The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Show goes on after hard work at Hilton of Beath
Organisers are rewarded with a break in weather and competitive classes
West Fife show dodged the bad weather bullet on Saturday to produce a successful and competitive day of livestock judging at Hilton of Beath.
Two days of heavy rain at the end of the week left the Kelty showfield vulnerable to mud but the organisers, led by show chairman David Laird, rearranged the usual layout to create a drier, compact setting that delighted the trade stand holders.
Mr Laird said the committee had to “think on their feet” to ensure the show went ahead, and were rewarded with a break in the weather.
“We set the show up over a couple of days and I think we all have a pile of soaking wet boilersuits back home, but it has been worth it,” he said.
“It’s my first year as show chairman so it was a case of in at the deep end.”
The turnout of quality livestock, with large classes of British Blues, Shetland sheep and Clydesdales in particular, led to tough competition in the champion of champions ring, but a local winner triumphed when the dairy champion of Cupar farmers Andrew and Pat Wilson took the top honour.
Judging for the interbreed was close, but dairy cow Witherslack Mincio Joanne just got the nod ahead of the beef winner, the Limousin champion from Malcolm Reid.
The Wilsons’ winner, which was crowned best Holstein in Scottish herds last year, calved in April and is giving 56 litres a day. She was repeating her championship success at West Fife and Kinross shows last year.
Malcolm Reid’s interbreed champion, 15-month-old bull Reid’s Orion, was brought out by show stock expert Kim Brown. Orion is by Reid’s Galaxy and out of Littlewood Ginger.
The British Blue winner took reserve interbreed place in a strong line-up of beef breed champions. He was Robert Paterson’s 13-month-old Auchenlay Nimrod, out of a home-bred cow and by Sandyvale Jaegerbomb.
The sheep interbreed winner was a Blue Texel from John and Emma Lyle who run 50 Blues at Leven. Their home-bred one-crop ewe Viewforth Alexandria is by Millend Yeeha and out of Beili Blue, and the ewe’s tup lamb also won his class. Like many of the livestock paraded on Saturday she is destined for the Royal Highland Show later this month.
The Clydesdale champion, Glebeview Lady Lizzy from Charlotte Young, dominated her breed hard on the heels of her win at Drymen show, her only other outing. Pipped at the post was Scott Greenhill’s two-year-old filly Fordelhill Hannah, which swept the boards at Fettercairn, Alyth, Kinross and other events last summer.