Ready, Set, Show! Day two – Charolais and Charollais face off

August 2, 2020 at 8:30 am

**Click to enlarge.** The 2015 Count Show Cattle Champion. A homebred Charolais bull, named. Ballieston Joseph.

On the Second day of our Ready, Set, Show! Livestock competition we have two Charolais, both shown by W.R. Baillie & Co, facing off in the cattle section and two Charoallais up against each other in the sheep section.

To the cattle first! We have the 2015 County show’s supreme cattle champion, exhibited by W.R. Baillie & Co of Biggings, Toab, which was a 14-month-old, homebred, Charolais bull named Baillieston Joseph. The bull was sired by Blelack Digger and was out of the dam Baillieston Gretel.

Jimmy McMillan, from Craigmore, Farnell Brechin was that year’s inter-breed judge. He said of his champion: “As soon as the Charolais bull came in and walked around the ring, that was it.”

“I just liked everything about it; there was a good head to him, a good top, he was clean on his brisket, and he had a nice step down through his heart.”

**Click to enlarge.** Cattle champion at the 2012 County Show, Ballieston Eugenie – a two-year-old heifer-in-calf. (Tom O’Brien / The Orcadian)

The bull faces competition from the 2012 County Show cattle champion – a two-year-old Charolais heifer-in-calf, named Baillieston Eugenie.

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.

The inter-breed cattle judge in 2012 was Phillip Coghill, from Caithness, who said: “For a female, she is the size of a good bull – a real cracker, and a complete standout.”

SHEEP

In today’s stage of the sheep competition we have two Charollais being judged. One claimed victory at the 2012 County Show, while the other won in 2016.

The champion sheep for the 2012 County Show was a Charollais ewe from Sheena Coghill, Muce Farm, Birsay. The four-year-old animal, named Isla, was sired by Carthorpe Gaberdeen and her dam was sired by Southam Glint.

Linda McKendrick, the Charollais judge at the show that year said the ewe was “a tremendous animal, very powerful with plenty of breed characteristics.”

The County Show in 2016 saw Alton & Vera Copland, Overhouse, Harray, exhibit the champion sheep – a Charollais gimmer. The gimmer, “did the double” for its owners, being named champion at the 2016 Dounby and County shows. Bought in Wales last October as a ewe lamb, the sheep was sired by Aberkinsey Officer and was out of the dam Aberkinsey 464 by Glyn Coch Mr T.

**Click to enlarge.** Supreme Champion in the Sheep section at the 2016 County Show was this Charollais Gimmer, shown by A. & V. Copland. (Tom O’Brien / The Orcadian)

Christopher Gillon, from Dumfries, judged the gimmer at the 2016 show.

He said: “She was a very good gimmer; very well put together, good on her legs, nice head, stood out to me as soon as she walked in for her class, I couldn’t go past her.”

“She had a cocky head and she was good when she was out walking.”

Check back at 5.30pm for the decisions from our judges, William Gill and Kenneth Sutherland.

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.