It was a day to remember for Mark Harryman and Sarah Warriner, Swainsea Barn Farm, Pickering, North Yorkshire, when they lifted the 2016 National Limousin Show Overall Commercial Supreme Championship, and a cheque for £1000, with their heavyweight heifer Black Beauty.

Black Beauty - Female and Overall Champion Commercial
Black Beauty – Female and Overall Champion Commercial

Weighing in at 581kgs this January 2015 born heifer came through the first of the heavyweight heifer classes to lift the Heifer Championship before moving on to take the Overall Supreme Championship.  Judge for the day was the noted commercial producer Frank Page, Lodge Farm, Elkington, Northants who amongst other awards had himself won the 2015 East of England Smithfield Championship.

Black Beauty, out of a Lim cross cow, was originally purchased for £3600 at Middleton in Teasdale Suckled Calf Sale in November 2015 from the breeder John White, Rigg Farm and where she had stood Champion.  Adding a nice touch, and making the National Show win even more special, Black Beauty is by Keskadale Apollo a bull bred by Mark Harryman along with his father Keith.  In 2015 Mark and Sarah lifted the Supreme Championship at the English Winter Fair with their heifer Red Hot Honey which was also sired by a Keskadale bull, Keskadale Eyefull.

At the time of purchase Mark said that he had one eye on the National Limousin Show with a trip to the Great Yorkshire prior to that.  Through the summer the heifer had stood second at North Yorks County Show, second at the Great Yorkshire, and Reserve Champion at Driffield Show.

Speaking afterwards Mark Harryman said:  “It’s a great honour to win the National Limousin Show and especially as it is only held every five years.  The event is very much like a Champions League for Limousin sired animals and the standard of competition was extremely high.  We have been delighted in the past to have won the Championship at the English Winter Fair and also the Champion Purebred and Reserve Overall at Smithfield.  This win is very much right up there with those achievements.”

Mark Harryman and his fiancée Sarah Warriner have lived at the 350 acre Swainsea Barn Farm since September 2014.  One hundred acres is down to grass with the rest being arable.  Cattle wise they have ten pedigree Limousin cows run under their Hotshot prefix and have fifteen cross bred Limousin heifers.

Super Ted
Reserve Steer Champion Super Ted

Mark and Sarah also lifted the Reserve Overall Steer title with the 586kgs Super Ted.  This April 2015 born calf was also purchased at Middleton In Teasdale for £1200 on the same day as the Champion. Super Ted is by Elmtree Dance, a Goldies Apollo son out of a 7/8 Limousin cow, and was bred by AE Iceston, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham.  Adding the final icing to the day Mark and Sarah also won the Pairs Championship with Black Beauty and their third prize bullock Diesel a Cwmlimo Eubank son.

Black Beauty & Diesel
Pairs Champions Black Beauty & Diesel

Commenting on his Champion the judge Frank Page said: “The cattle presented on the day were full of quality across the board and were a terrific advert for the Limousin breed and its carcase qualities. The Champion animal was a real meat machine, just full of muscle, with a tremendous loin but still carrying a bit of style.”

Frank Page Judging
The judge Frank Page getting ‘hands on’

Following hard on the heels of the summer majors the Commercial Championships at the National Limousin Show saw many of the year’s prize winners from around the United Kingdom face off against each other.  This included the classy J-Lo heifer from JCB Commercials, Northern Ireland.  Arriving at the National Limousin Show she had already won a terrific 2016 double having lifted the Supreme Championships at both the Royal Ulster Show, Balmoral, and the Royal Highland Show at Ingliston.  Going head to head with the eventual Champion from the word go J-Lo placed second in her class and followed Black Beauty all the way through to take the Reserve Overall Supreme and Reserve Heifer titles.   The 582kgs J-Lo was originally purchased last winter at Hilltown Mart for £1000. Sired by Norman Ely and out of a Lim x dam she was bred by P Fagan.

J-Lo - Res Female and Res Overall Champion Commercial.
Reserve Overall Supreme Champion J-Lo

Taking the Male Championship was the 548kgs Billy Wizz, from Rachel Mudd and Craig Bentley, The Gables, Kepwick, Thirsk. Bred at Carry House, Hexham by Martyn Archer, this red May 2015 born steer was purchased for £2000 at a new Spring 2016 Sale held at Hexham & Northern Marts.  Sired by the French bull, Ananas, this steer is out of a Limousin cross cow.  Having exhibited at the primestock shows for some twenty two years now Craig and Rachel said that 2016 had perhaps been their most successful to date: “We have been strong supporters of the shows and have picked up plenty of second and third prizes and have had the Steer Championship at the English Winter Fair.  2016 has however been a terrific year for us and to win the Steer Championship at the National Limousin Show within this company is just fantastic,” said Craig.  Craig and Rachel, who milk 160 cows and run some 360 sheep, are now aiming Billy Wizz at various shows before heading back to Carlisle for the Borderway Agri Expo and the winter show circuit.

Billy Wizz
Overall Steer Champion Billy Wizz

In 2011 Jennifer Hyslop, Balluskie Farm, Barhill, Girvan, Ayrshire won the Supreme Championship at the National Limousin Show with her lightweight heifer Mysticque. Five years on and she was back again to put up a strong defence of her title with her heavyweight heifer who was also called Black Beauty.  After winning her class, Jennifer’s Black Beauty went on to win the Best Bred by Exhibitor award.  This April 2015 born heifer, weighing 623kgs, is sired by Huntershall Gladiator.  Jennifer also had another class win in the second class of heifers with the Waindale UFO sired Sassy Lassy bred by John Smith Jackson.

Tooshie Noir (L) & Black Beauty (R)
Reserve Exhibitor Bred Tooshie Noir (L) & Overall Exhibitor Bred Black Beauty (R)

The Reserve Exhibitor Bred title was won by Wilson Peters, Cuilt Farmhouse, Monzie, Crieff, Perthshire with his 592kgs heifer Tooshie Noir.  This heifer, sired by Kype Elliote, had stood third in its class the Overall Supreme and Reserve Supreme Champions respectively.

The full results of the Commercial section were as follows:-
 

COMMERCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP, 2016 NATIONAL LIMOUSIN SHOW

CLASS 16a Sponsor Hexham & Northern Marts
Lightweight Heifer
Exhibit No. Animal Name Exhibitor
1st 58 Read All About It BE Williams
2nd 41 Jasmin TA & LC Lyon
3rd 55 Black Biwt IT Edwards & Family
4th 56 Black Beauty T Jones
5th 35 Midnight Special J & SM Priestley
6th 57 Guilty Pleasure A & E Vance
CLASS 16b Sponsor HVS Animal Health
Lightweight Heifer
Exhibit No. Animal Name Exhibitor
1st 33 Sassy Lass J Hyslop
2nd 54 Miss Rolex T C Edwards
3rd 47 Chiquitta A Roberts
4th 48 Take Me Out J Nisbet
5th 52 Sherbert Orange Marwood & Wilkinson
6th 42 Seren Wen G  Rowlands
CLASS 17a Sponsor Boehringer Ingelheim
Intermediate Heifer
Exhibit No. Animal Name Exhibitor
1st 59 Eye Candy JCB Commercial
2nd 46 Hightown Girl T Jones
3rd 51 Ahi D Small
4th 50 Samantha Slack & Haughan
5th 21 Little Mix A Ewing
6th 25 Oreo G & JE Bell
CLASS 17b Sponsor Caltech Crystalyx
Intermediate Heifer
Exhibit No. Animal Name Exhibitor
1st 49 Little Mix RDA Cattle Services
2nd 44 Annie Power D Small
3rd 60 Lippy TA & LC Lyon
4th 43 Rocky Road Mudd & Bentley
5th 16 Betty A McGregor
6th 40 Bizzy Lizzy A & E Vance
CLASS 18a Sponsor Caisley Eartag Ltd
Heavyweight Heifer
Exhibit No. Animal Name Exhibitor
1st 8 Black Beauty H Harryman & Warriner
2nd 7 J-Lo JCB Commercial
3rd 15 Tooshie Noir WA Peters
4th 30 Vroom Vroom N Slack
5th 14 Bonny Lass I Townson
6th 28 Flower Of Scotland J H Craggs
7th 29 Lobelia B & S Maskell & Lisney
8th 36 Dark Secret IK & AM Grisedale
CLASS 18b
Heavyweight Heifer Sponsor TP Metcalfe & Son Ltd
Exhibit No. Animal Name Exhibitor
1st 22 Black Beauty J Hyslop
2nd 2 Randerston Jasmine S & L Bett
3rd 11 Iona DS Townend
4th 3 Lola Look At Me G & JA Sedgewick
5th 6 Jewel T Atkinson
6th 17 Haud-Yer-Wheesht H Dunlop
7th 4 Get Lucky D Small
Special 11
Champion Heifer and Reserve Sponsor JCB Agriculture
Exhibit No. Animal Name Exhibitor
Champion 8 Black Beauty H Harryman & Warriner
Reserve 7 J-Lo JCB Commercial
CLASS 19
Lightweight Steer Sponsor Shearwell Data
Exhibit No. Animal Name Exhibitor
1st 83 Downtown M & H Telfer & Claxton
2nd 84 Bale D Small
3rd 82 Red Alert N Slack
4th 80 Germangie TA & LC Lyon
5th 86 Almande Linford A Morgan & JC Johnson
CLASS 20A
Intermediate Steer Sponsor AgriLloyd
Exhibit No. Animal Name Exhibitor
1st 72 Billy Wizz Mudd & Bentley
2nd 77 Lex G & JE Bell
3rd 71 Spooky Dooky B & M Kingston
4th 79 Wurzul J & S Wareham
5th 78 Trigger B & M Kingston
6th 76 Joop GH & AH Roberts
7th 66 Lord G Rowlands
CLASS 20B
Intermediate Steer Sponsor McCartneys
Exhibit No. Animal Name Exhibitor
1st 69 Super Ted H Harryman & Warriner
2nd 70 Tom Thumb J Hyslop
3rd 67 Diesel H Harryman & Warriner
4th 75 Dolphy Duke J A Nicholls
5th 73 Party Banger J Nisbet
CLASS 21
Heavyweight Steer Sponsor McCartneys
Exhibit No. Animal Name Exhibitor
1st 88 Barron’s Last Card W Barron
2nd 62 Portos TA & LC Lyon
3rd 68 Rocco N Slack
4th 87 Last Chance T C Edwards
5th 64 Bugger Lugs JH Craggs
6th 61 Stormzy JM & SM Priestley
Special 12
Champion Steer and Reserve Sponsor Carrs Billington
Exhibit No. Animal Name Exhibitor
Champion 72 Billy Wizz Mudd & Bentley
Reserve 69 Super Ted H Harryman & Warriner
Special 13
Supreme Champion Animal and Reserve Sponsor Shearwell Data
Exhibit No. Animal Name Exhibitor
Champion 8 Black Beauty H Harryman & Warriner
Reserve 7 J-Lo JCB Commercials
Special 14 Sponsor Harrison & Hetherington
Best Commercial Animal Bred by Exhibitor and Reserve
Exhibit No. Animal Name Exhibitor
Champion 22 Black Beauty J Hyslop
Reserve 15 Tooshie Noir W A Peters
Special 15
Best Pair of Commercial Cattle and Reserve Sponsor Boehringer Ingelheim
Exhibit No. Animal Name Exhibitor
Champion 8 Black Beauty H Harryman & Warriner
67 Diesel H Harryman & Warriner
Reserve 25 Oreo G & JE Bell
77 Lex G & JE Bell