By Tom Collins
SPENCERVILLE — It was a championship debut for Maple-Ain StanleyCup Lockout at the Eastern Ontario Invitational Show at Spencerville on Aug. 24.
The four-year-old cow, owned by Hugh Hunter of Maple-Ain Holsteins at Smiths Falls near Kemptville, was making her in-ring debut and wound up being named grand champion.
“We didn’t really know what to expect,” said Hunter, a three-time Master Breeder. “She’s just a real honest, every-day cow that just goes about her business. She has a tremendous mammary system in combination with a great set of feet and legs and tremendous dairyness throughout. Putting all those things together makes for a pretty complete package. She’s really my kind of cow.”
Hunter said the cow was born at the wrong time of year to make a good show calf, and after her first and second calf, was a little small and immature to show previously.
“She’s still immature for her age,” he said. “But for me, that’s a nice fault to have because that means she’ll still look young when she’s an older cow.”
He added that StanleyCup Lockout is not just a pretty face as she’s projected over 15,000 kilos of milk in this lactation. Hunter said he may bring the cow to the Eastern Ontario regional show in Metcalfe in October but hasn’t yet made a final decision.
This was the first year for the Eastern Ontario Invitational Show under a new name. Previously called the Tri-County show, more counties were included to deal with declining attendance. Cows were shown this year from Dundas, Leeds, Grenville, Prince Edward, Hastings and Lennox and Addington counties.
While StanleyCup Lockout may have been the MVP, it was a team effort as the rest of Hunter’s cows helped win breeder’s herd, premier exhibitor and premier breeder.
Hunter said the show was bigger and more competitive because of the changes. But he admitted he was uncertain about how his cows would fare. The weekend before the show, he hosted a Doors Open event, which allows members of the public to visit the farm. He saw about 300 people visit over the weekend, and it left everyone tired.
“I woke up Monday morning, and I thought I must be a special kind of crazy to attempt to take all these cows to a show after the weekend they just had,” he said.
Here is a list of winners at the Eastern Ontario Invitational Show:
Grand Champion: Maple-Ain StanleyCup Lockout, bred and owned by Gerald and Hugh Hunter of Maple-Ain Holsteins at Smiths Falls
Reserve Champion: Winright Brokaw Selena, bred by Brian Joseph Enright at Winchester, Ont. and Purple Fever Holsteins at Hermon, New York, owned by Brian Joseph Wright
Honourable Mention: Quality SC Panama, bred by Ari Ekstein of Quality Holsteins at Vaughan, Ont.; owned by Emma Farlinger at Morrisburg, Ont.
Premier Breeder: Maple-Ain Holsteins
Premier Exhibitor: Maple-Ain Holsteins
Breeders Herd: Hugh Hunter, Smiths Falls, Ont.
Reserve: Aija Holsteins, Ont.
Best udder: Maple-Ain StanleyCup Lockout
Junior Champion: Glennholme Doorman Reggae, bred by Brian and Kyle Rivington of Glennholme Holsteins at Carp, Ont., Michael, Thea, and Emma Farlinger of Signature Holsteins at Morrisburg, Ont. and Todd Edwards at Morrisburg, Ont., owned by Glennholme Holsteins, Signature Holsteins, Todd Edwards and Emma Farlinger
Reserve: Shearoad High Octane Becka, bred by Shearoad Farms at Richmond, Ont.; owned by Bert, Ann, Paul and Steven Velthuis of Velthuis Farms Ltd. at Osgoode, Ont.
Honourable Mention: Riverdown Doorman Abrooklyn, bred and owned by John, Karen and Justin Velthuis of Riverdown Holsteins at Metcalfe, Ont.
4-H Champion: Glennholme Doorman Reggae
