The East of England Showground will see the return of this year’s All Breeds All Britain (ABAB) Calf Show.
Organised by Holstein Young Breeders (HYB), the calf show will feature seven British dairy breeds including the Holstein, British Friesian, Jersey, Guernsey, Brown Swiss, Ayrshire and Dairy Shorthorn breeds.
Held on October 19 and 20, the event draws young breeders representing the best from across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Saturday schedule sees the showmanship classes followed on Sunday with 36 individual calf classes and the championships.
Adding a little competitive fun, the Holstein Young Breeders teams will also be required to construct stands based on the event theme, while also making sure their cattle lines and calves look immaculate.
The team who embraces the theme the best is rewarded for its inspiration and efforts.
2019 judges
The showmanship classes will be judged by Isobel Jones who works for Holstein International. Isobel grew up working with her family’s Knowlesmere herd and now runs ‘Jones Holsteins’ with her husband, Gary.
Between the two herds, they have won numerous nationals shows around the world including the UK with Knowlesmere Goldwyn Abrakaboom, Italy with Hallow Atwood Twizzle and most recently Swiss Expo with Sunnibelle Dempsey Esprit.
Isobel has shown cattle all around the world, with her competitive showmanship highlights being overall Champion Showman at 2010 All-European Show, Champion Showman at the All-Britain Calf Show 2009, Reserve Champion Showman All-Britain 2011.
On the Sunday, Javier Alverez Lastra will cast his professional eye as judge of the calf show. Alverez has been on the Spanish national judges list since 2006 and has been part of the official panel of European Judges EHRC since 2013.
Javier Alvarez currently works as a manager in the team of the Research Center Blanca from the Pyrenees, managing a herd of 347 heads of Ponderosa Holsteins, included in the project.
He has judged many events across Spain with the most recent highlights being the Spanish National Holstein CONAFE 2018 held in Gijon. At an international level, he has also judged in Portugal and Sweden.
Other awards
A number of other awards are also presented at the event including two special awards. The Dick Stapleton Award will be presented to a young person who has been particularly helpful throughout the weekend.
The Louise Hartley Award in memory of Lancashire HYB member, Louise Hartley, who sadly lost her battle to cancer in 2016 will also be presented. In celebration of Louise Hartley’s life, the Louise Hartley Memorial Fund was set up to give a youngster with an interest in agriculture the chance to further their career.
Kindly donated by Alta Genetics, the winner will receive a place on either an Alta Genetics tour of America or Europe or the opportunity to attend an Alta Genetics Dairy Manager School in the UK to develop their skills and learning.
Society agriculture development manager William Haire added: “Supporting young people is very high on our agenda at the East of England Agricultural Society, so we are extremely delighted to welcome back the All Breeds All Britain calf show to the Showground in Peterborough.
We recognise how powerful events like this are and the positive effect participation has in developing young people’s skills and confidence which benefits them throughout their lives, so we are proud to be able to play a part in making this happen.
Hannah Williams, head of events and marketing for Holstein UK, said: “The annual All Breeds All Britain Calf Show brings together young dairy farmers from across the UK to compete, learn and network.
“It’s a highpoint of the HYB calendar, and it’s really inspiring to see so many young calf handlers demonstrating sophisticated skills at such a young age.
“The East of England Arena and Events Centre was a fantastic host last year, so we look forward to returning this year.”
