Teamwork makes the dream work as the Hynes girls glisten at Emerald Expo

From a calving complication to the Emerald Expo - it's been a rollercoaster start to show season in Aherla, but the Hynes girls are rising to the challenge.

Team Effect At Expo: Emerald Expo Showmanship Championship, Champion Rachel Corley, Reserve Champion Becky Hynes, Honourable Mention Abbie Duffy

The five-and-a-half drive to Virgina in Co Cavan was most definitely worth the spin. Pete, Becky and Georgie headed off with two animals, while Chloe stayed at home with me to do the farm.

We started breeding two weeks ago so felt it best if I stayed at home and looked after everything here. What a show they had. They took a homebred jersey maiden heifer Rathard Kasey and another homebred jersey Rathard Peanut, a two-year-old first-calver. 

Becky was supposed to take one of her Holstein heifers for her young handler's class, but unfortunately, she injured herself the previous week and is now out for the season.

With Mystic out of action, it was decided that Becky would take Kasey into the handling class and by God she didn’t disappoint. The two of them went foot perfect, Kasey behaved superbly, and Becky was as cool as a cucumber on the halter.

I was the proud mammy, of course, watching on the live stream as she was pulled into first position in the class. You can imagine the excitement at the kitchen table when she was pulled out as the winner. 

I couldn’t believe it; she was the only one with a jersey in the class, and it was that bit extra special with Kasey being homebred. I was as proud as punch. Next was the championship for the young handlers, and they were in very good company with some of the top handlers there.

I couldn’t contain my excitement as Becky was tapped out as reserve champion handler, I jumped out of the chair, and I'm sure Chloe thought I was having a stroke. 

I was so delighted for Becky, with it being her first time being tapped out in a championship. Their good fortune didn’t stop there. Kasey also won the maiden jersey class and took the junior coloured breed championship. What a start to the show season here for them.

With Kasey finished for the day, it was time to turn the attention to Peanut. This was very exciting for us as a family, with it being the first time the girls have taken a cow in-milk into a show ring. 

It was very daunting - to be honest, we are still very much learning what to do with a milker!

There is a lot involved, but in fairness, people were on hand to offer advice and show Becky a few tricks. 

She shaved her udder and oiled it up and had worked out the right number of hours to leave her to have her udder nice and full when she entered the show ring. 

There is a fine line to getting it right, as if you leave her too long, she won't be able to walk properly. 

Becky was extra proud as she had done all the pre-clips and show clips herself, and then we got someone to do the top lines up there, but they are still practising away on them at home and hopefully will get the hang of them soon enough.

I couldn’t get over the transformation of Peanut as they were sending me pictures as they did the different stages of getting her ready.

She looked incredible. I was extremely proud of how far Peanut had come and how well she looked, especially considering the complication she had after calving. 

Three weeks after calving, Peanut was off form and not eating her grub. We immediately knew something was wrong because Peanut loves her food. The vet was called and quickly realised that she had an LDA - a twist in her stomach. 

With this condition, Pat our vet had to make an incision on her side to go in and untwist it. He always takes a great interest in the girls showing and knew Peanut was a show heifer and he was extra careful with the procedure to minimize the scar. He did a great job and it healed really well, which allowed her to go to the show. 

Becky and Pete did a phenomenal job turning her out, and she looked like a million dollars walking into the ring. She did us proud and behaved impeccably. We were thrilled when she was put in second place in her class, considering the heifer in first place was 12 months older than our lady. So, all in all, a very successful first show.

We also scanned a few cows at the start of the week, and it was Pat, our main vet, who came - the first thing he said was that he saw the results of the show, and he was chuffed that Peanut did so well.

It got me thinking that showing really takes a team for it to work. Without the vet doing a fantastic job and taking extra care of it, Peanut got back into the ring. Becky, Pete and Georgie were able to relax and enjoy the show knowing that Chloe and I were taking care of things at home.

I feel when a successful show is over, it is a testament to the entire team, to those who mentor the girls and share tips and knowledge.

Becky has a huge passion for cows; it’s clearly evident to those who help her, and as much as she gets a sense of achievement doing well in the show ring. It also leaves her with a sense of pride in how she has represented those who help her along her journey.

It's a big team effort to train and educate the other young heifers we have coming up for the show season, and all the while, the rest of the farm has to function as well, as at the end of the day, the farm pays the bills and keeps the show on the road.

I'm truly blessed that the three girls get stuck in and help with all the jobs that have to be done and understand what it means to make things work. I am very lucky with my Team Hynes.