Healthy crowds and quality cattle roll up for the Malanda Show

The 2025 Malanda Show proved to be a major success on June 27 and 28, with the most stud cattle ever entered in the event's history.

There were 165 stud cattle across 14 different breeds on display for judge Graham Brown, Windera and 95 dairy cattle for judges Olivia Millhouse, Mike Henry and Tim Beattie.

Wallace Gunthorpe was the judge of the 88 prime beef cattle.

Beef cattle chief steward Anthony Ball was confident it was the biggest crowd of spectators he had seen.

"They came earlier in the morning than they normally do, and they stayed longer," he said.

"It was a very high-class show, as good a quality as you'll get outside of a royal show where there's 1300 head of cattle.

"Not that I'm the judge, but it could have been five or six or seven animals good enough to win it, and you'd have gone home happy with either decision."

Mr Ball said the reputation of the event was what had drawn the record numbers.

There were entries from as far south as Charters Towers, though the event drew predominantly local exhibitors.

"For a lot of them it is the only show they do all year, they bring the good article, they won't go anywhere else. I think that adds to it as well," he said.

"Our rural people are fiercely patriotic and very loyal. You make a good event for them, and they will come and support it.

"I think the fact that the competition is of a high standard, we're seeing people wanting to go there because it's probably the best benchmark in the north for those stock producers."

The grand champion beef female of the show and supreme stud beef exhibit was Barronessa Ms Empower, while Barronessa Farming also won grand champion bull of the show with Defender.

The English family won the champion Illawarra dairy cow with Ev Kaye 19, champion cow with LL Ferdinand Rosemary and were the most successful dairy exhibitors. The most successful Holstein exhibitor was CJ and SJ Daley of Ourway.

The dairy parader winner was Nathan Daley in class one and Abagail Daley in class two with Ryan Turner winning young judges.

The overall champion junior stud judge was Jack Zappala, and the overall champion junior prime judge was Taylor Grey.

The Godfrey family took out both the champion female and bullock titles of the prime section, and WP and A Tranter won the most successful prime beef exhibitor.

The inaugural John Hosie Memorial champion led exhibit was won by the Godfrey family with Cowboy.