Young charolais claims Interbreed crown

Bull calf Stetson most notably won the Overall Charolais Champion and the Interbreed Champion at Virginia

A Charolais calf announced himself on the Virginia stage with an impressive haul of rosettes and silverware.

Owned by couple Simone McCabe and Niall Maguire who run the Rockvalley Pedigrees and Commercials herd, young bull calf Stetson most notably won the Overall Charolais Champion and the Interbreed Champion at Virginia. In addition he won the North East Charolais Champion Calf and alongside Samara, also of Rockvalley, he also won the Pairs class.

You have to take your hat off to him.

Stetson’s Virginia trophy-fest followed an impressive showing at the Tullamore Show a few weeks earlier.

“He won the Overall Reserve Charolais Champion, so he’s done very well for us this summer,” says the Castleblayney woman, who alongside her fiancé from Leitrim are only in their first year of showing Charolais cattle.

Asked what she thought the judges saw in Stetson, Simone explained: “He’s a very stylish calf, very correct, really good legs, good topline – very sweet head. There’s a lot of people who said he’s a very stylish showy calf, and that’s why they seem to like him today.”

Simone and Niall are retaining Stetson’s mother, Birches Pretty Lady, which they bought from Portadown. They have a relatively small herd so despite Stetson’s success, he’s destined for the sales ring in Elphin.

“The idea for us is were always going to sell the bulls we produce, and then we use AI, so we always want to get the best of the best – get the best genetics out there and breed from them.

“There’s a very big pedigree sale for Charolais in December, it’s called the Christmas Cracker – so we’re going to bring him to that.”

Simone was thrilled by the nine month old’s Virginia triumphs: “This is the best. This is as good as it gets. It’s recognition of your breeding your hard work and the time you put in to them, just to see something like this come.”