Chris Thompson and Toby Zilm might have grown up in different places, but their love for showing cows has seen them establish Toris Holsteins and Jerseys together.
The boys recently took home Grand Champion Heifer at the 45th Murray Bridge calf day with Froglands Mr Bright Rannunculus, a heifer they bought from the PRS sale in NSW.
Toris Ventura Trauma was also crowned Reserve Junior Champion Heifer.
The boys said they couldn’t have been any happier with how their heifers performed in the ring, considering there were 110 entries on the day.
The mates first met while studying at Urrbrae College Agricultural High School in Adelaide.
They bought their first cow in 2023 and now own over 20 cows together.
Both Chris and Toby work well together — Chris does the washing and leading, while Toby does the clipping and preparation.
Chris comes from a non-farming background, while Toby is a fourth-generation dairy farmer from Birdwood in South Australia.
Chris said his love for showing started with leading cows and had developed into a love for the breeding side as well.
He is currently at university and hopes to move into ET and IVF work.
“I would like to get into dairying, but without family it is pretty hard – I might be able to get into sharefarming or work my way up to a management position one day,” Chris said.
Toby is currently working on the family farm with his parents, milking 200 mixed cows on 160ha.
He first started showing cattle with Illawarras when he was younger.
“My mum comes from a big Illawarra family and my dad had always had commercial Holsteins — we never had a Jersey until I met Chris at school,” Toby said.
Toby laughs as he says there is a story behind every cow he and Chris have bought, including Stgen Davinci Cosmopolitan.
“One of the girls we went to Urrbare with won the animal in a raffle,” Toby said.
“She lived in the middle of the city and wasn’t that into cows so we bought the calf off her.
“Toris Perennial Cosmopolitan is her 10-month-old daughter and we are hoping to sell her in the sale at this year's Winter Fair in Bendigo.
The boys will be showing Perennial Cosmopolitan along with Ventura Trauma (Reserve Junior Champion) at the fair.