In 1995 the RABDF combined with National Milk Records (NMR) to launch the NMR/RABDF National Dairy Herds Championship and the structure of the Competition began to be changed. Herds were put forward from NMR Regional finals for the Gold Cup. Placings in the Genus Production and Genetic Management class (for which the Bradfield Cup was presented) and the Deosan Health and Fertility Class (for which the Harold Jackson cup was presented) were automatic. Lloyds Bank Production and Inspection class (for which the Denham Cup was presented) included inspection in addition to the production figures provided by the milk recording organisation. The Gold Cup was awarded on a combination of all three of the above elements.
British Friesian herds held the Cup for the first five years of the competition: in 1920 and 1921 it was won by Horace Hale of Worthing, Sussex, followed by Mrs J Putman's Exeter herd in 1922/23 and 1924.
The competition was not held in 1925 due to an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease, In 1926 and 1927 the Competition was won by a herd of Blue Albions and Shorthorns owned by R D Seals of Ashbourne in Kent. Blue Albions, a virtually unheard-of breed nowadays, originated high in the Derbyshire hills and were a mixture of Shorthorn, Welsh and Friesian blood taking their name from their colour which was blue or blue roan - the cows were good yielders in comparison to other breeds of the time - was this an early case of cross-breeding for hybrid vigour?
The British Friesian record was to continue unbroken from 1927 until 1949 although there were no competitions during the war years of 1939 to 1946. It is interesting to note that the British Friesian herd owned by the Hodge family of Buntingford, Hertfordshire held the Cup in the two years immediately preceding the War and also the two years immediately after it.
Lord Rayleigh's famous Terling Herd won the Competition in 1935; the British Friesian herd belonging to the Willetts family of Chaddesdon in Derbyshire won it for five consecutive years from1929 to 1933 and, more recently, W Watson-Steele's herd of Ayrshires in Gosfield, Essex, won the Competition six times - in 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965 and 1967.
In the 78 years in which the Competition has been held British Friesian herds have won the cup on 40 occasions, Ayrshire's 12 times and the Blue Albion's and Shorthorn's twice. The Guernsey's have only won once by Mrs Howard Palmer of Wokingham Bucks in 1949. The Jerseys have won three times - in 1958 by Mr S W Mountain of Groombridge, Kent, and in 1976 by Boswell and Wellhead Farms of Wendover who had been placed second in the previous year. It is of special interest that the number of cows and heifers in the winning Boswell and Wellhead Farms Jersey herd was 239 -the largest Jersey herd to win this famous Competition. The 2007 winners, Ian and Sally Mac Alpine, who had been placed 2nd in the two previous years, had a herd size of over 200 cows. In 1982 the cup was awarded to W Telfer & Son of Stamfordham, Northumberland, for the first British Holstein herd and since then the black and white breeds have dominated the competition apart from 2007 when the Jersey's won. The 2008 winners, J F Cobb and Sons had a herd of almost 600 Holsteins .
Centre: 2008 Gold Cup Winner Nick Cobb
The Competition, which can be described as the ‘Blue Riband' of the dairy world, is truly National in character in that winners have come from Carmarthen in the West and Essex in the East and from Morayshire in the North to Devon in the South.
