LEFT Berryholme Shottle Flo EX94 followed in her dam’s foot steps to win the NHS 2010. ABOVE LEFT Holmland Storm Flo EX94 was champion at the NHS and AgriScot 2003. ABOVE RIGHT Berryholme Golden Flo EX91 is one of three Goldwyn sisters, she was heifer in milk champion at the NHS 2011.
Ideal Flo who in six lactations averaged 7458kg at 4.48%bf. She was the largest daughter of the then popular AI sire, Spring Farm Ideal Winston.
Enter Eclipse Flo Ideal Flo was AI’d to one of Canada’s best Elevation sons, Walkerbrae Eclipse, whose dam was the three times All-Canadian Walkerbrae Marquis Blossom VG, out of an EX-USA dam carrying Ivanhoe blood. Cardsland Eclipse Flo was the result and this exciting second calver was unveiled to the nation at the 1991 Royal. Pre-show, many thought that Eclipse Flo could go all the way, but she had to settle for the honourable mention spot. Nevertheless, Flo scored a hat-trick of successes – best udder in show, best exhibitor bred animal and member of the victorious pair that won the coveted Burke Trophy. All this convinced Tom Cope that Flo’s future should be at Huddlesford and a deal was quickly struck. For the next few years, Flo spearheaded the Huddlesford team and got off to a flying start when she was supreme interbreed champion at the 1991 Dairy Event. Flo was back at Stoneleigh the following year to claim the Royal Show championship.
At the 1995 Royal Show she was unbeaten beginning with the 50 tonne class, then the HFS championship, again a member of the winning Burke Trophy pair and finally, supreme dairy cow. Her five lactations averaged 12,877kg at 4.47% and a final type score of EX96 with a 97-point udder. Always an easy cow to work with Flo also flushed well achieving 25 star brood cow status with eight EX daughters, three EX sons and nine VG daughters. Her highest scored daughter was Threelimes Flo 2 EX93, by Second Look Jolt. Calving twice in the land of her birth, Flo left two daughters, one VG and one EX to keep the family flowing at Cardsland. Only one other prefix not previously mentioned had its name on just one daughter and history shows this was possibly her most successful one – Holmland Prelude Flo EX.
Flo rings the Bells Tony Bell also laid eyes on Flo at the 1991 Royal and soon learned she was going to Huddlesford. He stepped in to book her next calf, if a bull, and she was bred again to Starbuck, the sire of her second daughter at Cardsland. Tragically, this young bull died at Holmland before being used, but by then Tony was keener than ever to pursue the Flo grail. An agreement was made with Tom Cope on sharing a flush to Prelude, resulting in Holmland Prelude Flo being the only heifer born at Holmland.
She classified EX92 after four lactations
averaging 9402kg at 4.35% and produced four daughters, three EX and one VG, the first one being Holmland Counselor Flo EX92. Prelude Flo’s teats were a little too coarse for the show ring, but her 95-point body was the image of her dam, so Storm seemed the obvious sire of choice. Christmas 1998 saw the birth of Storm Flo and just six months later the whole family were on the market as the Bell brothers agreed to disperse the Holmland herd. Tony was determined to keep hold of this powerful brood cow and wanted her first-born heifer Counselor Flo. She turned out to be the sale topper at 6000gns as a second calver. Prelude Flo, back in-calf to Storm made 3000gns and her fancy black calf at foot, 3200gns. This price looks modest enough today, but for 15 year-old David
Wright, even with his parent’s backing, it was a huge step in to the world of Holsteins.
The 2001 foot-and-mouth epidemic held back Storm Flo’s show ring career, which began as a second calver at the Northern Expo, where USA judge Chris Lang of Springhill chose her as his champion. This was the first of three Expo championships, 2002, 2004 and 2006, for Storm Flo who then conquered both the National Holstein Show and AgriScot in 2003 and was voted All Britain cow in 2004. Her best yield of 15,532kg just pipped that of Eclipse Flo and her six lactations averaged 13,403kg at 4.5%, while her lifetime total reached 110,000kg. Flo’s type credits topped EX94 with an EX96 mammary and EX94 feet and legs. Highest classified of her 12 Excellent progeny is the Rubens son, Roberto EX95 who was retained as a herd sire at Berryholme.
History was made at the 2010 National Holstein Show when Edward Griffiths selected Berryholme Shottle Flo as champion and they remain the only dam and daughter pair to scoop this coveted award. Shottle Flo and her full sister Posh Flo have both matched their dam’s score of EX94 and time will tell which of these will breed the best, but the former already has an All-Britain daughter, the 2011 champion show calf, Feizor S Flo VG89 three year old in the Booth family’s herd.
One of three Goldwyn sisters, Golden Flo EX91 was champion heifer in milk at the 2011 National Holstein Show and David names PT Sid Flo VG88 as one with a future. Three top sellers at the Black and White Sale are Gold Flo EX in Jason Pollock’s Garrick herd and Jordan Flo VG89 in Philip and Simon Haffey’s Glasson herd, both taken to Northern Ireland at 8000gns each. At the 2011 Black and White David Yates, Meiklefirth and Andrew Bunting, Newabbey paid 12,000gns for Jo Flo VG87 two year old who’s daughter by Windhammer was recently first and reserve champion heifer at the Royal Highland Show 2015. Sons of Storm Flo have also hit the headlines, the last one being Whirlwind who was champion at the 2014 Carlisle Bull Sales making the top price of 5000gns to Ian Smith of the Lanarkian prefix. Most recently the Integrity son Berryholme Infloence sired the reserve champion at the Great Yorkshire Show Berryholme Infloence Linda 3 EX95.
Storm Flo has been a huge part of David Wright’s life for the past 16 years and it could be said they are the breeds’ most successful tag team, blazing a trail which began only 10 miles from home in 1999. Now in well earned retirement, Flo has reached living legend status and David cheerfully admits that she has taught him all about the potential of Holsteins.
THE JOURNAL AUGUST 2015 83
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