Paula Hynes: VIP access to a Summer Show portaloo

Georgie and Paula Hynes competing at the Cork Summer Show where they entered 12 animals in the dairy section. Picture: Clare Keogh

The year certainly is moving fast, I can hardly believe we are in the second half of June already and the Cork Summer Show is over. 

It is a show we had been planning for quite a while and once our cattle fitter Richard Jones agreed to do the show with us, we decided to enter 12 animals in the dairy section, seven heifers and five milkers. 

We have never had that many at a show before, we also invited Richard's nephew Will Jones who is great friends with Becky as we needed another experienced handler on the halter with such a big team. Prior to the show, Thursday and Friday were taken up with washing and clipping, setting up the marquee, cow beds and feed at the show on Friday evening.

It was a 4.30am start on show day, cows were washed and then the mammoth task of taking all the animals to the show grounds. Grandons Toyota in Glanmire kindly lent us a second jeep so we could have two trailers taking animals to the show as there were five trips in total. 

As I arrived at the show with Georgie and her friend Aisling, a quick trip to the portaloo turned into an ordeal for me, realizing I was a farmer, a couple asked me if I had a long calving glove as they were trying to help a young girl who had dropped her phone into the toilet. 

As the crowd of helpers started to grow, I thought to myself, this phone has got to come out quick or I'll be finding another toilet so the farmer in me, accustomed to taking on dirty jobs, rolled my sleeve and stepped forward to retrieve the phone. 

My little moment of bravery afforded me VIP access in skipping the queue for the toilet as the onlookers were unanimous that I was entitled to wash my hands and the phone was returned to safety, it also gave me a moment to be extremely grateful the girl hadn’t dropped her phone down the toilet later in the day.

Returning to the safety of the show rings, Richard and the team had everything under control. We have had two young lads from non-farming backgrounds helping us on the farm a couple of days a week since their summer holidays began. I have to say, Ryan and Callum have really taken to milking cows in such a short space of time and also helping with the show animals. 

It was lovely to see them confident in walking heifers and cows to wash bays, taking them for a stroll and a pick of grass before the show got busy and they did a superb job all day in ensuring every animal went to the toilet in a bucket, so the line-up was clean and animals were kept spotless. 

Having the extra help also allows me a little time to chat to people and I am truly humbled by the number of readers of my column that come up to me at shows, the feedback is always nice as well. I have to give special mention to one reader, Catherine Lingwood who came to the show especially to meet me and the animals we showed, we had such a wonderful chat.

The heifer competitions

With Stacey O'Sullivan officiating the judging in the dairy rings, we knew we had a tough task ahead for the day as Stacey has a wealth of knowledge and experience having come up through the YMA showmanship ranks. 

Georgie was first into the ring for the junior showmanship, taking the second-place rosette. Will and Becky were next in for the intermediate showmanship, they are well used to battling it out in the show ring together, Will took the top spot this time with Becky standing second before the duo claimed champion and reserve champion handler. It was nice to see Will claiming his own success of the day, having travelled all the way down from Wexford. 

With the showmanship complete, it was time for Jones Haniko Espresso to have her maiden voyage in the January 2024 born heifer class. We hadn’t had Espresso out yet as she had contracted ringworm but after weeks of treating, washing and the ringworm dead, we decided to get her to a show. 

She still isn’t looking her best and it was a learning experience for her, but she still claimed top spot in a very strong class. It was nice to finally get her show season underway and following in her granddams footsteps of winning classes, she has a world-class pedigree so hopefully she will have some big days ahead. 

Rathard Bullseye Acclaim took second place in the 2023 born heifer class and our Jersey heifers continued their winning ways with Khaleesi winning the jersey heifer calf class for a third week and Dream winning the Jersey maiden heifer class after accompanying Will to showmanship success earlier.

The milker competitions

With the heifer classes complete, it was down to the business part of the day with five milkers to show. Kasey has been no stranger to the winners' enclosure and claimed the red ribbon again in the Jersey heifer in milk class. 

Peanut stood in second place in the jersey cow class before we claimed the red ribbon again in the Jersey pairs class with Kasey and Peanut. Kasey went on to claim Reserve Champion Jersey with Pat Ahern's cow taking the Championship. 

No show team would be complete for us without Acclaim as she truly is a huge part of the family, she hadn’t been out to a show since her big win in Belfast last December. She knows her job well and marched straight into the trailer on show morning, with over 11,000kgs of milk produced already in her first lactation, and still milking as if she was a fresh calver she stood top of the line again in the Holstein heifer in milk class. 

We had two in for the Holstein cow class, second lactation Adina and seventh lactation Champ who we purchased at the Denis Barrett Livestock Auctions from Brian Hayes back in April. 

Champ is a tremendous cow, EX94 and over 80,000kgs of lifetime production so far, our first time having her at a show after a lot of halter work at home. Stacey pulled her in top spot for the first line-up with Adina in third place, after what seemed like an eternity of deliberation, Stacey gave McGrath's cow the red ribbon with Champ claiming second place. 

We loved seeing her looking so good in the show ring. McGrath's cow went on to take the Holstein Championship with Acclaim taking Reserve Champion. Huge congratulations to McGrath's for going on to claim Supreme champion.

The mammoth effort of the Cork Summer Show

With all the cows and heifers safely home, it was an early night as the girls were helping prepare horses at the show on the Sunday. With glorious sunshine, we decided to venture to the show a little later in the day and it was great to see such a huge crowd around enjoying it. 

It's a mammoth effort for all involved to organise and run the Cork Summer Show so it is always nice to see it a huge success for them. It is a great coming together of urban and rural life and we always thoroughly enjoy it. 

If I had one criticism it would be that the livestock classes are at a quieter end of the show and it would be great to see classes moved towards the main arenas. I know insurance is a huge issue for shows with spectator safety the priority and even if it wasn’t possible to hold all the livestock classes in the busier parts of the show, perhaps all the championships could be held in the main arena.

Imagine a ringside packed with urban spectators watching a big line-up of dairy class winners competing for the championship. It is always crucial the public know where their food comes from so it would be lovely to show more of the public that these show winners are not just pretty faces, they are animals that turn up for work every day to help keep Irish dairy in peoples fridges, tables and in countries all around the world.