Day one’s results – 2019’s champions make the next round

August 1, 2020 at 5:30 pm

**Click to enlarge.** Balfour Baillie’s heifer, which took the inter-breed victory, has been chosen over the 2018 County Show champion, which was shown by Balfour’s father, James. (Tom O’Brien / The Orcadian)

The decisions are in for day one of Ready, Set, Show!, our online knock-out competition that pits some past County Show winners against each other.

Today’s winner in the cattle lines is the 2019 County Champion – a heifer shown last year by Balfour Baillie – which beat some stiff competition from the 2018 winner, a stot shown by Balfour’s father James.

The 2019 champion was a 15-month-old Limousin cross heifer, shown by Balfour, from Sebay View, Tankerness. The unnamed heifer’s sire was Craigatoke Jamieson and she was out of a British Blue cross Limousin, homebred cow.

She went on to be shown and sold at the Thainstone spectacular, on August 23, following the County Show.

Our cattle judge, William Gill said: “While both are good animals with excellent back ends, the heifer appears to have extra length, a good top line and good depth.”

SHEEP

Meanwhile, today’s sheep match-up has seen two Texel’s face off, with the champion of the 2019 County Show coming out of top, beating the 2014 champion.

The 2019 sheep champion was a Texel gimmer owned by Robbie Scott, from Dawn Cottage, Holm. The gimmer was an embryo transfer , whose dam Robbie bought at the Lanark Premier Sale after it placed as a reserve champion and whose sire was a tup called Tophill Wall Street.

Our sheep judge Kenneth Sutherland, of Sibmister, Thurso, said: “She has great length and tremendous carcass.” Both animals now move onto the second round of the competition.

This week should have been Orkney’s agricultural shows week, kicking off with the Sanday Show on Friday, July 31. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic the six shows had to be and other associated events had to be cancelled. To mark the week, we are pitting past sheep and cattle champions of The County Show against each other, under the eyes of judges, in a knock out competition. All the animals are judged based on pictures and information from the day they won. Next week we’ll be doing the same with the horse champions. Those who owned and exhibited them on the day are treated as the owners now for the purposes of the competition, although many of the animals went on to be sold following their win. For more information on the competition and animals click here.