Watching the 2012 Royal Winter Fair (Read more – The 2012 Royal Winter Fair Holstein Show – One of the greatest stories ever told) Heifer Show got me asking myself which one of those heifers could  be the next Hailey, Monique or Monica?  With so many great heifers that are so exceptionally tall, dairy and correct, how come more of them don’t turn out to be the next great show cow?

Because the odds should be in their favor, we decided to look at the top 10 heifers from each of the classes to see which ones have the best chance of becoming the next great one.

Junior Calf

COBEQUID GOLDWYN DANNY – 2nd place Junior Calf 2012 RAWF

• COBEQUID GOLDWYN DANNY (2^nd Place)
  Danny  comes to light as having the greatest potential in the junior calf class of being the next great young show cow..  Her dam, LOOKOUT DUNDEE DANIKA scored VG-88 as a 2 year old and was Intermediate Champion at the Atlantic Spring Show in 2010.  Her sire stack of Goldwyn x Dundee has already proven to be one of the top crosses (Read – Breeding The Next Show Winners).  Follow that by an EX-94-2E Lee, ROSWITHA LEE JODY D who was nominated All-Canadian as a Mature Cow and a Jr. 2 year old and you can see why Danny has a very bright future.
• CHERRY CREST LAVANGUARD ROZ (3^rd Place)
  If you`re looking for the heifer that is probably the most complete package in the class, you would probably choose Roz.  This Comestar Lavanguard has a PA LPI of over 2000, and seven generations of VG or EX (averaging over 90 points).  She is the only heifer in the top 10 that has a PA for production over 1000 and adds to that a PA for Conformation of +13.  Certainly a heifer with potential for greatness.

Intermediate Calf

PETITCLERC GOLDWYN SIDNEY – 1st place Intermediate Calf 2012 RAWF

• PETITCLERC GOLDWYN SIDNEY (1^st Place)
  Sidney is coming off a year of three big wins.  She was 1^st at the Royal, QC International and also Expo. QC Sidney`s great year is not surprising since her sire stack of Goldwyn x Jasper x Triumphant spells show type.  Her dam BRABANTDALE JASPER SPADES scored VG-88 as a 4 year old and was honorable mention All-Quebec in 2007.  Her 2^nd dam is the great BRABANTDALE TRIUMPHANT SPOOKY EX-2E-CAN 48*, which gives a clear indication that Sidney has the pedigree to produce.
• SUNSPARK WINDBROOK EXTRA (3^rd Place)
  Certainly a heifer that will give Sidney a run for her money is Windbrook Extra. Extra is sired by one of the top type sires in the breed, GILLETTE WINDBROOK and her dam CARSTAR GOLDWYN ELEANOR scored VG 89-4YR and had a 91 point mammary system.  Following that Extra 3^rd dam is an 87-point Leduc followed by an 85 point Rudolph.

Senior Calf

MD-DUN-LOAFIN LAUTH ELLI- 1st Senior Calf and Junior Champion 2012 RAWF

• MD-DUN-LOAFIN LAUTH ELLI (1^st Place)
  Winning Junior Champion at the Royal as a senior calf certainly predicts a great future for the next year.  The question is can it continue in milking form? Well when it comes to Elli, the future certainly looks very bright.  Her sire stack of Lauthority on Rubens should provide her with a very snug udder.  Behind that Elli has an EX-91 Linjet grand dam from none other than KRULL BROKER ELEGANCE EX-96-3E-USA    GMD DOM   1*.
• IDEE GOLDWYN LIVIA (4^th Place)
  Certainly another heifer to watch for is Livia.  Her dam is a VG-89-3yr (90 MS) Sam that traces back to IDEE JOLT LIZA VG-89-4YR-CAN  2* , RES. ALL-CANADIAN JR.2-YR,4-H SUM.1-YR, and then ultimately RAVENSWELL LYDIA EX-92-3YR-USA DOM 19* dam of IDEE LUSTRE EX-95-3E-USA      9* the 2002 Royal Grand Champion.

Summer Yearling

CO-VALE FEVER CAMILA – 1st place Summer Yearling 2012 RAWF

• CO-VALE FEVER CAMILA (1^st Place)
  Camila had an outstanding year, going undefeated in her class.  It’s hard to get a read on Camila as her Carisma dam, DUCKETT CARISMA EVA was not scored (Note: Aaron Eaton who owns the dam helped us fill in the blanks Her dam is scored VG-88-2YR and was HM Int. Champion at NY Spring Show.  She is fresh and ready for the classifier as well as the shows), fortunately her 2^nd dam CURR-VALE DURHAM EVE is scored EX-94-2E EX-94MS and was Reserve Junior All NY Sr. 3-Year-Old ’08.  Looking at her sire stack of Fever on Carisma should bode well for her getting a strong mammary system and have Camila as one of the Jr. 2yr olds to watch for in 2013.
• BELFAST GOLDWYN LASENZA (2^nd Place)
  First of all Lasenza is a Goldwyn on a Durham – a cross that has proven to work even though you would wonder if it had enough dairy strength (Read – Breeding the Next Show Winners).  Then add to that Lasenza dam is a VG-89-3yr (91MS) from a EX-91 Cousteau form THIERSANT LILI STARBUCK EX-94-5E-USA 2* the 2^nd dam of the LYLEHAVEN LYLA Z EX-94-CAN  14* the $1.15 Million dollar cow (Read – Lylehaven Lila Z : Was She Really Worth $1.15 Million?).  Is that same Goldwyn Durham cross that produced COMESTAR GOLDWYN LILAC VG-89 whose progeny sold for over $2,500,000 at the recent Genetics By Design Sale (Read – Genetics By Design – Crosses the $4,000,000 Mark).  So there is certainly no question that Lasenza’s pedigree posses a strong genetic punch.
• PETITCLERC SID SUNKISS (7^th Place)
  Looking at Sunkiss, we see that she is from the VG-2YR full sister to the dam of PETITCLERC GOLDWYN SIDNEY (1^st place Intermediate Calf).Combine those credentials   Sid, who is +17 MS, and you have a can’t miss proposition.  After seeing Sunkiss, you could also think that maybe Sidney should be bred or flushed to Sid.

Junior Yearling

• JACOBS ATWOOD LILLY BOY (3^rd Place)
  Coming off a strong 2011 show season where Lilly Boy was nominated All-Quebec as a Jr. Calf, she continued her winning ways in 2012. When you consider that Goldwyn on Dundee worked so well, you would have to think that Goldwyn’s son Atwood from the 2012 Golden Dam Finalist MD-DELIGHT DURHAM ATLEE EX-92-USA GMD DOM 2* would also have to work pretty well.  If that is not enough for you, Lilly Boy’s dam CRASDALE DUNDEE LIZA VG-89-4YR-CAN has an 89 point mammary system and is the daughter of CRASDALE LYSTER LOTTERY EX-94-2E-CAN1* from the great RAVENSWELL LYDIA EX-92-3YR-USA DOM 19*.
• CRESTOMERE SANCHEZ VITAL (6^th Place)
  Vital comes to the top in a class that has some really outstanding type sire stacks.  Vital is that Sanchez daughter of an EX-91-3E (94MS) Dundee.  This is a cross that on paper should produce an outstanding daughter and it did in Vital.
• BVK ATWOOD ANA (7^th Place)
  Ana catches my eye because  she is the full sister to the this year’s World Dairy Expo winning junior 2yr old, BVK ATWOOD ARIANNA VG-89-2YR. (Read – World Dairy Expo 2012 Holstein Show – A battle for the ages).  Arianna and Ana are line bred by Butlerview and Ruppert’s to be great.  Their sire Atwood’s dam MD-DURHAM ATLEE EX-92-4YR-USA DOM GMD 2* (2012 Golden Dam Finalist) is a granddaughter of Arianna’s own dam the great MS KINGSTEAD CHIEF ADEEN EX-94-2E-USA DOM 2*. (Read more – World Dairy Expo Winners: Investment Worthy).

Intermediate Yearling

PETITCLERC ALEXANDER AMYCALE -1st Intermediate Yearling and Reserve Junior Champion 2012 RAWF

• PETITCLERC ALEXANDER AMYCALE (1^st Place)
  On paper the cross of Alexander on PETITCLERC STORM AMY EX-92-2E-CAN 9* should work and, with Amycale, it did.  While maybe not the most modern of type sire stacks (Storm x Starbuck x Tab), Amycale’s pedigree does have substance. She should be considered as a senior 2 year old to watch for in 2013, if she can get the best that both her sire and maternal lines have to offer.
• KINGSWAY SANCHEZ ARMADILLO (2^nd Place)
  With probably the highest type sire stack in the class (Sanchez x Goldwyn x Dundee x Terrison), Armadillo has a lot going for her.  Her dam, KINGSWAY GOLDWYN ABRAKAZOO VG-88-2YR is from 3 generations of EX dams.   No question that Armadillo is bred to show and her 2012 results prove it.  Armadillo should calve in with a high wide rear udder, with great texture and snug fore udder, certainly a senior 2 year old we all will be watching.

Senior Yearling

KINGSWAY SANCHEZ MAGICIAN – 1st Senior Yearling 2012 RAWF

• KINGSWAY SANCHEZ MAGICIAN (1^st Place)
  Coming off her 2^nd place finish at Madison, Magician took advantage of the absence of Kingsway Goldwyn Artichoke from the Royal to win the class.  Magician should be a strong consideration for 2013, as her cross of Sanchez on Roy should produce an outstanding mammary system.  Her dam KINGSWAY ROY MADGE EX-93-2E has a 93 point mammary system and completes 3 generations of EX.
• SIGNATURE GOLD KEYNA (9^th Place)
  A sleeper for some might be Keyna.  I am actually surprised they didn’t calve her in as a senior yearling as her dam, SIGNATURE JASPER KAT VG-88-2YR-CAN was nominated All-Canadian in 2010 as a milking yearling.  Her sire stack is just dripping with type (Goldwyn x Jasper x Leader x Astre x Asto Jet) and has Kenya as a sleeper to watch for in 2013.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

While show heifers that become great show cows are few and far between, there are the exceptional cases such as R-E-W HAPPY GO LUCKY and BVK ATWOOD ARIANNA who had success as heifers and continued their winning ways in milking form. In our opinion, one of the above heifers is waiting to take the spotlight. Look into your crystal ball.  “Who will be the next great one?”