RHS organisers reveal next year’s judges line-up
While it might still be half a year away, the organisers of Scotland’s biggest annual farming bash - the Royal Highland Show - have announced the judges for next year’s event which will be held at Ingliston just outside Edinburgh on the 21-24 June.
The task of evaluating the 6,000 head of the country’s top cattle, sheep, horses and goats against their relevant breed standards and judging which conforms closest to the ideal will lie in the hands of a total of 109 judges.
Of these individuals charged with what is universally held to be the great honour of carrying out the task at the country’s top show, 41 hail from Scotland, 47 from England, 11 from Wales, 9 from Northern Ireland and one from the Republic of Ireland.
And with the sheep rings seeing a record number of over 2,000 entries forward at the 2017 event it is hoped that the coming year, which marks the 178th show, will once again equal the tension around the ringside.
This year the Overall Sheep Inter Breed Championship will be in the hands of James Sinclair from Crookston in Midlothian, and the Overall Sheep Pairs Inter-breed Championship & Young Handlers Classes will be judged by James Macgregor, Dyke Farm, Milton of Campsie, Glasgow.
In the dairy rings, the job of judging the Overall Dairy will be carried out by William Whiteford from the highly respected Middle Ayrshire herd at Middle Farm, Ruleholme, Carlisle.
Former chief cattle steward, Tom Arnott from Kelso, will decide the winners in the Beef Inter Breed Team Competition and the Overall Beef Inter-breed Championship, while the task of selecting the Overall Beef Native Inter Breed Team Champion 2018 will be in the hands of Orkney farmer li am muir of upper Onston Farm in Stenness. The 35 horse sections will see Jill Cousens, widely known in the Scottish horse world as ‘Granny Jill’, oversee the St Johns Wells trophy and Highland Pony expert, Gillian Mcmurray will judge the Waxwing Trophy for the overall Mountain and Moorland in-hand section.
In the heavy horse lines, the Clydesdale Male judge is George Skinner, well known for his involvement with the breed across the spectrum including driving and riding who will bring his expert eye to the ring.
Chris Nye, from Holly Oaks near Ely, Cambridgeshire, will join the lineup of judges for the goat classes.