Hoard's Dairyman Cow Judging 2012 - Guernsey


I found a logical placing of B D A C in this outstanding class of Guernsey cows. B places over D for her advantage in dairy character. She is cleaner and longer through the head and neck, sharper over her withers, cleaner through the hips, pins, and thighs. B also excels in feet and legs, standing with a more correct set to her hind legs. She is cleaner and flatter boned through her hock, and she stands more squarely on both her front and rear legs when viewed from the rear. In addition, B has the advantage in udder, being higher in the rear udder and wider at the top of her rear udder. I do grant that D has a more correct slope from hips to pins.

Moving to my middle pair, I gave D the nod over A on her advantage in frame. D has more overall strength, substance, and capacity throughout. She is wider in her muzzle and has more width of chest. D has a decided advantage in being deeper in her heart, fore and rear rib, and is wider through her rump. She is also a longer cow from end to end. She also is more level on her udder floor when viewed from the side, recognizing the forward tilt on A. However, I do concede that A is a sharper, cleaner, and more feminine cow throughout.

A easily places over C due to her tremendous advantage in the udder. A has a fore udder which blends more smoothly into her body wall. She has a higher, wider rear udder, a stronger median suspensory ligament, and a more desirable teat placement. A also has a more balanced frame with more substance of bone and she is deeper in her heart and fore rib. I do admit that C is a longer cow than A. Although I do admire the extreme dairyness of C, she lacks the overall quality of udder attachments to merit a higher placing.

Hagerstown, Md.
Schnebly placed the GUERNSEYS. He is the programs coordinator for the American Guernsey Association. He grew up on Crown Stone Guernsey Farm in Clear Spring, Md., and graduated from the University of Maryland. For the past five years, he has served as a contest official in the National Collegiate Dairy Judging contest for the Guernsey breed at World Dairy Expo and has served as a contest official for the All American Dairy Show 4-H judging contest for seven years. He has judged numerous local and state shows, the Canadian National Guernsey Show, Royal Brisbane Guernsey Show, and Royal Adelaide Guernsey Show in Australia.

