Paula Hynes: Hard work delivers as Team Hynes heads for the Nationals
Lyndsay Fleming (right) presenting the champion calf at Cork YMA calf show to Rathard SKick Acclaim and Georgie Hynes.
There are months of work involved in getting a show calf looking its very best. For the 2026-born calves, show preparation almost begins the week they are born.
Genetics do not lie, and neither do cow families, so when a well-bred calf is born, correct management will get it to the show ring where it can always perform well. The very best show calves have the deepest pedigrees, combined with a little bit of luck.
Preparation for our team of calves for the 2026 Cork YMA calf show really ramped up in April as the heifers went onto their full show programme. In reality, it is quite simple, but to get results, the simple things have to be done properly.
All the heifers remained on feeding straw, with plenty available at all times. Their diet consisted of an 18% calf nut, a small amount of alfalfa and Power Boost from Allen Nutrition.
The calves were pre-clipped, body condition was monitored closely, and they were moved between pens depending on how much condition they carried.
During the heatwave, the show heifers were cold hosed every day, and fans were used to keep cool air circulating.
All the heifers for the calf show were clipped 24 hours before the event. Paul gave Becky a hand to get through the team quickly, as there were 10 to clip. The 11th member of the team was a March-born calf for the unclipped class.
A trailer load of feed was packed, including four types of hay, haylage, silage and feeding straw.
On the morning of the show, all the heifers were washed at 6am before departing at 10am. Before leaving home, we looked through each heifer to decide what level of show fill would be required.
Once they arrived, most went straight onto rough hay. The older heifers remained on this as it was easy to fill them, while only the youngest calves moved onto good-quality hay and later haylage.
The key to any successful show is having a great team of dedicated people.
Lyndsay Fleming officiated as judge.
The novice showmanship competition began at 3.30pm, followed by the junior showmanship classes, where Georgie and Aisling were aiming to qualify for the National Championships.
Georgie probably did not pick the easiest heifer. Sometimes she walks perfectly and, at other times, she can make the handler work hard.
Aisling had one of our top heifers on the halter and the pair were pulled first and second in a large class, with Aisling topping the line. It was a fantastic achievement in her first season showing. Georgie battled hard to retain second place and it was a huge relief to see them both qualify.
We also loaned heifers to several other handlers in the club, which kept the team busy throughout the showmanship classes.
Becky was next into the ring. She has really stepped up her showing this year and her success in Australia has given her tremendous confidence. She is calmer and sharper on the halter, topped her class and then turned her attention to qualifying the heifers.
We had four heifers in the Jersey class. We felt we knew which one would win, and she did so comfortably. Kalani really is a star, and we also finished second, third and fourth.
All four Jersey heifers qualified for the finals.
Pippa Cashman kindly led our March-born heifer. She is a superb young handler and had been out practising with the heifer before the show. Ember is an Alpha-sired red-and-white Holstein from a VG88 second-calver. She won her class, and it is wonderful to have Pippa as part of the team travelling to the nationals.
Aisling led Essence in the February-born class. Essence is an Armour-sired heifer from the world-class Esprit cow family. She also topped the line-up, and we believe she will improve significantly from the experience.
We had two heifers in the January-born class: Acclaim and Aria. It was a large class, but Acclaim knew she was good and stood at the top of the line chewing the cud while the judge sorted the remainder. She is a Sidekick-sired heifer from our EX92 third-calver and, although we bred her, we now own her in partnership with Delasheen Holsteins.
Aria, a Haniko-sired heifer, finished third in the class.
Champagne was our entry in the intermediate calf class. The November-born Haniko-sired heifer, out of an EX94 cow, has always been one we rated highly, and she continued the team's form by winning her class.
We had two entries in the senior calf class. Sparkle is a Legit-sired heifer out of a VG87 heifer, while the other entry was Hillholm Aneesh Anna, bred by Paul Murphy and Emma Behan. Anna is out of their EX93 max-score cow Anne and we own her in partnership with Paul and Emma.
Kate Lehane kindly led Sparkle and the pair of heifers finished first and second, with Anna taking the class win.
The fancy dress class gave everyone a chance to catch their breath before the championships. Congratulations to all the children who made such a tremendous effort, as it is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the evening.
With three handlers in the showmanship championship, the tension was building. Becky no longer felt pressure and knew exactly what she needed to do.
It was a fantastic achievement for her to be crowned champion handler at the qualifier, while Aisling followed closely behind to claim the reserve champion title.
We had almost a full squad of heifers forward for the heifer championship. We fancied Rathard SKICK Acclaim to do the business but were unsure which animal would stand alongside her.
As expected, she was tapped out as champion with Georgie on the halter, while Champagne claimed the honourable mention.
All roads now lead to Kilkenny for the YMA National Finals. We are proud to represent the Cork club and, with 12 heifers travelling from our yard -including six qualified Holsteins, four Jerseys and two entered in the clipping competitions - it promises to be a busy show.
We have 10 heifers taking part in showmanship on the first day and wish all of those handlers the very best of luck. We are proud to see them showing our heifers.
Pippa, Aisling, Kate and Kevin will also be part of our team in the breed classes alongside Becky and Georgie. We are very fortunate to have such a fantastic group of handlers working with our heifers.
