You can’t wipe the smile off Chad and Kristin Gordon’s faces after their three-year-old cow, Gorgala Unstopabull Tiffany, scooped the pool and was crowned National Herd Development Winter Fair Supreme Intermediate Champion.
The family milks 360 cows at Tongala, and Mr Gordon said Tiffany was a great no-fuss cow and a favourite of his children Zara, Matilda and William.
It was a great show for the Gordons’ Gorgala stud, taking out three class wins with three home-grown animals in the intermediate section.
“This is the first time we have had a win here at the Winter Fair,” Mr Gordon said.
Principal judge Mandy Bue couldn’t take her eyes off three-year-old Tiffany, describing her as an outstanding and tremendous cow with an “astonishingly” great udder.
Supreme Senior Champion Cow was Eclipse Alltheway Princess, owned by Stephen and Leanne Coombes from Tamworth.
This is only the third time Princess has hit the show ring and the first time the family have been to the Winter Fair.
Mr Coombes said the win hadn’t quite sunk in yet.
“Princess is a real pleasure to work with and she is such a great cow,” he said.
“We bought her from Richard Hull and because I couldn’t get to the sale, I saw her online.
“I thought she looked like a pretty good cow and because she didn’t make a lot of money I thought I would buy her.”
The 2023 Winter Fair was held in Bendigo from June 27 to 29, and organiser Clare Modra said it was another successful event.
“We had a great turnout in junior judging with the largest number of participants ever,” Mrs Modra said.
“The handlers was well attended and we had so many heifers in the dry class, we struggled to fit the animals in the ring.”
Mrs Modra said it was great to have a female judge in the ring this year.
Mrs Bue said she was extremely impressed with the quality of cows right across the classes, from heifers through to senior in-milk cows.
“All the winners are tremendous cows and could compete at any show anywhere in the world,” she said.
“This is my first time judging here and I was amazed to be asked and it has been fabulous.”
It has been seven years since the Winter Fair hosted an auction.
This year’s Elders Winter Opportunity Sale saw 22 lots averaging $6825, with the top-priced lot Brindebella Chief S Nan selling for $16,500 to the Coombes family from Tamworth.
The 2023 recipient of the Power of Women in Dairying World Dairy Expo Scholarship was Emmalea Wishart from Rowlands Park Holsteins, Cohuna.