Paula Hynes: A truly Royal Ulster Winter Fair

Paula Hynes: A truly Royal Ulster Winter Fair

L to R: Rodney Browne (Danske Bank head of agri-business), Peter Hynes, Georgie Hynes, Eedy Rubicon Acclaim, Becky Hynes, John Henning (RUAS president), and Richard Jones celebrate the big wins.

Some weeks in life are truly memorable; we attended a good friend's wedding in Dublin last weekend. 

There is nothing nicer than a festive wedding, in what was a quaint little church. It was a service I would happily have sat listening to for another hour with wonderful contributions for so many people. We partied late into the night with great conversation.

Sunday evening and Monday were a chance to make final preparations for our departure to the RUAS Winter Fair, a folder full of completed paperwork ensuring the heifers could be officially exported to Northern Ireland. It was an early start on Tuesday to get Acclaim milked and allow her time to eat before a 7am departure northbound.

It takes us seven hours to get to the show, the crucial thing is steady driving ensuring the animals have a comfortable journey with 20 minutes allotted for a stop and give them a drink of water and some TMR. 

A quick wash for each animal on arrival at the show before getting them into their stalls with plenty of feed in front of them. Acclaim, Espresso and Alanna are seasoned show animals now, they know what it is like to travel so they get on with the job of filling their bellies before resting the weary legs, Acclaim is a real pro, she will happily eat away while she is lying down.

Our daughter Becky sprained her ankle badly two weeks ago and has been wearing a boot splint and using crutches since. 

Once she came home from the hospital and knew she couldn’t show, Pete rang a good friend of ours, Gary Jones, to ask him to show Acclaim. While Gary's wife Izzy took up the halter on Espresso, who has got too big for Georgie now. 

Wednesday was a rest day at the show, but there is no rest for the wicked, so with final clips done, more washing, calculating milking times for Acclaim, Georgie also took it upon herself to add a festive theme to the stalls for the animals, tinsel, fairy lights, stars and of course the head cards containing all the details of each animal.

Show day was an early start as Georgie was in the ring at 8am, Becky had sat with Acclaim all night minding her. Richard Jones was fitting for us as usual and also drafted in Pauric Coleman; they began final preparations at 3am.

The Royal Ulster Winter Fair, as the show is called, had a very high police presence from Wednesday night as they had a truly royal visitor, the show's Patron, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, visiting to help celebrate the 170-year anniversary of RUAS.

Full credit to the PSNI officers for their friendliness; we had so much fun chatting with them as they walked the barns. They were truly amazed by the amount of work it takes to prepare a cow at a show. 

While HRH was their priority, they fully understood that cows were treated like queens in the barn. Shows like this are a fantastic bridge between dairy farms and the consumer, for most of the PSNI officers, it was their first time up close with cows, likewise a Royal visit will always grab huge public attention and days like that are a celebration of the dairy cow, the best way to advertise our industry.

Georgie took up the halter on Alanna for the showmanship, it was the heifers first time doing a showmanship class and the duo finished in second place. 

The teamed up again for the March-born Holstein Heifer class and again took second place in a hotly contested class. Alanna is a special little heifer to us; she is sired by MB Luckylady Bullseye, and her dam has now finished her 10th lactation and is due to have her 11th calf in mid-January.

Alanna has had a fantastic season, winning her YMA qualifier and also finishing in seco nd place at the YMA finals. Espresso was next in for a big class with 24 entries and a wide-ranging age gap from September-born to February-born Holstein heifers, finishing in fifth place; we were delighted as it is not easy to get into the ribbons at such a top-class show.  The tidy stall judges were waiting on Georgie's return as her hard work in decorating had paid off with a third place in the tidy stall's competition.

With the heifer classes out of the way, it was Acclaims turn, having won the Junior two-year-old in milk class at the show last year, we were hopeful but also mindful she is only five weeks freshly calved. 

Gary and Acclaim were always going to get along, he is ice cool, and she shows like a star. Judge Nathan Thomas placed them as easy winners of the Junior three-year-old in milk this year. She also took best udder in the class.

We knew he really liked her, but she is still a very young cow, and so began the three-hour-long preparation for the Holstein championship, with two people minding her the whole time, ensuring her udder remained perfect.

The hotly contested championship was adorned with the very best of cows, Nathan Thomas had his eyes on Acclaim from the moment she walked into the ring, pulling her out into his final five and the anticipation stepped up a level. 

Finally, Hallow Octain Twizzle was tapped out as Holstein champion, with Acclaim being tapped out as reserve champion; it was our most memorable show ring moment to date and even sweeter having it amongst great friends, with Gary leading Acclaim and Philip and Linda Jones owning the champion.

There was one more moment of glory as the lights were dimmed for the Interbreed championship, spotlights on the cows and Acclaim took Interbreed Honorable Mention, Christmas had come early for us in a day we will never forget. 

It was a seven-hour drive home again later that night, but thankfully, Acclaim arrived home safely at 3am. We are so grateful to all the team involved in helping us at the show, Richard, Pauric, Gary and Izzy and everyone involved in keeping the animals fit and healthy at home.

The Royal Ulster Winter Fair is without doubt the premier dairy event in Ireland, a show not to be missed with spectators travelling from all across Ireland and the UK. 

Huge credit to RUAS for putting on such a fantastic show and credit must also go to Danske Bank, which has been the show's sole sponsor since the Winter Fair began. The hospitality, the friendly welcome and the craic, when you leave the show, you simply can’t wait to return.

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