KANSAS CITY, Mo. –  The American Royal was born from a National Hereford Show held underneath a Kansas City Stockyards tent. One-hundred-twenty-five years after that inaugural event in 1899, Maddie Jenkins, Athens, Texas, and McGuffee Polled Herefords, Mendenhall, Miss., exhibited the grand champion Herefords during the American Royal.

Judge Danny Fawcett, Ree Heights, S.D., sorted 129 head of Hereford cattle on Oct. 27 to find his champions in Kansas City’s historic Hale Arena. 

In the female show, the grand champion title went to H BL TB Pixie L369 ET, owned by Jenkins. The March 18, 2023, daughter of HL Stimulus 2108 ET, was first named champion spring yearling female. Reserve grand champion female honors went to HAWK Markle 9L ET, exhibited by Kinnick Paulsen, Preston, Iowa. The champion junior yearling female is a Feb. 5, 2023, daughter of KLD RW Marksman D87 ET. 

KRM 9160 Follow Me 8G L35 ET was named the grand champion bull. Owned by McGuffee Polled Herefords, the Feb. 3, 2023, entry is sired by JDH AH Benton 8G ET and first took champion yearling bull honors. Kevin Jensen, Courtland, Kan., and Decker Cattle Co., Sadorus, Ill., showed the reserve grand champion bull, KJ DCC 181H Foresight 366L ET. He is a Oct. 4. 2023, son of KJ F31 Benchmark E23J ET. He was first named champion senior bull calf. 

In the cow-calf pair show, Haleigh Ferguson, Windsor, Mo., exhibited the champion, WBS Advantage Wilma 006. She is a March 12, 2020, daughter of C&L Advantage M326 22S ET, with a June bull calf by HNS STK Big League Hitter 011 at her side. 

Following the show, Lauren Jones, Darlington, Wis., won premier exhibitor, and Ben Jensen, Courtland, Kan., won premier breeder. Wildcat Cattle Co., Darlington, Wis., exhibited the best six head. 

“The quality that we saw today all the way through the heifer show is mind-blowing,” Fawcett said before selecting the grand champion female. “I’m a Hereford breeder, and I’m very proud of what we’ve got going on here. Even then, to see all the way through the bottom-end of these classes there are cattle here that I can take home and utilize. That’s really impressive for me, and I’m happy to see it.” 

To view complete results of the 2024 American Royal National Hereford Show, visit Hereford.org/events. 

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The American Hereford Association, with headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., is one of the largest U.S. beef breed associations. The not-for-profit organization along with its subsidiaries — Certified Hereford Beef (CHB) LLC, Hereford Publications Inc. (HPI) and American Beef Records Association (ABRA) — provides programs and services for its members and their customers, while promoting the Hereford breed and supporting education, youth and research. For press releases and photos, visit Hereford.org/media.