A massive entry of 754 pedigree Simmentals were entered for the second staging of the British Simmental Cattle Society's 2021 virtual show and it was the female champion from Ian Green, Corskie, Garmouth, that bagged the supreme title.
The winner, the five-year-old cow, Corskie Heaven, is a daughter of Dirnanean Bradley and out of the home-bred Corskie Eve – sired by the 2009 Scottish National Show champion, Corskie Valiant.
Read more: Kilbride Farm Simmentals celebrates 50-year anniversary
Having been placed first out of a class of 197 cows – the largest the show has witnessed – the championship judge, Anne MacPherson, of the Blackford herd at Croy, Inverness, commented: "Corskie Heaven is a great example of a Simmental cow. She is very feminine with nice smooth flesh and plenty of length. She’s my type of female and very much shows the maternal traits, which are important for the Simmental breed."
Ian Green's daughter, Laura Beattie, said: "It’s fantastic to win this competition and from such an entry, both in numbers and quality. Corskie Heaven is just a really nice, feminine cow and we’re delighted that she’s gone all the way. We had eight entries in the cow class and six of them placed in the top 20, so we are very proud of all the cows."
Read more: NI record priced Simmental sells to Backmuir at £25,000
Overall reserve was the male champion, Tilbrook Frank, from VC Bailey, Mixbury Hall, Brackley, Northants, who also produced the reserve female champion in the form of the spring-born heifer calf, Mixbury Hall Milly.
Gary and Angela Christie’s May, 2020-born bull, Rockytop Luca, from Glass, Huntly, was reserve male after winning through from the young bull class.
The British Simmental Cattle Society’s president, Stewart Stronach, commented: "Congratulations to the Corskie and Mixbury Hall herds for their championship wins. I’d also like to extend a massive well done to the Simmental breeders around the UK who have readily supported this competition and in such great numbers – who would ever have thought we would have seen an entry of 197 cows in any show class, even an online class!
"Throughout nine weeks of judging, the quality of entries has been superb and the competition has been a lot of fun and a terrific showcase for the Simmental breed. We have been amazed week on week by the reach of the posts and the comments and discussion both domestically and in countries across the world.
"Whilst we hope to return to summer show rings next year, I’m sure there will be a popular demand for a third staging of the Simmental ‘virtual’ show," he added.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here