Two youngsters from Cornwall and Devon are representing the Holstein Young Breeders in Cremona, Italy as they compete in the 8th annual Open Junior Show.

Steven Harris is in the senior team that is competing while Vikki Murch is in the junior team.

Teams from across Europe will travel to Cremona to compete against each other on the international stage from October 23 – 26 October.

The esteemed Open Junior Show is credited for providing an extremely high level of competition in its clipping, showmanship and stock judging elements and many HYB members have great success at the show in the past.

The team will arrive at the showground on the Wednesday and be assigned a heifer to get familiar with before the clipping contest on Thursday morning. Friday will see the competitors go head-to-head in the main ring in the showmanship competition. Other elements include stock judging and a technical quiz with competitors being scored throughout and prizes awarded for the best individual and team performances.

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Steven Harris of Cornwall HYB Club teams up with Ben Coates of the Yorkshire HYB Club. Steven has been in HYB for nine years and his highlights include winning the HYB Senior Linear Competition at the 2018 Weekend Rally and finishing in the top five ABAB Showmanship classes in 2017 and 2018. Steven works on his family farm where they milk 200 head and he has been investing in some great cow families to develop the bloodlines. Steven is really looking forward to competing in Cremona and is hoping to further develop his skills and learn from others.

Vikki Murch of Devon HYB Club is partnered by Iwan Thomas of South Wales HYB Club. Vikki has been in HYB for seven years and is extremely passionate about the dairy industry and showing cattle. A particular highlight for Vikki was coming third in the B Team’s clipping element of this year’s Field-2-Foto competition with an impressive score. Vikki is really looking forward to Cremona and hopes to gain more experience in calf preparation and handling. Currently studying for her GCSE’s, Vikki would like to go to agricultural college and then secure a job within the dairy industry in the future.

Cerys Petrie, HYB coordinator, said: “We are thrilled to be taking such a strong team to this year’s competition. The team consists of four outstanding HYB members and it really is a fantastic opportunity for them. Holstein UK would like to wish them the very best of luck and we are excited to see how they get on.”

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