When Zayda Hofing came out of the ring in Madison, Wis., there were happy tears shared between her family. Brother, Bryce, and mom, Deanna, were waiting just steps from where the champion slap landed on Ferdinand during the inaugural bull division at the Phenotype and Genotype Show (PGS) at the National Junior Angus Show (NJAS), but their little celebratory group was missing someone important. 

Carol Bloom, Zayda’s grandma, was helping with the poster contest halfway across the fairgrounds. When a show staff member came into the judging room and asked Mrs. Bloom to come with her, Carol says she assumed the worst. 

“Oh no, Mrs. Bloom, you’re fine,” she was told. “I’m going to take you down to get your picture taken with the grand champion bull.” 

Delivered to the backdrop, Carol’s arms instantly went around her 13-year-old granddaughter. 

"‘I’m so glad I got this done for grandpa,’” Carol remembers Zayda whispering to her. “We both looked up, and I was just overwhelmed by it, and she was, too. I’m sure he was watching from up above and just smiling every minute.” 

Prior to his passing in January of this year, the entire family knew Don Bloom was counting the days to NJAS. Since starting their Angus herd in 1974, he and Carol have focused on producing top notch bulls. Don loved to compete in prestigious showrings like the National Western Stock Show — perfect platforms for their performance cattle. 

He wasn’t there in person, but his spirit was standing right alongside his family in Wisconsin.

“I was kind of in shock,” Zayda confesses of her recent win. “I never expected it. I was just really excited. I know it was my grandpa’s wish to win something like this.” 

Good genes

Growing up, Deanna says her parents always emphasized expected progeny differences (EPDs). It’s a lesson both her children have absorbed. 

“We only run about 50-75 head of cows, so every year when we’re making those breeding selections, they have to count,” Deanna explains. “Whatever’s on the ground, you choose from that.” 

Ferdinand, the “gentle giant,” was a calf that stood out from the rest. After studying his papers with her mom and grandma, Zayda knew he was the bull she’d take to Madison. 

“Ferdinand is just kind of a one of a kind one,” she says. 

Deanna couldn’t agree more. Besides having a former NJAS PGS competitor as his dam, she says the bull is balanced in carcass and maternal traits. 

To put it simply, he’s the kind of bull Don would’ve been proud of. 

Zayda credits a lot of her success to her grandparents, in and out of the showring, but Carol says the third generation of her family just has a knack for the industry. 

“She’s very, very passionate with animals,” Carol says, eager to brag on her granddaughter’s ambitions to follow in her footsteps as a veterinarian. “She is just one of those kinds of people — her and an animal just blend, where not everybody does.” 

And for a grandparent, there’s no greater joy than watching newer generations find their place in the world. 

Carol says, “That was the thing that grandpa and I were really wanting to see … that we have two grandkids that really, really loved the Angus cattle and really wanted to do it.”