Meet The Judges

Andrew resides in Ballymena, Co Antrim, where he farms alongside his wife Caroline and two children Ella and Harris.

Andrew enjoyed a fantastic 15-year journey from being a member of the Holstein Young Breeders and competed in many competitions, he has won prizes in stock judging, reason giving and showmanship.   A personal highlight was winning the All-Britain Calf Show and leading Northern Ireland HYB as Co Ordinator.  Andrew has represented Holstein UK at the European Young Breeders School in Belgium, and has also won the International Clipping Competition in Cermona.

For the last 20 years, Andrew has been involved in fitting cattle, and has been very lucky to work with some of the best cows in the UK and Europe.

More Recently, Andrew, alongside his 3 friends, have enjoyed developing the Summer Sizzler Sale.  This new event has been a source of great enjoyment, and provided great satisfaction to breeders by providing a platform to market their top animals.

Recently, Andrew has taken up a position within World Wide Sires, and is extremely looking forward to a great future within the company.  Andrew is delighted to have been asked to judge the Jersey Show at UK Dairy Expo 2025. 

Daniel Weaver of Astonpool Holsteins and DW Genetics, milks 120 Brown Swiss and Holsteins cows in Stone, Staffordshire with his father, and completed his BSc in Agricultural Business Management in 2024 at the University of Reading.

He spent a year working for Jonathan Lamb at Oakfield Corners Dairy, New York as part of his university degree enabling him to work with some of the best genomic and show cows in the breed on one of the most progressive and innovative dairies in North America. This allowed him to bring new genetics and knowledge home. Notable cows owned by Daniel include the Res All American Senior 3yr old, Kevetta Daniel Lexi EX94, Bons-Holsteins Ella 230 EX92 and Riverdane Crushtime Atlee VG89. 

Recent show successes include Champion Brown Swiss at the Royal Cheshire and Royal Welsh Show with Infinity Sissy 8, and Class winner at the All Breeds All Britain with Astonpool KD Elsa. The most prominent cow family in the herd are the Snowstorms, with rising families in the herd being descendants of Cutting Edge T Delilah and Siemers Lambda Paris 27856, Jacobs Doorman Victoire, Strans Jen D Tequila and Siemers Awesome Great.

Daniel’s previous judging experience includes the Brown Swiss All Britain contest, the Border and Lakeland Holstein Club Show and several local herd competitions.  Dan is a member of  the National Brown Swiss judging team.

James Doherty, along with his wife Steph, operates a 150-acre dairy farm with 130 Holstein cows, prioritizing balanced, high-udder-quality cows that meet both show and commercial dairy demands.  They achieve a 39-liter average yield per cow daily, milking three times a day in a 16:32 Boematic herringbone parlour. 

James grew up helping his grandfather on their 180 cow, 'Tameside' pedigree herd, on the outskirts of Greater Manchester.  It was here that James passion for dairy farming began, and where Firstlooks' Ricki cow family originate from. 

 After completing an National Diploma in Agriculture at Reasheath college, James worked with notable herds, including Styche Holsteins, where he worked with Styche Lyster Sally, Honourable Mention, National Dairy Event 2012. Later, working with Stephanie’s family, he contributed to their success with titles such as National Holstein Champion (2018) with Knowlesmere Goldwyn Abrakaboom and Red & White Champion (2018) with Knowlesmere Adventure Dream Red.

James prioritizes quality, selectively investing in high-caliber cattle and partnerships, including his acquisition of Firstlook Jackpot Sara with friend Jack Watts from Loh-Ann Holsteins, Germany. Sara went on to win classes and Honourable Mention Intermediate Champion at both National Shows in 2024, UK Dairy Day and UK Dairy Expo. His judging highlights include the Dairy Show at Bath & West (2024) and both the All Britain and All Ireland Calf Shows.

James’s accomplishments in the show ring are extensive, featuring All Britain wins with Firstlook Aftershock Ricki (2014), Junior Champion with Blydale Lynn Fitz All (owned with Woodhey & TLC) at the UK Dairy Expo (2018) alongside 1st Jnr 2 & Reserve Intermediate Champion at Agriscot, and Grand Champion Jersey at the UK Dairy Expo (2016) with Bluegrass Vindications Harp.  He has also won 1st Junior 2-year-old and reserve intermediate champion at UK Dairy Expo in 2015 with Firstlook Aftershock Ricki, HM Intermediate Champion UK Dairy Day 2017 with Firstlook Dreamy Ricki (owned with Jones Holsteins), along with multiple titles at UK Dairy Day and Dairy Expo in recent years.

John famers in partnership with his parents, Iain and Joyce who together manage the Priestland herd on the North Coast of Northern Ireland.  The herd consists of mostly pedigree Holsteins with other breeds such as Ayrshires, Jerseys and Dairy Shorthorns. 

John had been involved in showing dairy cattle from a young age winning many Championships under the Priestland prefix.  One of John proudest achievements was when the Priestland herd was awarded the Master Breeder Shield in 2023.

John’s skills as a professional cattle fitter has garnered him much respect across the globe and he has fitted cattle Australia and New Zealand.  

John’s judging career has included several National Shows including the IHFA All Ireland Calf Show and the Dairy Shorthorn National Calf Show.  Other shows include the, Armagh Show, Finn Valley Show, Edenbridge and Oxted Show, Breffni Oriel Calf Show, Cork Calf Show and Slaney Calf Show.

John has had major success at UK Dairy Expo winning Grand Champion on three occasions with Marleycote Princess Jill.  

Peter runs the Cottown Ayrshire herd with his family in Bangor, Co. Down, Northern Ireland.  He is a former Hugh Stevenson Trophy winner for Young Member of the year in the Ayrshire Breed, a former Breed Heritage committee Chairman and a current director of cattle services.

The herd this year was privileged to be a host farm for the world Ayrshire Federation conference.
Peter has judged numerous shows across the UK and Ireland, and internationally Peter has judged the Finnish National Winter.

Tom Lomas is from the High Peak in North Derbyshire, where he grew up on a beef and sheep farm, his passion for dairy farming was ignited after his during his time at Reaseheath College. Folling college Tom started Alliance Clipping alongside Richard Bostock which specialised in show and sale preparation of dairy cattle. This took the both of them all around Europe, developing their skills and knowledge.

Currently Tom is approaching his 13th year as an embryo transfer practitioner at Celltech Embryo Transfer and is currently a board member for the British Embryo Transfer Association.

In 2009 Tom established the TLC prefix and in that short space of time has bred 3 All Britain winners and multiple All Britian Nominations.  Tom has shown at UK Dairy Expo since its inception in 2012.  He has bred and owned three UK Dairy Expo Junior Champion winning heifers with Blydale Lynn Fitz All, TLC Vintage Tequila and Drointon Griffins Vienna.  Additional he has bred and owned six Class winners at UK Dairy Expo plus multiple 2^nd  and 3^rd place animals.

At UK Dairy Day Tom won Reserve Intermediate Champion with 5guys Blexys Black Raptor who went on to be Honourable Mention Grand Champion the following year. Many other National Show success have been achieved at the National Calf Show and Agriscot. 

Tom has judged extensively across the UK judging many of the National Calf Show qualifiers including Boarder and Lakeland, Lancashire and Yorkshire.  Tom has judged several County Shows including Penrith, Poynton and Staffordshire Country Show.  

He judged the 2020 International Showmanship Competition at The UK Dairy Expo and has been selected as the Associate Judge for the 2025 Swiss Expo

Tom is an active marketer of high end genetics and has been instrumental in running several successful elite sales including the Perfection Collection Sale, The Theatre of Dreams Sale and The Firstlook at Firstlook Sale.

Will Horsley farms alongside his parents, Duncan and Helen, and his brother Tom, on their 500-acre family farm. Together, they manage the 250-cow Woodcatt herd, which has been milked fully robotically for the past five years using four Fullwood Merlin robots.

Since leaving college, Will has been deeply involved in the family business but has also taken opportunities to work as a cattle clipper at shows and sales across the UK and Europe.

Showing cattle has been an integral part of the success of the Woodcatt herd, with numerous All Britain nominations and national class wins in recent years.

Will has been a member of Holstein Young Breeders (HYB) since the age of 11, achieving considerable success over the years. He has won his showmanship class at the All Britain Calf Show seven times, claiming the champion title once, reserve champion twice, and honourable mention on another occasion. Additionally, he won champion handler at UK Dairy Expo. Will has twice represented Team UK at the European Open Junior Show in Italy, winning the junior title in 2013 and the senior title in 2022.

In recent years, Will has expanded his involvement in the industry by judging cattle shows across the UK. He is currently a member of the Holstein UK National Judges Panel, with career highlights including judging calves and showmanship at the Royal Highland Show in 2024 and serving as the associate judge for showmanship at UK Dairy Expo in the same year.

Will is excited to witness the exceptional standard of young showmen and women once again at the upcoming UK Dairy Expo.

Andrea is a dedicated cattle enthusiast from the renowned Oakalby herd. In addition to her work with Oakalby, she takes great pride in managing her own distinguished herd of Jerseys under the Eastpoint prefix. Andrea’s expertise in the field has been recognised through prestigious opportunities, including her most recent judging appointment at the All Breeds All Britain Calf Show (ABAB) in 2022 - a career highlight and a tremendous honour.