1973 Shorthorn bull

[Grousepark]

Does anyone know the name of the 1973 National Western Stock Show champion shorthorn bull that was disputed  concerning age and purity?

 

[jason]

I will bet my last dollar, justintime will know the answer.

 

[trevorgreycattleco]

Millbrook Marc IV or G9? Just a guess. I was two years away from being born.

 

[justintime]

Does anyone know the name of the 1973 National Western Stock Show champion shorthorn bull that was disputed  concerning age and purity?

Without putting a lot of thought into it, I remember talk about the purity and age of a bull named Hey Jude from that era. He was a horned bull that came from Montana, from a breeder who most everyone had never heard of before or much afterwards. He did look like he could have been part Maine, but his pedigree was old breeding from the 50s and early 60s.

 

[yuppiecowboy]

Juda Ben Hur? Near the right time frame. Had a weaning weight that was 605 or 705, way heavier than anything else going at the time and the fact that he came from open range conditions where Indian reservation cattle and multiple ranches all ran the same range made people question parental authenticity. Just strikes me that 73 would have been a little late to get excited about his 205 weight... We would have had a good look at continentals by then.

 

[PDJ]

Hey Jud was the sire of Juda Ben Hur, raised by Colby Smith (?) Hamilton, Mt.  We went on a family vacation when I was about six, and stopped by this ranch.  I don't remember much about it, but they lived near some sort of a cookie or candy factory.  A lot of the damaged and dated products were served as byproducts.  He said this was how they got them so big.

 

[oakview]

I remember the owner/exhibitor of the Hey Jude and Juda Ben Hur bulls published an affidavit signed by his local extension agent verifying the age of the bulls.  Was it the Wertz Bros. of Nebraska that ended up with one of the bulls?  Looks like I need to dig up some old magazines.

 

[justintime]

I was thinking about this when I was getting ready for the Agribition sale yesterday, and I knew that I was wrong in suggesting that the bull was Hey Jude. I had the right out fit, but remembered that it was Juda Ben Hur who was grand Champion at denver. Hey Jude was his sire. Hey Jude was a high seller in the Denver sale but did not win the show. And Oakview, you are correct in saying Wertz Bros purchased one of these bulls.Of my memory is correct, they purchased Hey Jude when he sold ( for about $8000 if I remember correctly). Other than the Juda Ben Hur bull I never heard of any other offspring from either bull

 

[OH Breeder]

What is interesting is in the ASA database there were calves out of Juda Ben Hur 2006 still being registered. There is a direct son that is still being used by a farm and had calves registered in 09.

 

[aj]

bump

 

[shorthorngeek]

I was thinking about this when I was getting ready for the Agribition sale yesterday, and I knew that I was wrong in suggesting that the bull was Hey Jude. I had the right out fit, but remembered that it was Juda Ben Hur who was grand Champion at denver. Hey Jude was his sire. Hey Jude was a high seller in the Denver sale but did not win the show. And Oakview, you are correct in saying Wertz Bros purchased one of these bulls.Of my memory is correct, they purchased Hey Jude when he sold ( for about $8000 if I remember correctly). Other than the Juda Ben Hur bull I never heard of any other offspring from either bull

The Coby Smith bull of disputed ancestry apparently was Hey Jude, as this is the bull that was blood tested and verified as pure by Ohio State University. (Of course we now know that certain Maine bulls have blood tested as qualifying as pure Shorthorn.) Hey Jude was the 1971 International grand champion bull and supreme champion Shorthorn, under judge Darrel Chapman, prominent Shorthorn breeder from California.

The high-selling bull at the 1973 National Western was his son Juda Ben Hur going to Wertz Bros. at $6,600.00. He was champion of the pre-sale show but apparently not shown in the open show the following day. (The National Western open show grand champion that year was RH Perfect Leader, a white bull shown by the Robert Hahn family of Illinois and Bob-Lee Farms of Ohio.) A full brother to Hey Jude was the reserve senior champion after being the reserve sale champion and second top-selling bull at $5000.00 to the Jim and Kathy Kibler of Washington and Bob Ten Eyck of Oregon, who was, I believe, Mrs. Kibler's father.