Perth Royal Show: Tony and Loreen Kitchen celebrate 43 years with a swag of wins

The Perth Royal Show interbreed beef cattle competition was a celebration of Tony and Loreen Kitchen’s 43-year commitment of showing their dearly loved Bandeeka Simmental beef cattle. The Elgin-based couple won a swag of broad ribbons throughout the show week, from the supreme exhibit award for their senior female Bandeeka True Fortune at the Simmental breed judging on September 24 to taking out four of the eight interbreed champion ribbons. Judges Tim Lord, of NSW, Tim Reid, of NSW, and Geordie Elliot, of Victoria, firstly named their breed champions from the 94 entries exhibited by 19 studs involving nine breeds including Angus, Charolais, Hereford, Limousin, Highland, Murray Grey, Red Angus, Red Poll and Simmental. The Simmental breed judging had the most numbers of cattle, with 23 entries from two studs, while there were 17 Angus entries from four studs. The next largest numbers of cattle were from the Charolais breed with 15 entries from three studs, while the Murray Grey breed brought 12 entries from three studs. There were also 35 beef cattle entries from three studs that exhibited Dexter, Square Meaters and Miniature Herefords, but these were judged separately in the specialty breeds competition. The three judges put up the “best of the best” for the final judging as they selected four individual interbreed champions — junior bull, junior female, senior bull and senior female — plus their top picks in the interbreed group classes. The junior classes each had seven entries from seven breeds, but with the challenge to bring senior cattle to the show, numbers dropped to only two for the senior bull class and five for senior female class. The judges were looking for commercially relevant beef cattle, with their eyes on European breeds, with “boldness and productive power” shining through in the Simmentals and Charolais. INTERBREED JUNIOR BULL Mr Lord, who earlier judged the Angus breed cattle, admired the junior champion Angus bull but it was the Simmental bull, Bandeeka Unicorn, that was “very powerful” with “depth of heal” in his feet. “This bull is the epitome of what we’re looking for — cattle that are very commercially relevant, structurally sound with do-ability and depth of body,” he said. “When you analyse this junior bull there were no holes in it with us — he was a unanimous pick as our winner.” Bandeeka Unicorn, a traditional skinned bull born on July 28, 2023, and sired by KBV Legacy and out of Bandeeka Rosie, was exhibited by the Kitchen family. INTERBREED JUNIOR FEMALE Mr Reid said he admired the Angus junior female during the interbreed junior heifer competition but the Charolais heifer Venturon Starstruck 157U had “that muscle shape” and a big top end. “I love that spring of rib that this sweet showy Charolais heifer carries along with her beautiful front-end connection — with all that power, she is still so feminine — a very stylish heifer. “The Charolais with her overall power and softness — it was just that udder set-up that got her over the other heifers today as our interbreed junior female champion.” Venturon Starstruck was born on August 2, 2023, and sired by Venturon Maximum Impact and out of Venturon Lilly. She was sashed the supreme exhibit during the Charolais breed competition. INTERBREED SENIOR BULL Mr Elliot said during the senior bull class between a Murray Grey bull and a Charolais he admired the softness of the latter, Venturon Trust T253, exhibited by the Thompson family, of Venturon Charolais stud. “I admired the softness of the Charolais which had the biggest carcase package,” he said. INTERBREED SENIOR FEMALE Mr Reid said while he admired the Simmental entry, with its “length of body and wedge shape”, it was the Charolais exhibit, Elgin Park Topaz T165E, that had a lot of “bone outlook” and carried that winning “performance and yield”. “She (Elgin Park Topaz) has a lovely outlook with udder and teat quality, a really good beef female that retains femininity,” he said. It was exhibited by the Quilty family, of Elgin Park stud, and was Jim and Belynda Quilty’s second interbreed win at the show, with the first title won in 2018. INTERBREED BREEDERS’ PAIR The Interbreed breeders champion pair was won by the Kitchen family, of Bandeeka Simmental stud in Elgin, who exhibited their junior champion bull Bandeeka Unicorn, matched up with their senior female interbreed entry, Bandeeka True Fortune, that won supreme exhibit in the earlier Simmental breed judging. INTERBREED GROUP OF THREE CHAMPION BREEDERS The interbreed group of three champion breeders title was won by the Kitchen family, of Bandeeka Simmental stud. Mr Reid said it was the evenness and consistency and how each animal complemented the group that gave the win to the Simmentals. INTERBREED BREEDERS’ PAIR OF BULLS The interbreed breeders’ pair of bulls’ title was won by the Kitchen family, of Bandeeka Simmentals. INTERBREED BREEDERS’ PAIR OF HEIFERS The interbreed breeders pair of heifers’ title was won by the Thompson family, of Venturon Charolais stud.