Show Results: Shropshire County

Judged on Saturday 24 May at West Mids Showground by Mr Clive Davies, Ledbury, the British White breed classes were ably supported by five exhibitors, including a couple of new faces to the show. The overall champion on the day was the senior heifer class winner Cadarn Starburst from Mr P Pennington, Bridgnorth. Purchased at the Society's autumn sale held at Welshpool in 2024 from breeder Mr M Kennett, this heifer is sired by Amaroo Pear Drop and out of Cadarn Silver Lady (VG88). Reserve champion in the breed section was the five-year-old cow Gunton Audrey (EX91) from Dr L Eyre, Welshpool, being shown with her fourth calf at foot; a March-born heifer, Diskin Daffodil, sired by Cadarn Sentinel (VG87).

Breed Champion Cadarn Starburst from P Pennington

Commenting on the breed classes, Mr Davies gave his thoughts on the animals forward: "It was a great honour to be invited to judge the British White Cattle entry at the 2025 Shropshire County Show and especially in the Agricultural Society's 150th anniversary year. A useful entry was somewhat reduced because of the Blue Tongue restrictions that existed but, nevertheless, competition amongst exhibitors was strong. The classes commenced with the bulls. In that only one yearling bull was forward the exhibit became a clear winner but more importantly will no doubt have a progressive future and should be watched. Similarly, only one forward in the cow class but this smart cow with her fourth calf at foot was a pleasure to see and graced the showring with femininity and style.

"Moving into the senior heifer class, this is where proceedings became even more interesting. A mix of ages and, more significantly, the management of the cattle by herd owners had its effects. The winner was a strapping two-year old heifer that was more conditioned then any of the other exhibits in this section. This helped her succeed, but more importantly it was the correct construction that most aided this entry to the top of the class. The second prize heifer was honest and had great potential. The difficult placing was that of a heifer working very hard having calved at just after 24 months old. She deserved great credit for this and with hopefully a long summer at grass will help maintain her development. It certainly looks like she has a promising calf at foot. With her work ethic it was a testing choice not to place her more highly, but news of her future work will be watched with interest.

"The male champion was an automatic choice but the female section required great consideration to finalise their placings. The nod was given to the senior heifer class winner and the runner-up spot to the cow with calf at foot. These two females became Breed Champion and Reserve. The event concluded with a very competitive pairs class where strength and seniority assisted the winners. My grateful thanks to all exhibitors and their helping teams for presenting the British White breed so well and giving me great courtesy with the deliberations. It was a very enjoyable experience that will be forever treasured."

Results

Breed Champion, Female Champion Cadarn Starburst, Mr P Pennington

Reserve Breed Champion, Reserve Female Champion Gunton Audrey, Dr L Eyre

Male Champion Elgany Elgar, Mr M Forster

Bull, any age 1st Elgany Elgar, Mr M Forster

Cow, born in or before 2022 1st Gunton Audrey, Dr L Eyre

Heifer, born in 2023 1st Cadarn Starburst, Mr P Pennington; 2nd Marshbrook Snapdragon, Mrs E Astbury; 3rd Lordswood Ada, Mr J Brain & Miss L McGinn

Heifer, born in 2024 1st Marshbrook Liberty, Mrs E Astbury

Pair of animals 1st Lordswood, Mr J Brain; 2nd Marshbrook, Mrs E Astbury; 3rd Diskin, Dr L Eyre