THE Sydney Royal Easter Show will host Herefords as the feature breed in 2018.
Up to 300 head of Hereford and Poll Hereford cattle are expected to fill the sheds at one of the premier events for stud cattle breeders in Australia.
Commonly run in conjunction with a world congress or a milestone for the breed, the “feature” is a true showcase of a breed.
The last Hereford feature was in 2004, coinciding with the World Hereford Conference with strong entries and sale results recorded.
But don’t be fooled. The lead up to a feature show is not taken lightly or described as easy by many involved.
Years of sweat and tears may go into preparing for a feature show with joinings and calving periods revolving around meeting scheduled animal and group classes, good calf ages, extra hair work and countless hours in the “barns”.
The ultimate goal - claiming the supreme title in the feature year, a title that many breeders from across the country will be chasing this year.
One long time exhibitor in particular that will be after the tri-coloured rosette is Sophie Holt and family from Tondara Herefords, Urana.
Ms Holt has been involved in the Hereford breed since the early 1980s showing at Sydney Royal for many, many years now.
“Sydney Royal has become more of an international show with international exposure, visitors and interest that is important,” Ms Holt said.
Previously winning multiple supreme exhibit titles with bulls in the past, Tondara has been planning their team since last year to ensure everything is just right come show time next March.
Entries for the beef cattle section will open mid November and close February 2, 2018, for a March show.
