MADISON, Wis. — In front of visitors from all over the globe, the best of the best paraded through the ring for the Supreme Champion Selection at World Dairy Expo on Oct. 4, in Madison. And the winner was – the Jersey!

TJ Classic Minister Venus-ET, the first-place four-year-old cow and the Grand Champion of the International Jersey Show, was chosen from the seven breed champions as the Supreme Champion. Exhibited by Nic, Jeni, Ben and Andy Sauder from River Valley Farms in Tremont, Ill., this familiar icon of Jersey was bred by TJ Classic Jerseys, owned by the Bourne and Francis families of Ansonia, Ohio.

Venus has garnered her share of prior winnings, as she was the All American Jersey Jug winner, the Intermediate Champion and the Reserve Grand Champion at the All American Jersey Show at the 2013 North American International Livestock Expo. And being a champion at World Dairy Expo is a family tradition, as her dam, Stephan Sparkler Vera exhibited by TJ Classic Jerseys, was Grand Champion in 2009.

The Reserve Supreme Champion Cow was the Holstein RF Goldwyn Hailey, exhibited by Gen-Com Holstein Ltd. of Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Conseil, Quebec. She also won the aged cow class and was named Grand Champion of the International Holstein Show.

The other breed champions competing for Supreme were: Ayrshire Vieux Village C Diamond exhibited by Floret, Vicky and Bianca Foley, Piopolis, Quebec; Brown Swiss Eloc Wagor Kandid exhibited by Ken Main and Peter Vail, Copake, N.Y.; Guernsey Flambeau Manor RO Lauren-ET exhibited by Gary Van Doorn, Tony, Wis.; Milking Shorthorn Hard Core Rebel Rockette exhibited by Cor-Bloo Syndicate, Cory, Ind.; and Red and White Strans-Jen-D Tequila-Red-ET exhibited by Milksource Genetics, Kaukauna, Wis.

In the Junior Show, the breeds were swapped, with the Supreme title earned by the Holstein and Reserve Supreme going to the Jersey. The Supreme Champion was Fleury Damion Caraibe, exhibited by Zailey and Kaiden Conroy of Angola, Ind., and Trevor Tuman of Arlington, Minn. The Reserve Supreme Champion was Paynside GG Got Milk, also exhibited by the Sauder family of Illinois.

The other five contenders of Supreme for the Junior Show were: Ayrshire Garnet-Lane Avenger Poinsettia, exhibited by Cassandra Plummer, Galena, Md.; Brown Swiss Cutting Edge P Sherry exhibited by Mike Barton, Ancramdale, N.Y.; Guernsey Idle Gold Stud Humorous, exhibited by Jillian K Jensen, Comstock, Wis.; Milking Shorthorn Innisfail Ro Lady 906-EXP exhibited by Brooke M. Clark of GMC Farm, Cornish Flat, N.H.; and Red and White Krull Larson Dirty Girl-Red-ET exhibited by Cassy, Bryce and Carley Krull, Lake Mills, Wis.

The new livestock pavilions built by New Holland were bursting at the seams with cattle, as a total of 2,334 head were checked in at the Expo grounds. The show totals were: Ayrshire: 258, Brown Swiss: 366, Guernsey: 241, Holstein: 582, Jersey: 401, Milking Shorthorn: 228 and Red and White: 258. The total number of cattle exhibitors was 1,743 from 37 states, 11 Canadian provinces and Mexico.