The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Strong competition draws crowds
SHEEP: Impressive turnout of stock
Spectators braved the blustery conditions to witness a strong turnout of stock in the sheep lines over the first two days of the Royal Highland, with entries up by more than 100 on the year, to 1,972 head.
The Blackface section proved the biggest draw on Thursday morning, with a two-crop ewe from the Wight family of Midlock, Crawford, coming up trumps there.
A daughter of the £90,000 Dalchirla sire, she was picked out as best by judge Willie Graham, of the Craigdarroch flock in Sanquhar, who was particularly impressed by the females on show.
“The ewe class was very strong right through and that’s where I found my champion and reserve animals. The champion carried herself well and is a really good, correct ewe,” he said.
Much later in the day there were celebrations for Barbara Webster, of Higham Farm, Newburgh, who won for the first time in the Jacob section.
Her winner was the two-shear tup Blackbrook Fireballs, which was bought privately last year and is the main stock tup in the Carochy flock, established 42 years ago.
Meanwhile, it was a poignant day for Northumberland-based Border Leicester exhibitor Jim Brown, who won the section on his last year showing at the Highland.
Having sold the ewes from his Eildon flock last year, he will disperse the gimmers at Lanark this summer – bringing an end to 50 years of breeding and showing sheep for the family.
A large Texel section yesterday morning was won by a ewe from the Clitheroe-based Procters flock, with reserve overall in that section going to a shearling ram shown by the McKerrow family of the Grougfoot flock at Bo’ness, and jointly owned by breeders Alasdair Beaton and John Tough.
Collecting a first overall championship in the busy Hebridean classes were Jack and Morna Cuthbert, of Ardoch House, Fossoway, Kinross, with Bearslair Lilly, a one-crop ewe from their flock of 30 females, established just four years ago.
The Steven family – John, Carolyn, Rebecca and Rowena – of Rosebank Farm, Currie, Midlothian, took the lead in a strong Shetland section, with a Grey Katmoget two-year-old tup, Rosebank Neptune, while Pencaitland-based Andrew Bain stood reserve with his two-crop white ewe Greenacres Svannah.
Due to a transmission error, incorrect results were published for Thursday’s sheep sections. Please find the correct results from Thursday below, along with the winners from yesterday’s categories.