Quest Leads to Victory for Yagaburne at Beef 2021

Yagaburne Quest Q643 strode to victory in the Hereford ring at Beef 2021 in Rockhampton last week.

The 19-month-old sire, exhibited by Yagaburne Poll Herefords Goondiwindi is a son of Supple Lawless and took out the junior champion sash before taking on the senior champion bull to be named grand champion Hereford bull of the show.

The Hereford classes were judged by Martin Lill of Coonabarabran with Riley Jenson of Yeppoon serving as associate judge.

Weighing in at 830 kilograms with an eye muscle area of 117 square centimetres and fats of 12 millimetres on the rib and 16mm on the rump Quest impressed the judges with his length and mobility.

“We’re absolutely stoked with this young calf as our grand, he’s a bull that really caught our eye.

“[He has a] strong spine, is great up front and has enough depth and thickness out the back.

“He’s plenty big enough at just 19 months, he’s plenty heavy enough, he’s got a great frame score to be go on to be a proper stud sire.

“[He has a] beautiful head, neck and shoulder and I really like the way he got around the show ring and I’m sure he’ll go around the paddock in the same fashion,” Mr Lill said.

Third time Beef exhibitor Kerry Glasser of Yagaburne Poll Herefords was surprised and delighted with the result.

“We haven’t won at Beef before, but this is the third time we’ve exhibited, we really went to support the breed and our cattle went better than we expected which is great,” Mr Glasser said.

According to Mr Glasser, Quest had an interesting start to life and was almost steered as a weaner.

“He weaned himself at about 4 months of age by accidentally ending up in the wrong paddock, but he’s grown out to be a very big, long bull and keeps improving all the time.

“He’s a bull that always catches your eye,” Mr Glasser said.

In the female classes Sydney Royal champion Wirruna Golden Vanity M261 proved her show ring prowess once again, taking out senior and grand champion Hereford female.

Exhibited by JTR Cattle Company, Roslyn NSW and Tobruk Poll Herefords, Rowan NSW Golden Vanity delighted the judges with her broodiness and depth.

The five-year-old cow was sired by Wirruna Kelso K23 and was exhibited with her seven-month-old heifer calf at foot.

“This female just oozes broodiness, she’s a female of maximum capacity and yet not giving anything away from her refinement up front.

“She’s an absolute powerhouse of a female and she’s got a cracking little heifer calf that’s showing similar dimension.

“I can’t speak highly enough of this female, this is the type of female we’ve been chasing all day,” Mr Lill said.

Damien Halloway of Tobruk Poll Herefords was thrilled with the win, having only recently acquired the share in Golden Vanity with JTR from her previous Canadian owners.

“What attracted me to her was that the phenotype and performance that she’s got makes her a very useable cow that can be crossed with a number of sires to meet a range of different breeding objectives,” Mr Halloway said.

Reserve champion senior female was awarded to Mickey Mouse Lady Alice 604, exhibited by Aleacea Nixon.

In the junior female division, it was a clean sweep for the Campion family of Amos Vale Herefords, Glen Innes, taking out both champion and reserve junior Hereford female with Amos Vale Lioness 26 Q026 and Amos Vale Pearl PR Royal 319 Q046 respectively.

The judges found the two females remarkably similar, but Lioness’s femininity and refinement was enough to put her in front of Pearl PR Royal.

“She’s a female that’s beautifully refined up front, she’s every bit as long as the female in reserve champion place, she’s every bit as deep as the female in reserve champion place.

“The female in reserve is an amazing carcase animal, she’s a tremendously long female, she’s tremendously deep and thick,” Mr Lill said of the two Amos Vale heifers.

In the female calf classes Kalara Miss Charm R001 exhibited by Jamie Hollis and Mikayla Passmore was awarded the champion sash ahead of Jarrah Britisher R319 in reserve.

Mr Lill said he admired Miss Charm’s broodiness, depth, and volume.

In the senior bull classes Braelyn Advance P120 claimed champion honours and was described by the judges as “the best of both worlds.”

“We really like the way he gets around the ring and he’s probably the best-balanced bull out here today,” Mr Lill said.

Reserve champion senior bull was awarded to Jarrah Anzac H006 Q090 exhibited by Jarrah Cattle Company, Banana.

Reserve champion junior bull was presented to Devon Court Jubilant Q169, exhibited by Devon Court Herefords, Drillham.

The first placed exhibitor’s group was awarded to Jarrah Cattle Company with a trio that Mr Lill described as smooth and consistent.

“We’re seeing length in the extreme, we’re seeing quite trim and very modern cattle and we’ve seen how they get around the ring all day, so we really appreciate the movement and functionality,” Mr Lill said.

The first placed dam’s progeny group was awarded to Jordan Alexander and Tondara Herefords with progeny out of Kanimbla Harmony K157.

Grand Champion Bull Yagaburne Quest Q643.

Grand Champion Female Wirruna Golden Vanity M261 with Ian Locke, Wirruna Poll Herefords, Stuart Hobbs, Tim Reid, JTR Cattle Company and Herefords Australia CEO, Lisa Sharp.

Senior champion bull Braelyn Advance P120.

Reserve senior champion bull Jarrah Anzac H006 Q090.

Reserve junior champion bull Devon Court Jubilant Q169 with associate judge Riley Jenson, Tom Nixon, Devon Court Herefords and Lachy Day, Days Whiteface, Bordertown SA.