Podehole do the double at Beef Shorthorn Herd Awards

It was two in a row for Charles and Sally Horrell’s Podehole herd as they were announced winners of the Beef Shorthorn Society’s National Herd Competition 2023.

Up against five other herds from across the UK who all respectively won their regional herds competitions in autumn 2022, judge for this year was former Shorthorn breeder, David Dickie from Dumfriesshire.

The presentation of the award was made at the recent October Striling Bull Sales where Mr Dickie announced his winner alongside Aimie Park who was presenting the award on behalf of the sponsor’s, Pedigree Sales Online Livestock Auctions.

Mr Dickie said: “I was looking for herd with strong breed characteristics, in particular cows that were milking well with good udders but still fleshy and making a job of their calves.

“I found the Podehole herd to be the most uniformed and credit must go to the Horrell family and stockman Roy for presenting a great herd of cattle for myself and Rosemary to judge.”

“Building a herd of top-quality animals is a skill that can take years of patience and careful management and the other finalists, Chapelton, Glebe Farm, Jodame, Meonhill and Holkin each set a great example for the breed. The standard within the breed is growing year on year and that hasn’t gone unnoticed when it comes to people investing, with numbers increasing each year at society sales and national and regional shows.”

Established in 2022 during the society’s bicentenary celebrations the award scheme will be run over an initial three-year period.

2023 National Beef Shorthorn herd competition now underway

The 2023 National Herd Award competition is now underway. The award was developed to recognise the 200 years of breeding excellence across the UK and Ireland by Beef Shorthorn farmers.

Taken from the 2022 Annual herd competitions, the six herds that were judged overall champions in their local regions are great examples of Beef Shorthorns at their best and judging will commence in the Summer to find the 2023 overall national winner.

Kindly sponsored by Pedigree Sales Online Livestock Auctions, the six herds will be assessed by this year’s Judge David Dickie of Thornhill, Dumfries.

The six herds judged overall champions in their local regions are:

Scotland:                                             Chapelton, Castle Douglas

Northern Ireland:                             Glebe Farm, Tyrone

North of England:                             Jodame, Barnard Castle

Central England:                               Podehole, Cambridgeshire

Southern England:                           Meonhill, East Hampshire

Wales and borders:                           Holkin, Whitchurch

Podehole wins first National Beef Shorthorn herd competition (2022)

The Podehole herd of Charles and Sally Horrell, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, has been named as the winner of the Beef Shorthorn Society’s inaugural National Herd Competition which was launched as part of the breed’s 200th anniversary celebrations.

Judged by George Somerville, former farm manager at Glenkiln Farms, Dumfries and Galloway and sponsored by Pedigree Sales Online Livestock Auctions, the competition pitted the winners of the regional herd competitions against each other for the first time.

Regional winners from 2021 competitions were assessed by Mr Somerville over the summer with the judge commenting on the exceptional quality he saw in every herd he visited across the UK.

“The depth of breeding evident in all the herds was exceptional and the quality of cows I saw was tremendous and bodes well for the future of the breed in every corner of the country.

“However, the Podehole herd stood out as the most complete and balanced herd of all those I visited, and I congratulate the Horrell family on such a great herd of cows. In every herd I visited there were great examples of the breed and many, many cattle I’d be happy to have in a herd,” he added.

Other finalists were Major John Gibb and Catriona Gibb’s Glenisla herd, Scotland, Stuart and Gail Currie’s Beautry herd, Northern England, LEP Farms’ Meonhill herd, Southern England, Brian and Eryth Thomas’ Frenni herd, Wales and Alfie and James Shaw’s Glebefarm herd, Northern Ireland.

The presentation of the award was made at the Society’s development day hosted by Society president Charles Horton at Hannington, Wiltshire.

Attended by more than 60 Society members the event included five workshops focussed on key aspects of breeding and herd management.

From a veterinary perspective, members were able to listen to Bella Maine of Larkmead Vets discuss pelvic measurement in heifers and other essential aspects of herd fertility, while Jim Barber demonstrated ultrasound scanning in relation to performance recording and the benefits it brings.

Meanwhile, Mike Deakins gave an explanation of cow classification, enabling members to better understand the usefulness it can lend to management and breeding decisions.

Daniel Slade of Thame Market was also on hand to offer members guidance on cattle selection for slaughter and hitting the right specification, while Harbro’s Michael Richardson talked through feeding and nutrition to maximise growth and development in cattle of all ages.

Beef Shorthorn Society operations manager Clive Brown said the event, one of several organised by the Society this year, had been a huge success with members coming from far and wide to add to their knowledge base.

“These events have been a huge success and enabled members to come together and both learn and socialise with like-minded people from across the country. As ever the camaraderie and shared belief in the breed has shone through and that is sure to stand the breed in good stead going forward.”

National Herd Award launched to mark the Beef Shorthorn’s Bicentenary

National Herd Award launched to mark our Bicentenary

We are launching a new National Herd Award in 2022 as part of our bicentenary celebrations. The award has been developed to recognise the 200 years of breeding excellence across the UK and Ireland by Shorthorn farmers, which has led to the Beef Shorthorn becoming rightly known as ‘the great improver’.

This year entry for the new award will be open to the top seven herds that were judged overall champions in their local regions in autumn 2021, with the winner selected by veteran judge George Somerville, former Farm Manager of Glenkiln Farms in Dumfries & Galloway. Going forward it will be open to the highest placed Breedplan recorded herd in each region.

Annual herd competitions have become an important part of regional club activities and breed promotion for Beef Shorthorns, providing a way to showcase the qualities of the hard-working cows around the country.

The seven herds that were judged overall champions in their local regions are great examples of the attributes of the breed, so the idea behind this new award is to highlight the qualities of the Beef Shorthorn during this important bicentennial year. We also hope that the introduction of the National Herd Award will add value to the breed development work done regionally by club members.

The award scheme will be run over an initial three-year period and is being sponsored by Pedigree Sales Online Livestock Auctions, who are providing silverware and cash prizes. Tommy Staunton, CEO of Pedigree Sales Online, said:

“We are proud to be part of the Beef Shorthorn family and feel very privileged to have helped found this competition in the Shorthorn’s bicentenary year.  Having personally judged some of the regional herd competitions in recent years I know the depth of quality amongst the participating herds in the various regions through the UK is outstanding.”

The seven herds judged overall champions in their local regions are:

Scotland:                                             Glenisla, Perthshire

Northern Ireland:                             Glebe Farm, Tyrone

North of England:                             Beautry, North Yorkshire

Central England:                               Podehole, Cambridgeshire

Southern England:                           Meonhill, East Hampshire

Wales & Borders:                             Frenni, Pembrokeshire

South Wales & Mid Western:      Frenni, Pembrokeshire

The National Herd Award winner will be announced on September 23rd at a celebratory event, hosted by breed Society President, Charles Horton who commented:

“We are thrilled to announce the National Herd Award, one of several initiatives designed to mark the bicentenary of the oldest cattle register in the world. During that 200-year period Beef Shorthorn breeders have carefully selected genetics that have enabled the breed to meet ongoing market demand. Beef Shorthorn has progressed to today’s increasingly popular modern functional suckler cow, being particularly suitable for low input forage-based systems.”

The National Herd Award is just one of many activities and events we are planning throughout 2022 to mark the bicentenary.