British Simmental Review 2018

Farewell to Dear Friends
Robert Lunness
1942 - 2018
When I joined the British Simmental
Society in 1988 and during my early years
of showing in the 1990s, I soon became
aware of the herd name ‘BRINKTON’, with
it winning at the majority of the main
agricultural shows I visited. The name
‘Melody’ kept arising and it was soon
known that if they (Bob & Jean) were
there with Melody, the question was -
who would come second?
Apparently when starting up with
Simmentals Bob and Jean were mocked by
other breeds/farmers they knew, asking
why they had started in ‘rare breeds’.
Bob’s answer to this was always ‘the
rare breeds’ they referred to became
the ‘Best of all breeds’, something he
continued to champion when he went on
to win the Burke Trophy as a breeder, and
when he was president seeing Valentine
and Sterling Krackerjack being successful,
winning the Burke Trophy again.
Certain animals names go on to become
famous, and within the Simmental Society,
that has to go to Brinkton Melody. She
won everything and then went on to breed
both male and female champions, with
the likes of Bluebelle, Bonzo, Wizard and
many,many more.
The Brinkton herd still has the record of
the most class winners at the Royal Show
with them gaining 6 first prizes in 1993 and
this was when there were over a hundred
Simmentals forward, as well as overall
supreme and reserve champions in both
the male and female championship.
Melody went on to gain Golden Cow
status and when she was paraded before
the crowd at the reduction sale they had in
1994, she was paraded in the sale ring at
the start to Tina Turner’s Simply the Best!
She was described by the auctioneer, Jack
Young as the “best Simmental cow of the
century and certainly of his lifetime”.
The sale went on to produce a record
at the time - 34 females sold to average
£4,082. Over 600 breeders were present to
see the top price of 11,000 guineas being
paid for Bluebelle by Haddon and Lynda
Burditt.
Clearly, as a new breeder, you are in
awe of these people who, at the time you
don’t know, but who go on to become
friends and when judged at a show by Bob
(but always prompted by Jean from the
sidelines) being put up with a baby heifer
called ‘Valentine’ and being told by Jean
that she was special, made my day.
I used to wonder how, when going to
shows, his animals came off the lorry and
almost immediately lay down as if they
had been there for days, while mine stood
and got so tired they almost fell down. On
visiting his farm one day, I found that all
his show cows were tied up as if at a show
and it was just natural for them.
He had big refrigeration units cut out of
a lorry blowing down on the cattle, so they
had coats thicker than anyone else, and
with those coats there was no-one better
than Jean for turning them out.
I attended an early show and phoned
home saying I thought the animal I had
would be third, having seen them in the
pens. We ended up 5th with two brought
out by Bob (after Jean had done her bit)
pushing everyone else down and winning
again.
The name Bob Lunness will always be
known within our breed, but cannot be
mentioned without that of his wife Jean
and the animals which made the herd
name Brinkton so famous within our
breed.
Sadly, less than 8 weeks after Bob
died, Jean also passed away, just before
Christmas.
Clearly we all move on with new names,
animals and herds becoming well known,
however the names of Lunness and
Melody will always be something that
remains special as far as my time in the
breed is concerned
Sleep well my friend, you left without
me getting a chance to say goodbye!!
David Donnelly
062 www.britishsimmental.co.uk