LIMOUSINS IN TITLE SWEEP AT SCOTTISH WINTER FAIR

• Limousin bred cattle take Champion and/or Reserve in 17 out of the 20 available cattle titles.
• Limousins Supreme Champion & Reserve
• Wilson Peters wins Supreme Championship
• Limousins Champion Steer & Heifer
• Limousins Champion & Reserve in the Baby Beef
• Limousins Champion & Reserve in the Butchers’ Section
• Roxburgh Homeland wins Limousin Pedigree Championship

The 2013 Scottish Winter Fair, Ingliston, saw Limousin sired cattle pick up nearly every major championship, including the Overall Supreme and Reserve Supreme Championships under judge and Cumbria-based butcher Jimmy Mulholland, Midtown Farm, Great Orton, Carlisle.

In moving to a Saturday from its traditional Wednesday slot, the event held on 30^th November saw a larger than normal crowd watch the judging and the quality entry

For his overall champion Mr Mulholland picked the Limousin cross heifer, Needing TLC, from Wilson Peters, Cuilt Farmhouse, Monzie, Gilmerton, Crieff, Perthshire with this 592kg heifer having picked up the heavyweight heifer championship and overall heifer championship on her way to the supreme title.

Mr Mulholland, who backed his judgement when paying £4700 to buy the heifer in the event’s auction sale, described her as “Quite simply the best heifer I have ever seen. as soon as she came in the ring I knew I had my champion. She has everything, she is long, clean, wide and very stylish.”

Bred by the Stevenson family, Pitlochry, Needing TLC is a Naby Director daughter.  She was bought at the Caledonian Marts calf sale in September and this win marked Mr Peters’ first Supreme Championship at the event having.  Earlier in the day Mr. Peters had secured the Reserve Championship in the Butchers’ Cattle section, a section  where he had previously won the Championship on a number of occasions.

Continuing an outstanding 2013 show year, the Alford family, Mike, Melanie and Charlotte, of Foxhillfarm, Cullompton, Devon, took the Reserve Overall title, winning through with their prolific Steer Champion Harlem Shake.

This Cawfields Dazzler son weighed in at 688kg and came to the Scottish Winter Fair having been Steer Champion at the Royal Welsh, Great Yorkshire and Royal Highland shows respectively this summer. Mr Mulholland commented that Harlem Shake was ‘an outstanding animal and for a heavy bullock had meat in all the right places.’

He was bred by O J Kendall, this one was bought at the Leyburn Spring Spectacular and was also Steer Champion at the NBA’s Beef Expo in May.

Reserve in the Steer Championship was Richard Wright, Bedlandsgate Farm, Somerton, Somerset with his second prize steer from Harlem Shake’s class, Tip Top. This 660kg Limousin cross steer, bred by the Jerman family, Glangwden, Caersws, Powys,  is by Powerhouse Emblem and is out of a Limousin cross dam.  He has previously stood second at the Borderway Agri-Expo and is now entered for the upcoming Royal Welsh Winter Fair.

Taking the top title in the lightweight steers was another Limousin sired bullock, Will I Am, from P & E B Robson,Middle Horsleyhope Farm,Waskerley, Consett, Co Durham.  Will I Am is a 495kg Limousin cross sired by Glangwden Downtown. Reserve here went to the second prize steer from the same class, Mobot. Bred by Balfour Baillie, Tankerness, Orkney and weighing 538kgs, this one was shown by last year’s Champion exhibitors Stewart Bett and Lynsey McKay, Castleton Farm, Airth, Stirlingshire.

A Limousin sired bullock then took the Reserve Intermediate Steer championship, with this title falling to D Blair and Son, Littleinch Farm, Newport-On-Tay, Fife, with Birsay Boy. Bred by the Boghill family, this one is by the Ionesco son Beck Chester and weighed 562kg.

Limousin breeding was behind the Reserve Lightweight heifer and Reserve Heavyweight heifers too. The Reserve Lightweight title went to Allan Campbell, Strawfrank Farm, Carstairs, Lanark with Bootylicious. This heifer was bred by Messrs Munro and Son and is by Murrayfield Unique, a Ronick Hawk son, and weighed 520kg.

Then scooping the Reserve Heavyweight Heifer Championship was the Alfords with Daddy’s Big Bucks, who stood second in her class to the Overall Champion. This one was bred by the George family, Huntly, and was champion at the Borderway Agri-Expo Carlisle, earlier in November.

Not to be outdone were the Baby Beef exhibitors, where Limousin bred entries picked up the championship and reserve championship awards.

Leading the way here was Robert Cunninghame, Isle of Islay with the homebred April 2013 born heifer, Ciara, which weighed 327kgs. This one is by Spittalton Drew and is out of a Limousin cross dam.

Reserve to the Champion was the second prize from the same class, Alistair and Liz Vance, Bridgehouse Farm, Whithorn, Newton Stewart with Bonnie Betty, a Wilodge Azur daughter out of a Limousin cross dam and  weighing 316kg.

Limousin bred cattle kept up a tremendous day with the Butchers supreme title going to Jim and Sally Clark, Strathaven, with Boris, a 15-month-old Limousin-sired steer, which weighed in at 550kg. It was bought from breeder’s J.M. and D.J. Hamilton, Newton Stewart, at Caledonian Mart’s calf show for £1,400 and this is its first show ring appearance.

In Reserve was the winning heifer, a home-bred Limousin-cross weighing 702kg from Wilson Peters, Crieff, Perthshire.

In the second staging of the event’s pedigree Limousin calf show, John Elliot, Roxburgh Mains, Kelso took the Championship with the November 2012-born Roxburgh Homeland.

This son of Plumtree Fantastic is out of the French-bred Nova, dam of the multi-award winning sire Samy. Roxburgh Homeland had previously been Reserve Senior Continental Interbreed Champion at the recent Stars of the Future Calf Show in Stirling.

Standing Reserve was another from the Alford family in the shape of the January 2013 born Foxhillfarm Izzy. Izzy is by the noted sire Wilodge Vantastic and is out of Bankdale Alice, making her a full sister to last year’s Champion in the pedigree section and 2013 multi award summer show winning heifer Foxhillfarm Gracie.