Four years after the last National Show, you could count on one hand the number of cows that had already been in the ring at GDS in 2019. So the cards were reshuffled and the excitement on Saturday, 9 June 2023, was just as great!

As with the Jersey heifers the night before, judge Lambert Weinberg was very impressed with the balanced quality of the animals on show. His easy winner was the third calved WIT Jambalaya (Barnabas x Jamaica) from Thomas Wiethege. She had a correct rump and an udder with very well placed teats. With some more body and strength, Jambalaya was able to beat Manfred Uhrig's fine RZB Kairalee (Casino x Tequila) for the Grand Champion title. The second lactation cow had won the young cow class before.

In the medium Fleckvieh classes judge Peter Stückler chose the second lacation cow Vanessa (Elvis x Raldi) as the winning cow. She was convincing with a lot of youth, an excellent udder quality and a correct rump. Reserve champion was Ellchen (Horizont x Versetto) from Handke GbR, who had been second in the same class. Stückler believes that both have great potential for the future.

Josef Hilsenbek's Larissa (Valot x Leon) won the title for the cow with the highest lifetime production. The 2013-born cow with seven calves impressed with high capacity, a perfect rump as well as optimal teat position and central ligament development. The reserve winner in this category was Ramona (Hutera x Rau) from Gabriel Heister. With five calves she also showed everything you would expect from a mature Fleckvieh cow, according to Stückler. Her long and very well veined udder was one of the most striking features.

For the Grand Champion of the Fleckvieh breed, the judge chose the old cow champion, Larissa, who was praised for her good transitions and high udder attachment.

Cows from the second to the eighth lactation competed in the Brown Swiss breed. Although Peter Stückler was very pleased with the quality of the older cows, he found his cow of the day in the second lactation class. The elegant Fee (Volker x Himalaya), owned by Gerold and Dirk Ulrich, not only had a brilliant udder, but also top feet and legs. With these advantages she also won the Grand Champion title. Ballerina (Huvi x Biver), competing in the same class, was relegated to Reserve Champion. This strong cow had a lot of depth and a very good rump position.

After the red heifer classes had made judge Lambert Weinberg rave the night before, the older Red Holsteins went one better. Among the cows with two calves he highlighted two cows competing in the same class: GMH Hermine (Bad x Akyol Red) by Kumlehn, Henckel, Spangenberg and WR Romance, an Achilles daughter by the show experienced Mad Max daughter THD Romad by Ludger Wiewer. As the two were like twins, it was a very close decision. In the end, Hermine prevailed with a slight advantage in movement and top line, as well as a little more strength over Romance, who impressed with an excellent fore udder attachment. In the first class of third calf cows, RS Maryrose (Arino Red x Adonis-Red) impressed Weinberg with style, conformation and a high, wide rear udder with a strong central ligament. She did not have a single fault, he commented. But the second of the three older classes left him almost speechless. It was a very close decision between the third calving cow AMH Aldesi (Goldwyn-Red x Abel) from Luxembourg and Thomas Rohdemann's ZR Helene (Absolute x Dertour), who has already calved four times. They are fantastic," said Weinberg as he rearranged them at the end. The class was won by ZR Helene, who showed the better movement, while AMH Aldesi, who shone with a sensational fore udder and beautiful rear udder texture, had to settle for second.

In the selection of the older cows, ZR Helene used her plus in length, width of rear udder and strength of central ligament to beat Maryrose, who had the best feet and legs in the category. It came as no surprise that ZR Helene was also crowned Grand Champion.

The Holsteins were also judged by Thomas Hannen with a consistently high quality that increased from class to class. Wow, I am overwhelmed by the quality of these cows. With this comment he opened the selection of the young cow champion. He awarded the title to Ralf Hellmuth's Amby (Gold Chip x Kite) who he described as a very complete cow with a lot of balance, strength in the forehand, a wide middle hand and a very good transition from the fore udder to the belly. He made Fux Spotify (Gold Chip x Doorman) from Hahn/Radke GbR the reserve winner. She comes from the family of Fux Seattle EX-97 and combined harmony in body with a great udder and good rump position. Hannen justified the choice of Amby with a plus in style as well as advantages in feet and legs.

The medium cow winner was chosen from the cows with three calves. The decision was made between Searose (Montross x Atwood) from Friedrich Köster and Elina (Chief x Sea) from Cord Hormann. Hannen had already declared the latter as the clear winner in her class and praised her for her fluent motion, high and wide rear udder and width from forehand to rump. The capital cow Searose scored with harmony, a great side view, a closed middle hand and excellent teat placement. Elina was able to secure the place on the winner's podium due to a little more width in the rear udder and relegated Searose to the rank of reserve winner.

The old cows, from the fourth lactation onwards, have been sorted according to their lifetime production. They represent sustainability and profitability. As the oldest cow in the show, Hartwig Meyer's Mey Dagmar (Micah x Chip), born in 2011, deserves special mention. Despite having nine calves, the cow seemed to be floating through the ring. The winner of this royal class was the two years younger and extremely impressive RZB Liza (Ladd P x Aftershock) from Strudthoff GbR. With six calves she had a super foundation, closed shoulder, very nice ribs and an udder that could not be better painted. Because of these qualities Thomas Hannen chose her over Dirk Huhne's Mitzi (Elude x Chelios) who showed enormous length and smoothness, harmony, a wide forehand and great udder attachment.

The selection of the Holstein Grand Champion was another exciting moment, accompanied by the enthusiastic applause of the crowd. The Champion and Reserve Champion cows were an impressive sight to behold. The penultimate clap of the day landed on the back of Elina, the medium cow winner.

A very impressive laser show then set the scene for the final atmospheric highlight of the show: the selection of the all-breed Supreme Champion. The cows, which had been milked for their welfare, lined up in the ring decorated with sashes. In the light of a shower of sparks, Thomas Hannen announced on behalf of the three judges the selection of the overall Holstein champion cow, Elina, as Supreme Champion.

At the end of the event, all those involved and those attending agreed that the Alsfeld experiment had worked and that the German Dairy Show 2023 had become a great success.