy also won Junior Champion of the Junior Show.
Landon Neely of Utica, Pennsylvania, had a big weekend. His Bell-VF Bender Linda-EXP-P was Reserve Junior Champion of the Junior Show, and Neely won the Keith King Showmanship Award.
The heifer-show sire story belonged to Money. B-D-F Marshas Money was named Premier Sire of the Heifer Show. His daughters won the spring calf class with Mueterthies Money Macarena-ET, won Junior Champion with Believe N Me, and took Reserve Intermediate with Roomba.
The Banners That Tell the Real Story
- Premier Breeder: Lazy M Farm (Herman and Michael Maier, Stitzer, Wis.) won in both the heifer show and the overall show. Mike Maier was the official judge of this show in 2025.
- Premier Exhibitor: Peter Vail won outright and tied with Lazy M for Premier Exhibitor of the Heifer Show. Hard Core Farm was second in both Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor.
- Premier Sire: Innisfail Mega Lottery-ET won again. He was Premier Sire for the second straight year in 2025, which makes this his third year in a row. Lottery daughters Caliente, Magnolia, Firekiss and Sunset all placed high.
Here’s the takeaway for breeders. The two sires that dominated this show couldn’t be more different. Lottery won on longevity, with cows still winning in the lifetime merit and five-year-old classes. Money won on youth, with heifers and young cows everywhere you looked. Serious breeding programs need both.
Champions at a Glance
| Award | Animal (Sire) | Owner | Location |
| Grand & Senior Champion, Best Udder | Mountainview TC Fired Up (Triple Crown) | Emily & Randi Fisher | Pittsfield, N.H. |
| Reserve Grand & Reserve Senior | Lazy M Jekyll Zella Exp (Jekyll) | Britton Allen | Stitzer, Wis. |
| HM Grand & Intermediate Champion | Corstar Bentley Rae (Bentley) | Cory & Kristen Salzl | Litchfield, Minn. |
| Reserve Intermediate | Corstar MM Roomba-ET (Money) | Bailey & Tate Komar | Hiseville, Ky. |
| Junior Champion | Cold Springs PV M Believe N Me-ET (Money) | Erin & Tyler Marotz and Dean Engelman | Dyersville, Iowa |
| Reserve Junior Champion | Old-Bankston Legacy-EXP (Liam) | Libby Carpenter & Ally Brooks | Dyersville, Iowa |
| Junior Show Grand | Lazy M Jekyll Zella Exp | Britton Allen | Stitzer, Wis. |
| Junior Show Reserve Grand & Intermediate | Button Bay Cyride Still Dre-ET (Cyride) | Caroline Allen | Vergennes, Vt. |
| Total Performance | Molehill Lottery Caliente (Lottery) | Mike Gregory & Tyler Endres | Hebron, Ill. |
| Best Three Females | Corstar Farm | Cory & Kristen Salzl | Litchfield, Minn. |
Key Takeaways
- Repeat champion: Fired Up won back-to-back as an aged cow, proof that udder durability still carries the day in Madison.
- Next wave: The junior three-year-olds, led by Corstar Bentley Rae, looked like the breed’s next generation.
- Growth model: The breed is growing through show strings and junior projects, not whole-herd conversions.
- Sire split: Mega Lottery won Premier Sire for the third straight year, while Money dominated the heifers and young cows.
- Premier banners: Lazy M swept Premier Breeder. Peter Vail took Premier Exhibitor.
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