Paula Hynes: The Royal Highland, a field evening and a farmyard loss
Georgie Hynes competing in the Jersey classes at the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh.
The Royal Highland was such an amazing show although quite tiring. We had the late flight out of Cork Airport on Thursday night, which was delayed, so we arrived weary at our hotel at 2am, with an early start on Friday morning.
We had to arrive at the show at 6am as Georgie was toplining the Jerseys for Katherine Jenkinson, who Georgie is in partnership with.
With glorious Scottish sunshine, she was in the ring at 10am for the Jersey heifer class grabbing a second-place finish with Eclair, a December-born heifer calf.
Next up was the Jersey milking classes, and she was placed third in the Jersey heifer in milk class with Sofia, as temperatures climbed to 30 degrees celsius later in the day, we were glad to be finished early.
It was a great chance to catch up with people like our friends Colin and Izzy Laird, who bred Ravina, and at the show claimed both the Holstein Championship and Interbreed title with Mag Pandor, who had the same success in 2024.
Ravina was at a show again recently and won her class. She will have one more outing in July before she is put away until she calves in the autumn.
Saturday at the Highland Show was a rest day, a chance to have a little sleep in and then to get a proper look around the show before an early night as Georgie was competing in the showmanship early on the Sunday morning.
Katie Jackson kindly gave Georgie a loan of one of her Jersey heifers for the showmanship, as Eclair was a little small. Georgie got to grips with Diva quickly as she lined up for the Junior showmanship class, and then there was a last-minute change of venue for the show ring as the rain came down heavily.
The ring was moved indoors, and in a large class, Georgie finished a very credible second place. Later that day, Georgie got to walk a Jersey in the parade of champions, one of the greatest traditions and spectacles of the Royal Highland as every breed, from dairy, to beef, sheep and horses gets to grace the main arena for a parade in front of packed grandstands.
A late flight home that night to Cork saw us getting home at 2am. It is always great to experience these overseas shows, but the days are long so the trips are far from a holiday.
Before we left for Edinburgh, the farmyard had an air of sadness; our beloved Welsh Section. A pony had said his farewell and departed for equine heaven.
Roger was 28 years old, a great age for a pony, we purchased him 27 years ago from Dorothy, a great friend of ours in Northern Ireland.
He chose a fitting week to depart, as a former Welsh champion at Cork Summer show, he had so much success in the showring, also winning a Welsh Pony and Cob Society bronze medal. It was Roger who gave Chloe her passion for horses. He carried her safely in the lead rein classes with Pete, she was still in nappies the first year she competed with him.
Life wasn’t easy for Roger; we loaned him out to a family for a couple of years and unfortunately he got laminitis which can be very painful if not managed. Luckily for him one of our best friends is a farrier and through corrective hoof pairing, we managed to stabilise the condition.
From then on, Brian would visit every four weeks to trim his hooves. Roger was like the mascot around the yard, he said hello to everyone who visited and became the best of buddies with Comet, Becky's horse.
On Roger's final day, Comet stood by his stable door all day; he knew his buddy was leaving him. We all knew Roger was leaving, and we all got time to say goodbye.
Rather than seeing him suffer, we called our vet and as we all comforted Roger, Pat put him to sleep quietly. Roger was my constant, the first one to say hello to me every morning when I arrived at the farmyard, so many memories throughout the years and for sure he will never be forgotten.
We have purchased a number of heifers from Eedy Holsteins in the last few years, including Acclaim who has become so successful in the show ring. This week Eedy Holsteins hosted a field evening for Cork Holstein Friesian Club (CHFC).
It is always a pleasure to visit the herd and view the outstanding cows Robert, Sylvia, Jason and Laura have bred and the evening was really well attended. The hospitality of the Helen family and all involved was greatly appreciated, with plenty of tea, sandwiches, cake and conversation after we viewed the cows.
The herd is an absolute credit to the Helens, superb pedigrees, highly successful in the show ring and the entire herd looked a picture of health. CHFC held stock judging competitions on the night as did Cork YMA.
Becky was placed third in the YMA reason giving section, Georgie won the 12 to 18-year-old CHFC stock judging and our French student Emillie won the 18 to 26-year-old category with Becky finishing second to her.
We have a hectic weekend ahead of us on the show scene with 13 animals competing over two days. We head to Charleville show on Saturday with three milking cows and then Sunday will be spent clipping the 10 heifers that head to the Cork YMA calf show, which is a qualifier for National Championships.
It is a huge task to take 10 heifers out to compete and there has been a huge effort all week walking and washing such a big group every day, but thankfully we have plenty of extra help for the weekend and hopefully we will have a little luck.
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