The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Major success for Balthayock Imp
CHAROLAIS: Careful breeding programme at Balthayock Farm paying off for Major David Walter
Perth Charolais breeder Major David Walter celebrated 46 years of breeding by winning his first Highland Show yesterday.
A keen advocate of EBVs, his careful breeding programme at Balthayock Farm is proving successful in the show ring, too, as the two-year-old Balthayock Imp by the 20,000gns Blelack Forrester took the tricolour.
There are now more than 90 pedigree cows at Balthayock under the stockmanship of Davy and Tracy Nichol, who brought the bull out yesterday and also to win breed and overall champion at this year’s Angus Show.
Reserve in the strong Charolais section were Peter and Allen Drysdale, Middle Drimmie, Blairgowrie, with their home-bred heifer with calf at-foot, Glenericht Hester by Moyness Saltire. She was interbreed cattle champion at West Fife earlier this month.
Another long-term breeder surprisingly winning his first Highland Show yesterday was Alastair Fraser from Idvies Farm at Forfar.
Alastair and son Graeme brought out their five-year-old stock bull Shadwell Black Broughton by Muirhall Total Deal to take the supreme Aberdeen-Angus award.
They bought the bull from Shadwell in a high five-figure deal and he has bred them sons which have been reserve supreme and intermediate champions at Stirling and sold for five-figure prices.
Reserve was a two-year-old heifer with calf at-foot from William McLaren and HW Angus, Netherton, Blackford. Netherton Evita was by Netherton Big Edition and was champion at the Winter National Show and the Black Beauty Show last year.
The Highland Show is attracting more and more exhibitors from across the water each year.
First-time exhibitor William McElroy, from County Down, took the British Blonde championship with Ivaniskey Denise, a seven-year-old cow in-calf which has been champion at Balmoral two years in a row.
Reserve were Donald and Billy Laird from Lochhead, East Wemyss, with fiveyear-old cow Whitefield Freya, which was champion at West Fife.
John and Ernest Elliot of County Tyrone won the Saler championship with a home-bred four-year-old cow and calf, Drumlegagh Elise.
The reserve was another first-time exhibitor, better known for breeding Charolais, Murray Lyle.
Murray farms at Mid Cambushinnie, Dunblane, and just bought seven Salers last year to build up a suckler herd for a bit of rough ground.
He said: “They live out and are proving easy to maintain, so the plan is to build up to about 30 and then cross them with Charolais bulls.”