Tayla, who featured on the cover of last month’s Coast & Country News, won the 2017 Royal Easter Show’s supreme Speckle Park bull trophy with M&M, a nine-month-old bull she bought from John and Jan.

“We invited Tayla to come and spend a few days with us during the July school holidays as we had a lot of embryo transplant Speckle Park calves being born from our dairy herd,” says John, who with Jan is impressed at Tayla’s talents for rearing and handling calves.

Tayla’s aim is to breed pure Speckle Park animals and as much as she is attached to M&M, accepted she would need to sell him in order to buy a purebred heifer. However, when it came time for her to leave the Bellamy property there was a surprise in store.

“I said to Tayla – well you better go and put calf number 292 in the trailer and take her home,” says John.

“Tayla looked a bit stunned at first and when it sunk in, burst into tears.” The calf, says John is “on loan” to Tayla so she can rear it ready for the coming show season.

“This is not something we would do for everyone but Tayla is a talented young lady who has a gift with animals and is a great ambassador for the Speckle Park breed.

“To win the Supreme award at the Easter Show was a real achievement,” says John who didn’t mind that Tayla beat the bulls he and Jan were showing there.

Spinal problems

Tayla’s mum Brenda says the family is extremely grateful to John and Jan. Not only has it made her dream come true, but also having the calf has been a real boost for Tayla who is currently struggling with the need to wear a back brace for up to 20 hours a day to help overcome a spinal problem.

“Tayla has scoliosis of the spine which will only get worse as she grows. The brace, which has been specially made for her, is the first step in treatment which will probably include surgery when she’s about 18.

“The brace is uncomfortable and in the first few weeks she was in quite a lot of pain. However, that hasn’t stopped her carrying buckets of milk out to her calf and caring for her animals as normal.”

Melbourne show

Tayla has another exciting prospect too - Jason Keays of "Fish Creek Farm", South Gippsland, Victoria has asked Tayla to be the handler for one of his Speckle Park heifers at the Melbourne Royal Show in September.

“Due to the cost of the trip Tayla thought it would never be possible, being from a big family of four kids she didn’t expect to do it. She thought it was too much to ask,” says Brenda.

However, Tayla was advised to try for sponsorship and has set up a Givealittle page. “We are normally a family where, if you don’t have the funds for something you don’t do it, so it was a big thing to ask for sponsorship, but we think Tayla has worked so hard to get where she is today and with the possibility of spinal surgery in a few years we feel this is something so amazing for her to do,” says Brenda. 

The link to Tayla’s Givealitte page is: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/taylasmelbourneshowfunds

To find out more about Below Sea Level Speckle Park go to www.belowsealevel.co.nz