Welsh Winter Fair record of £36,000 paid for reserve
A new record price of £36,000 was achieved at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair, when the reserve champion, a May 2021born Limousin cross heifer, Sassy Girl from Allen and Emma Shortt, Castlederg, and James and Katrina Little, Wigton, was sold.
Champion at Borderway Agri Expo, at Carlisle in October, Sassy Lassy is a daughter of Trueman Idol, out of Ashmara Classy Girl. She sold to undisclosed buyer from Cumbria.
The champion, Baby Guinness, a Limousin heifer from the Edwards Brothers, Denbighshire, achieved £8600 selling to Kathryn Jones, Castell Howell.
Aberdeenshire showman, Blair Duffton, Huntly, made his presence felt, taking the reserve bullock title with the 18-month-old Limousin cross, Robbo. Bred by John and Craig Robertson, Newton of Logierait, he stood second at LiveScot, and made £3500 to Kitsons Butchers, Yarm
The commercial calf champion from LiveScot, Phoenix, from Stewart and Lynsey Bett, Stirling, had to settle for reserve at the Welsh Winter Fair. She was bought from Balfour Baillie at the Thainstone Spectacular, is by Redriver Powerful and out of a British Blue cross Limousin dam.
Hugh and Stewart Dunlop, Holehouse, secured the champion bullock calf with their April-born Limousin cross, Top Boy. Reserve junior bullock at Stars of the Future, and first at LiveScot he went on to make £2800 to Andrew Gammie, Laurencekirk.
The reserve bullock calf honours also came back home to Scotland with Messrs Anderson and Blair, Littleinch Farmhouse, Balmerino, Newport-on-Tay. Their Limousin cross, Bam Bam stood first at LiveScot and was bred by I Grant, Gairloch.
The Halls from Inglewood Edge, Cumbria, secured their third supreme championship in the sheep section, and notably, their third reserve.
Supreme was their winning butchers’ weights duo, a 90.5kg pair by the same Hackney Countdown ram that sired the family’s live and export carcase champion at the Premier Meat Exhibition. Bred from nearly pure homebred ewes and brought out by John Hall’s daughter, Joanne, and stockman, Johnny Aiken, they also won their class at the English Winter Fair. They went on to sell for £300 apiece.
Standing reserve was the winning pair from the pure continental section, by Faughhill El Capitan ET, a ram that sired a lot of the family’s winning pairs on last year’s show circuit. This pair realised £350.