Day five – sheep and cattle semi-finals commence

August 5, 2020 at 8:30 am

**Click to enlarge**. Balour Baillie’s Limousin cross heifer that stormed to success at last year’ County Show. The heifer has also impressed out judge, William Gill. (pic: Tom O’Brien / The Orcadian)

Today is day five of our online cattle and sheep competitions, where we pit past County Show champions against each other.

Today, which would have been ‘Hope Show Day, sees the first of the semi-finals rounds, where the winners of our previous rounds are face-off until two remain for the final round.

Today’s match-ups sees the winners from days one and two judged against each other. In the cattle these are the 2019 County Show champion and the 2012 champion up against each other.

The 2019 inter-breed champion was exhibited by Balfour Baillie, from Sebay View, Tankerness, and was a 15-month-old Limousin cross heifer.

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 show.

In the first round of the competition, our cattle judge William Gill, admired the heifer’s length and said she had a good top line and good depth.

**Click to enlarge.** The Charolais two-year-old heifer that was shown by W. R. Baillie, Biggings, Toab, at the County Show in 2012 (Pic: Tom O’Brien / The Orcadian)

In our semi-final ,Balfour’s heifer faces a challenge from 2012 County Show champion, a two-year-old Charolais heifer-in-calf, named Baillieston Eugenie, shown by W.R. Baillie & Co, of Biggings, Toab.

Eugenie’s sire was the AI Bull Burradon Talisman and she was out of Baillieston Venus. She was in calf to the 15,000gns Maerdy Deiniol.

Her dam, Baillieston Venus, was sired by Mowbray Park Umpire, a stock bull which the Baillies had bought at Perth.

In the first round Mr Gill said the heifer is “a lovely, clean feminine animal and appears to be well brought out.”

SHEEP

Our sheep match-up today is between a sees the Texel that was named the 2019 County Show’s supreme champion sheep against the champion from 2016 – a Charollais gimmer.

The 2019 County Show champion sheep was a Texel gimmer, shown by Robbie Scott, from Dawn Cottage, Holm.

An embryo transfer, whose dam Mr Scott bought at the Lanark Premier Sale after it placed as a reserve champion, the gimmer’s sire was a tup called Tophill Wall Street.

In the first round, our sheep judge, Kenneth Sutherland, said of the Texel gimmer: “she has great length and tremendous carcass.”

In this semi-final round, Mr Scott’s gimmer faces competition from the 2016 County Show’s champion sheep – a Charollais gimmer shown by A. & V. Copland, Overhouse, Harray.

A. & V. Copland’s champion sheep from the 2016 County Show, a Charollais gimmer. (pic: Tom O’Brien / The Orcadian)

The gimmer, “did the double” for its owners in 2016, being named champion at the Dounby Show a couple of days before its County Show victory. Bought in Wales in October 2015 as a ewe lamb, the sheep was sired by Aberkinsey Officer and out of the dam Aberkinsey 464 by Glyn Coch Mr T.

In the first round, Mr Sutherland said of the Charollais gimmer: “A great example of the breed. She has outstanding length and width throughout her carcass. She shows well with a nice sweet head and plenty of size.”

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 some of the animals went on to be sold following their win. For more information on the competition and animals click here.