Will Horsley, 28, who works on the home farm where the family run 250 cows under the Woodcatt prefix, will be one of the panel of judges for this year’s premier Borderway UK Dairy Expo, taking place in Carlisle, on March 14 and 15.
Few judges of any age could be as well qualified to pick the winners of the Dairy Expo Showmanship class as Will.
His string of successes includes winning his showmanship class at the All Britain Calf Show seven times, and Champion Handler at UK Dairy Expo.
He is a member of the Holstein UK National Judges Panel, he has judged shows across the UK, including judging Calves and Showmanship at the Royal Highland Show in 2024.
Other judges include Andrea Debenham from Suffolk, who will judge the British Friesian classes; Northern Ireland’s John McLean who will judge the Dairy Shorthorns and Andrew Kennedy, who will travel from County Antrim to judge the Jerseys. Cheshire’s Tom Lomas will take on the Holsteins; Northern Ireland’s Peter Drummond will judge the Ayrshires; The Red & Whites will come under James Doherty of Shrewsbury’s expert eye, and Daniel Weaver of Astonpool Holsteins will make the decisions in the Brown Swiss classes.
Harrison & Hetherington dairy sales manager and Dairy Expo organiser Glyn Lucas said this year’s panel of judges represented the future stars of the UK’s dairy industry.
“This is the first time we have called exclusively on home-grown talent to judge at Dairy Expo, and they are the best in the business. At least four of our judges have exhibited at every Expo since we began in 2012, and over the past 12 years they have collectively either owned or prepared 62 class winners at UK Dairy Expo including 18 Grand Champions, six Junior Champions and three Supreme Champions.”