BREAKING NEWS: BRITISH SIMMENTAL ‘VIRTUAL’ SHOW IS BACK!

BREAKING NEWS: BRITISH SIMMENTAL ‘VIRTUAL’ SHOW IS BACK!

by | Jun 14, 2023 | 2023 Virtual Show Results, 2023, 2023 News, Virtual Show

2023 Competition to be held from July – mid August

Back with a summer bang, the fourth staging of the British Simmental ‘Virtual’ Show has been announced and will take place over a six-week period through July to mid-August.

Initiated in 2020 when there were no summer shows, this picture-based competition has caught the imagination and proved to be hugely popular with participating breeders having a go, and through the power of social media, an audience stretching across the UK and around the globe.

To date the competition has attracted some spectacular entries and with the 2021 edition seeing a remarkable 754 animals entered from breeders across the four home nations.  Class and Championship winners have reflected the strength in depth of British Simmental cattle across the country and with he first three overall winners being from Cheshire, Moray, and Cornwall!

First and foremost it’s a fun competition and an opportunity for Simmental herds, large and small, to participate.  We again hope that the ‘Virtual’ Show provides a very visible window through which to promote British Simmental genetics to fellow breeders, potential buyers, commercial producers, the UK industry in all its parts, and to a global online audience interested in good cattle.  Previous editions of the event, and now in harness with the summer shows, have also highlighted animals with forward Simmental sales potential.

Last year, and in recognition of the live summer show season being back, the classes were tightened to six in all, and followed by the Overall Championships.  We’ve stuck with that again this year and with the schedule as follows:

2023 BRITISH SIMMENTAL ‘VIRTUAL’ SHOW

Class 1:  Bull Calf born on or after 1st August 2022. Calf name and date of birth to be stated.

Entries Open: 30th June                      Entries Close: 7th July

Class 2: Heifer Calf born on or after 1st August 2022. Calf name and date of birth to be stated.

Entries Open: 8th July              Entries Close: 14th July

Class 3: Bull born between 1st January 2021 to 31st July 2022. Bull name and date of birth to be stated.

Entries Open: 15th July                      Entries Close: 21st July

Class 4: Heifer born between 1st January 2021 – 31st July 2022.  Calf name and date of birth to be stated.

Entries Open: 22nd July                       Entries Close: 28th July

Class 5: Bull born before 1st January 2021. Bull name and date of birth to be stated.

Entries Open: 29th July                        Entries Close: 4th August

Class 6: Cow any age, In milk.  Udder must be seen in picture, no calf to be seen in picture. Cow name and date of birth to be stated.

Entries Open: 5th August        Entries Close: 11th August

Special 1: Male Champion                  Announced w/c 15th August.

Special 2: Female Champion              Announced w/c 15th August.

Special 3: Overall Champion              Announced w/c 15th August.

So, the sun is presently shining, the die is cast, and it’s now over to you!  We very much hope you’ll take full aim at the 2023 British Simmental ‘Virtual’ Show and once again, let’s see if we can ‘wow the online crowds’ with another showcase of quality British Simmental genetics.

Keep an eye on Facebook for updates and reminders of the respective classes.

‘HEAVEN SENT’ CORSKIE COW IS CROWNED THE 2021 SIMMENTAL ‘VIRTUAL’ SHOW CHAMPION

‘HEAVEN SENT’ CORSKIE COW IS CROWNED THE 2021 SIMMENTAL ‘VIRTUAL’ SHOW CHAMPION

by | Sep 13, 2021 | 2021 Scottish News, 2021 Midlands News, 2021 Virtual Show Results, Virtual Show, 2021 News, 2021

• Mixbury Hall stock bull Tillbrook Frank Overall Reserve
• 754 pedigree Simmentals entered the online competition
• Cow class sees 197 entries

Overall and Female Champion Corskie Heaven

The 2021 Simmental ‘Virtual’ Show Overall Supreme Champion is the outstanding five-year-old cow Corskie Heaven from the well known Corskie Simmental herd of WJ & J Green, Garmouth, Fochabers. Taking the Overall Reserve Supreme Champion position was the Male Champion, Tilbrook Frank from VC Bailey, Mixbury Hall Farm, Mixbury, Brackley, Northamptonshire.

An entirely online show first organised by the British Simmental Cattle Society last year, the second staging of the competition saw a remarkable 754 Simmentals entered over the respective twelve classes.

2016 born, Corskie Heaven, a Dirnanean Bradley daughter out of Corskie Eve, did it the ‘hard way’ by coming through an incredible class of 197 cows, the largest entry in the classes, before lifting the Female Championship and moving on to take the blue riband top title.

Judging the final Championship was Anne MacPherson of the highly noted Blackford herd at Blackford, Croy, Inverness. Commenting Anne said: “The Champion Corskie Heaven is a great example of a Simmental cow; she is very feminine with nice smooth flesh and plenty of length. She’s my type of female and very much shows the maternal traits which are important for the Simmental breed. Congratulations also to Mixbury Hall. Tillbrook Frank looks a really modern, powerful bull with tremendous muscle and length.”

On behalf of the Green family, Laura Beattie said: “It’s fantastic to win this competition and from such an entry both in numbers and quality. Corskie Heaven is just a really nice, feminine cow and we’re delighted that she’s gone all the way. We had eight entries in the cow class and six of them placed in the top twenty, so we are very proud of all the cows! Corskie Heaven is a Dirnanean Bradley daughter and Bradley has bred exceptionally well in the herd. Heaven’s dam, Corskie Eve is by Corskie Valiant, a homebred bull who himself had a strong show career for the herd, including being Overall Champion at the 2009 Scottish National Show. The Society’s ‘Virtual’ Show has been great again this year and it’s been so good to ‘show off’ cattle that have not been able to go out into the show ring over this last couple of years.”

Male Champion Tilbrook Frank

It was a strong showing for the Northamptonshire based Mixbury Hall herd who also lifted the Reserve Female Championship with the Spring born heifer calf Mixbury Hall Milly. Taking the Reserve Male Championship was Rockytop Luca, from Gary and Angela Christie’s Rockytop herd, Glass, Huntly. The May 2020 born Rockytop Luca, had initially won the young bull class in the competition.

Reserve Female Champion Mixbury Hall Milly
Reserve Male Champion Rockytop Luca

The Simmental ‘Virtual’ Show was established in 2020 to bring ‘some fun and competition’ for members with there being no summer show season during the Covid pandemic. Such was the popularity of the competition that the ‘Virtual’ Show was rolled out for a second staging this year and was supported with a massive entry.

Each of the respective classes had a young profile judge who announced their results on a weekly basis and with a supporting video talking about their results. Come Championship time and Craig Hollingsworth of the Midhope herd, Sheffield, judged the Females, whilst Alan Burleigh of the Derrycallaghan herd, Lisnaskea judged the Males. It was then over to Anne MacPherson to judge this year’s Overall Supreme Champion. Tom Hill of the Scotland Hill herd, Doncaster, had the difficult but enviable task of judging the 197 strong cow class from which the Overall Champion emerged.

Commenting generally, the British Simmental Cattle Society’s President Stewart Stronach said: “Congratulations to the Corskie and Mixbury Hall herds for their Championship wins. I’d also like to extend a massive well done to the Simmental breeders around the UK who have readily supported this competition and in such great numbers. Who would ever have thought we would have seen an entry of 197 cows in any show class, even an online class! Throughout the nine weeks of judging the quality of entries has been superb and the competition has been a lot of fun and a terrific showcase for the Simmental breed. We have been amazed week on week by the reach of the posts and the comments and discussion both domestically and in countries across the world. This year’s show really has had a ‘wow’ factor on so many levels. Whilst we hope to return to summer show rings next year, I’m sure there will be a popular demand for a third staging of the Simmental ‘Virtual’ Show.”