Paula Hynes: When good things happen to good people
Champion and Reserve Champion Senior Holstein at Charleville Show, Coolroehouse Abbott Ann and Cedarmore Hurricane Tory owned by Paul Murphy and Emma Behan
I often think to myself that good things happen to good people, and the dairy ring at Charleville Show certainly proved that once again this year.
Paul Murphy and Emma Behan run Hillholm Holsteins in north Cork. While theirs may be a relatively small dairy operation, it certainly packs a big punch in the showring.
Paul and Emma are what you would call genuinely decent people — they are always willing to offer advice or lend a helping hand, never shy away from hard work and their level of expertise is second to none.
They know exactly how to have a cow looking her very best as she enters the ring. Ann continues her remarkable run.
Last year was a memorable one for the duo as Coolroehouse Abbott Ann claimed the supreme championship at Emerald Expo before going on to win senior Holstein champion at Charleville Show — no easy feat for such a young cow.
They may well have baked a celebratory cake, but this year they seem determined to put even more icing on it. Ann successfully retained her Emerald Expo title in April, while the pair also sold the top-priced animal at the Emerald Expo Sale, conducted by Denis Barrett, with one of their young heifers selling for €8,000.
The run-up to Charleville Show was equally busy. Paul spent time in Canada helping prepare animals for the Hodglynn Holsteins Sale, which averaged an impressive $11,400 across 133 lots.
Meanwhile, Emma held the fort at home, keeping the cows in top condition while also working full-time.
As show day arrived, the pair quietly went about making the final preparations on their two cows. There never seems to be any panic — the job simply gets done in a calm and organised manner. By the time ring time arrives, they are as prepared as anyone could possibly be.
Paul led Cedarmore Hurricane Tory to victory in the Holstein heifer in-milk class, where she also claimed the best udder award. After a final polish, Ann entered the ring looking every bit a champion and comfortably won her class, along with another best udder award.
The couple kindly asked Becky to exhibit Tory in the senior Holstein championship. Judge Leiza Montgomery had what appeared to be a straightforward decision.
That is not to diminish the achievement — reaching that level at one of the country's premier dairy shows is anything but easy. Ann and Tory were simply outstanding animals and deserved to stand champion and reserve champion.
Winning back-to-back championships at both Emerald Expo and Charleville Show is a remarkable achievement for Ann, and without doubt, she is one of the most exciting cows in Ireland at present.
We travelled to Charleville with only a small team this year because the Cork YMA calf show was taking place just two days later.
A huge thank you to Daniel and Eimer Curtin for kindly loaning Georgie and Becky calves for the showmanship competitions. Georgie once again topped the line in the junior showmanship class, while Becky finished second in her class.
Kahlua also continued her good form by winning the January-born Jersey heifer class for the second consecutive week.
It was a satisfying day's showing after what had been an exceptionally warm and tiring week on the farm. Much of our attention focused on keeping the animals as cool and comfortable as possible.
Fans ran continuously in the heifer shed throughout the week to reduce heat stress, while the heifers were cold-hosed every day to provide some relief from the high temperatures.
The show cows also had fans running and were cold-hosed three or four times each day. It is much the same as any of us looking forward to a cool shower after a long day's work in the heat.
The cows and heifers know exactly when they are about to be cold-hosed and seem to genuinely appreciate it.
The heifers gave me a laugh one morning after the fans had been running for the first time. At 6am they stood looking up at the fans, seemingly wondering why nothing was happening. Some were even mooing at them, but calm was quickly restored once I pressed the switch.
We also managed to mow 10 acres of haylage during the week and, with all the bales now safely stacked in the yard, it is a relief to have more winter fodder secured.
While Becky had one eye on Charleville Show, the other was firmly fixed on the Cork YMA calf show.
She clipped heifers for Gordon and Jennifer Kingston on the Friday before beginning the task of clipping our own team early on Sunday morning. We have 11 entries this year, with one heifer competing in the March unclipped class.
Paul Murphy arrived at the yard on Sunday afternoon to lend a hand with the clipping, knowing there was a lot to get through. It is always valuable to have a fresh pair of eyes assess the team and he seemed very pleased with how the heifers had developed.
Lyndsay Fleming from Northern Ireland is judging this year's show. Unfortunately, my deadline falls before the judging takes place, so the results will have to wait until next week. However, we are excited about the team we have heading to the show.
The show feed trailer is packed with four different types of hay, haylage, silage, alfalfa and beet pulp, alongside all the tack, a halter for every heifer, sprays, clipping equipment and enough buckets to water, feed and clean up after a small army.
With a total of 70 heifers entered and almost as many handlers competing in the showmanship classes, it promises to be another busy and exciting evening in the showring.
