WOODFIELD HERD HOSTS AGM & AWARDS PRESENTATIONS
A real highlight of the British White Cattle Society's events calendar with another bumper attendance, the Annual General Meeting held at Union Hall Farm near Stourbridge on Saturday 3 October 2026 hosted a members' meeting and trophy presentations, as well as a tour of the superb Woodfield herd kindly offered by our hosts, the Osborne family.
The meeting conducted a number of points of Society business including the election of Executive Committee members, validation of accounts and fee updates, and plenty of discussion around breed development with regard to linear scoring and data collection.
On to the presentation of the annual awards, and it was Executive Committee Chairman Henry Cator who announced the winners of the coveted trophies for the top show cattle of the year, followed by Mark Howland of the Tollesbury herd, Essex, giving an excellent presentation with comments from himself and Vivien & Andrew St Joseph on their collective judging of the National Herd Competition 2026. The winners are shown below and a full report will be published in the forthcoming Breed Journal, so keep your eyes peeled for more photos and comments from both competitions!
On behalf of all the members who attended, we would like to thank the Osborne family for putting so much work into the day, which was enjoyed by all. Check out our photo gallery from the Woodfield herd walk at the bottom of this article.
SHOW POINTS TROPHIES
Awards presented by BWCS Executive Committee Chairman Henry Cator
Junior Heifer of the Year
1st: Marshbrook Moonstone, bred and exhibited by Elayna Astbury
2nd: Albany Peach, bred and exhibited by Leslie Cook, now owned by Angus Drury & Cara Richardson
3rd: Alcroft Grace, bred and exhibited by Sarah Cook
Senior Heifer of the Year
1st: Lordswood Maggie, bred and exhibited by James Brain & Libby McGinn
2nd: Dallyashes Liaison, bred and exhibited by Angie Hamilton
3rd: Alcroft Ginger, bred and exhibited by Sarah Cook
Cow of the Year
1st: De Beauvoir Smart Sally, bred and exhibited by Angela Dunn
=2nd: Tollesbury Tahiti, bred and exhibited by Vivien & Andrew St Joseph & Mark Howland
=2nd: Marshbrook Blueberry, bred and exhibited by Elayna Astbury
4th: Templar Madison, bred and exhibited by Keith & Ro Harding
Junior Bull of the Year
1st: Castrum Augustus, bred and exhibited by Jan Walton, now owned by Keith & Ro Harding
2nd: Lordswood Maxwell, bred and exhibited by James Brain & Libby McGinn, now owned by Angus Drury & Cara Richardson
3rd: Tollesbury Hero, bred and exhibited by Vivien & Andrew St Joseph & Mark Howland, now owned by Fiona Nourse
Senior Bull of the Year
1st: Tollesbury Tarzan, bred and exhibited by Vivien & Andrew St Joseph & Mark Howland
2nd: Woodbastwick Crisscross, bred and exhibited by RH Farms
3rd: Castleton Ken, bred and exhibited by CMB, JAW & DM Wright
NATIONAL HERD COMPETITION
Awards presented by Mark Howland of the Tollesbury herd (competition judged by Vivien & Andrew St Joseph & Mark Howland)
Randolph Turpin Trophy for Best Herd,
and Best Large Herd winner
The Emily Herd, The Newt in Somerset
"Our overall winners are, in some ways, at a bit of a transition. Having bought large numbers of cows initially, this herd has now been honed down to the numbers required by careful selection of replacements, favouring certain female lines. Their size and level of investment is not available to most, but it is backed by sensible expertise and rational management which has produced a working herd of cattle, showing off the ability of the British White cattle to thrive even in a highly commercial environment, with intensive fattening requirements."
Best Medium Herd winner
NWT Hovering Herd, The Norfolk Wildlife Trust
"The winner here has been quietly working away for a number of years at achieving an excellent breeding herd of British Whites, run alongside a large number of steers and non breeding cows. Using a super bull, they have possibly the best bunch of calves that we saw, as well as a clear type in their breeding animals."
Best Small Herd winner
"Led by someone who clearly has a knowledgeable eye for a range of livestock types, both in and out of the show ring, and has prioritised sourcing really good quality cows and bulls. Having won the New Entrant herd last year, this is now definitely an up and coming small herd."
Enterprise Trophy winner
The Woodfield Herd, the Osborne family
"Winning this prize for their in-house finishing, choice of stock, grading up programme and focus on whole farm sustainability."
Best New Herd winner
The Broad Oak Herd, Mark Bond
"A lovely collection of cows, super bulls, excellent calves and some other fascinating projects around the farm."
Best Stock Bull winner
Cadarn Dump Truck EX94, owned by the Pennington family, bred by Mark Kennett
"An old bull now at 13 years old, but he looked absolutely terrific. It is not necessarily wise to keep a bull to a great age as fertility is usually greater in younger bulls, but when they look as good as this and are still getting cows in calf, who wouldn’t."
Best Young Bull winner
Jadebeam Firethorn, owned by Mathew Jones and bred by Dave Elliott
"The first of the special awards we wanted to give for 2026 was for a young bull with terrific length and width of loin."
Best Bull Calf winner
Cadarn Drott, owned and bred by Mark Kennett
"A striking calf, well worth looking out for next year, and may well be on the show circuit."
Best Heifer winner
Oldington Almond Tart, owned and bred by the Pennington family
"The heifer we would most like to take home came from a herd of lovely cows, in good condition despite the difficult summer, with lovely top lines and milky udders, and a striking group of yearlings."
Best Heifer Calf winner
Castle House Hetty Harlow, owned and bred by Geoff Watkins
"The best heifer calf we saw came from a lovely, even group of quality cows with a good stock bull."
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