Walking across the tanbark in the Large Arena at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center, Brooke Carey had modest expectations.

She had shown before at All-American but never won, not even a class. She took a giant leap to victory on Sept. 17, winning not only her individual breed show, but Supreme Junior Champion cow.

Carey’s 4-year-old Holstein, Plumline Reginald Velour, won Supreme Champion with an impressive udder that stood above the competition.

"The Holstein cow we felt breed for breed best represented what we were looking for in terms of having the height and width to the rear udder, the bloom and capacity to that rear udder," says Molly Sloan of Columbus, Wisc., the show judge. "And she also had a great amount of dairy strength, which we all felt is important to the cow that we chose to represent the Supreme Champion."

Supreme Champion Heifer went to Sabrina Clark’s Red and White, Hill-a-Way Jordy Apache. 

"Just so much style, so much stronger up through the front end," says judge Jason Lloyd of Middleburg, N.Y. "She had the correct feet and legs. The length from head to tail, just the complete package."

The feet and legs along with style, depth of rib and squareness of frame are things Lloyd looks for in his top heifers.

"We want animals that will live a long time," he says.

JUDGING THE BEST: Judges evaluate the contenders for supreme champion cow and heifer during the junior supreme pageant at the All-American Dairy Show.

Clark, 21, of Springville, Pa., is an animal science major at Penn State. She also won last year with her Red and White fall calf.

For Carey, 18, winning comes down to how the cow is feeling.

"Just not making her mad, that’s the big thing," she says.

Her 4-year-old cow hadn’t been shown much before All-American, but this year has proven to be her year. Carey hopes the cow will stay in milking long enough to show at World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisc.

"That, of course, is the plan. We’ll have to see. That’s my hope," she says.

The key to choosing a supreme champion, Sloan says, is the udder, along with the quality and style of the cow.

The fact that Plumline Reginald Velour had three calves was "ideal and gives her the opportunity to have the bloom and volume and the attachments that we wanted. That Holstein quality," she says.