Cattle bring Toowoomba Show more good news as studs vie for top honours

Equestrian sports were front and centre at the Toowoomba Showgrounds at the start of the week but by the end of it, beef cattle had taken centre stage, giving show stewards plenty more to smile about.

According to Toowoomba Show vice president Bruce McConnel, the 555 individually registered cattle, including stud and commercial entries, will make it the third largest beef cattle show in Australia this year.

That figure included 280 head in commercial classes and 275 stud entries, boosted by 107 stud Droughtmaster cattle, who were the feature breed of the show.

It all combined to make it the biggest Toowoomba Show for beef cattle in a decade, according to Mr McConnel, who said it was becoming regarded as an early-season Ekka and as having serious presence in the beef cattle judging world.

Cattle committee chair Cameron Collins said numbers could have been even greater if not for a few scratchings thanks to the severe wet weather being experienced across a large part of the state.

After Friday's hard slog, when there was not a moment it wasn't raining, judges Peter Collins, Rob Sinnamon, Innes Fahey and Geoff Bush had rain-free conditions for the interbreed finale on Saturday.

After a hiatus from Toowoomba, Stephen Hayward and Kellie Smith, K5X Angus and Advance Charolais, Allora, returned with eight entries that helped them finish as the most successful exhibitor at the show.

The Malcolm McCosker Memorial interbreed supreme beef exhibit trophy was the most coveted of those, awarded to K5X Brooke S184, who came up through the ranks from the Angus female 24 months and over class.

She was shown with her second calf, a seven-month-old 400kg bull calf sired by South Australian bull Nampara Power Shift, after winning the interbreed female championship.

Judges commented on Brooke's depth and said she walked like a champion.

Droughtmaster and Hereford entries were also vying for interbreed female honours.

Mr Hayward said she'd been shown as a heifer in Sydney in her younger days and brought back as a cow and calf entry, winning supreme exhibit at the Clifton Show in February.

"I was really happy with the end result, especially as we were competing with the quality of the Droughtmaster feature show," he said.

The new junior steer and heifer show on Thursday gave them a compelling reason to take part because it provided an opportunity to give their entries a couple of showings.

From that, they had the champion junior bull with K5X Uno U71, an Angus bull in the under 21 month class, and champion junior female, Advance Avoca U9, a Charolais heifer showing in the under 21 month class, and the champion Angus bull, K5X Up'n'Coming U97, competing in the under 18 month class.

It's the beginning of a busy year for the K5X stud, looking forward to the World Angus Forum in Brisbane in early May, before the Ekka in August and the stud's sale at Roma later that month.

The Bebbington family's Cambooya Charolais stud claimed top honours from the 10 entrants in the interbreed bull championship.

So tough was the contest that the judges were split and Bruce McConnel was called in to make the final judgement after Hereford, Shorthorn, Charolais and Droughtmaster entries were shortlisted.

Judge Peter Collins said the quality of them all was amazing, and Mr McConnel said he understood why the four judges couldn't split the Charolais and Shorthorn bulls in the end.

"They all have what their breeds are looking for, and they're all beefy animals, but I've gone for the beef characteristics of the Charolais," he said.

That was Mountview Unbelievabull U60, a polled red factor bull from the under 18 month class, who was the grand champion Charolais bull.

It was the stud's first time at Toowoomba, thanks to keen Scots College student Sam Stenzel, a family friend who asked the Bebbingtons if they had anything he could show.

The bull, only just in the 18 month class and who was sired by South Burnett bull Reids Rocky, also collected supreme exhibit at Allora and won the champion Euro ribbon at Clifton.

"He's probably one of the best bulls we've bred," Ian Bebbington said.

South Burnett Droughtmaster stud RSVP claimed the junior bull championship with RSVP Ubetcha, bred from a new bull in their line-up, Sommer Double Barrel.

Stud principal Graham Brown said they'd showed at Toowoomba between 2001 and 2014 and returned for the feature show.

He said he liked the extra bone of his young potential sire, and his volume through the back end, and would be offering him at the Droughtmaster National sale in September.

His thoughts were echoed by judge Peter Collins, saying he had power and strength and bone, adding up to a lot of meat.

Glenlands D Good Golly Miss Molly, shown by Rockhampton's Darren and Helen Childs, helped round out the junior championships for the Droughtmaster breeders, collecting the junior female interbreed ribbon.

In the small breeds interbreed championships, Tarrawarra Luminescence, exhibited by Martin Page, Smart Lowlines, Tallegalla, collected the junior bull ribbon while another Lowline exhibitor, Wendy Caesar from Ebony Lowlines at Pittsworth took out the junior female championship with Ebony Tanami.

The interbreed championships were preceded by the junior judging, which attracted 105 entries.

From the 16 finalists invited to speak, Elanna Travers of Oakey was awarded first place, with Lacey Fahey from Copmanhurst, NSW in second, and Lockyer District High School student Robert Nuttridge taking third.

Downlands College's Lara Hartwig was fourth, Erin Kilah from Lockyer was fifth, and there was a three-way tie for sixth between Anastazia Kingsford, Pittsworth, Mia Munro, Lockyer, and Kyeema Besgrove, Westmac.