Seven British dairy breeds will take centre stage at this year’s All Breeds All Britain (ABAB) Calf Show. Organised by Holstein Young Breeders (HYB), the Calf Show is a highlight of the dairy calendar and, this year, the event moves location to the East of England Showground in Peterborough.
From the 19th – 21st October, the East of England Showground will be transformed into a huge calf arena, with hundreds of young breeders battling it out to claim top awards and recognition, whilst demonstrating their showmanship skills amongst rivalling peers.
Not only does the 2018 show move location but the competition will feature six other breeds in addition to Holstein classes, including: British Friesian, Jersey, Guernsey, Brown Swiss, Ayrshire and Dairy Shorthorn. HYB competitions extend beyond the show ring and with principal sponsor support from Semex other HYB awards are presented at this event and throughout the year.
The Littlestar Award will be presented to a HYB member aged 17 years or under, who has made an outstanding contribution to the Holstein breed and their HYB Club. The winner of this prestigious award will receive the Littlestar painting, which will be presented during the prize giving at the Show. Other accolades include stand competitions, the Louise Hartley Award and the acclaimed Dick Stapleton Award. This is presented to a young breeder, of any age and from any breed, who is recognised by the ABAB team for being extremely helpful and always going above and beyond when contributing to their Club and breed.
Adding a little competitive fun, contending teams will be required to construct stands based on the event theme, which will be confirmed over the next couple of months, whilst also making sure their cattle lines and calves look immaculate. The team who embraces the theme the best is rewarded for its inspiration and efforts!
Judges Announced
HYB is delighted to have the expertise of Hefyn Wilson as National Holstein Calf Show judge, Anna Stable as master judge for the National Holstein Showmanship Competition and Sam Wake as Anna’s associate.
Hefyn Wilson farms the Tregibby herd of 75 Holsteins and 15 Jerseys and is a previous Holstein UK Premier Pedigree Herd Competition winner. His judging highlights span regional and national shows and competitions, including the Great Yorkshire Show and the Premier Pedigree Herd Competition. As a previous Chairman and current committee member of South Wales Club, Hefyn is well attuned to the HYB organisation and the opportunities it can present to young breeders.
Anna Stable started showing calves as a HYB member at five years of age and, over the following years, has had showing success on a regional, national and European level. Over the last few years, she has judged Jersey and Holstein classes at regional shows. Away from judging, Anna and her husband Tom run the Bolton Manor Holstein herd in Cumbria and, in 2016, opened Cumbria Ice Cream.
Sam Wake has judged several regional shows, including both showmanship and calf conformation classes for a number of different breeds. He also judged the coloured breeds showmanship classes at the 2017 All Breeds All Britain Calf Show.
New Venue
As 2018 hosts of the #ABABCalfShow this October, Jeremy Staples, Chief Executive Officer, East of England Agricultural Society, Peterborough, commented, “We are delighted to welcome the All Breeds All Britain Calf Show to the East of England Arena & Events Centre. The Show will be able to take advantage of our purpose-built livestock buildings, facilities and the Pavilion, which is proven as a great stage for this type of event as we use it for our very own Winter Stock Festival.”
He adds, “Both the East of England Agricultural Society and its commercial business The East of England Arena & Events Centre are dedicated to promoting agriculture, so being able to build a new partnership with HYB is great for all.”
Miriam Bagley, Events & National HYB Coordinator for Holstein UK, commented, “The annual All Breeds All Britain Calf Show brings together young dairy farmers from across the UK to compete, learn and network. Last year we attracted 205 competitors, whilst a total of 354 calves arrived on-site. The standard of competition is always exceptional and it’s really inspiring to see so many young calf handlers demonstrating sophisticated skills at such a young age. The East of England Arena & Events Centre is one of a number of locations that form the portfolio of locations hosting HYB events. We’re thoroughly looking forward to this year’s show; please contact your regional Club Coordinator to enter your Club Calf Show and be in with a chance of qualifying for ABAB.”