Ready, Set, Show! – Sebay Farm stot and Upper Cornquoy ewe secure the public vote
The results of our public vote in our online cattle and sheep competitions, Ready, Set, Show!, are in.
The public have not completely agreed with our judge’s choice of champion — but it’s been very close!
Voting closed at 3pm today and we can now reveal the winners.
In the cattle section, it was James S. Bailey & Co’s 2018 County Show champion that got the majority of the votes, with 27.6 per cent.
However it was a close run competition, as the 2016 Shorthorn Bull, shown by J. M. Lennie & Co, Nearhouse Tankerness — which also came second in our judged competition — was close on its heels with 24.9 per cent of the votes.
The 2018 cattle champion, shown by James S. Bailey & Co, from Sebay Farm, Tankerness, was a December 2017-born Limousin cross stot calf. It was knocked out in the first round of our judged competition, having been matched up with the judge’s choice for overall champion — a Limousin cross heifer shown last year by James’s son Balfour Baillie.
The homebred stot was from a Limousin cross cow, sired by Newhouse Colorado. The steer itself was sired itself by Craigatoke Jameson. The unnamed steer went on to be shown at the 2018 Thainstone spectacular that year, held on August 24.
A total of 181 votes were cast in the cattle section.
SHEEP
Our sheep section saw the 2017 County Show Champion take the public vote — the three-crop Cheviot ewe — which took overall second in our judged competition – secured 27.7 per cent of the votes.
The Cheviot ewe, which was shown by J. & J. Smith, of Upper Cornquoy, was out of a home-bred ewe and sired by tup Durran Norseman.
There was a joint tie for second place in the sheep section, with both the 2013 and 2016 County Show sheep champions gaining 13.9 per cent of the vote.
The 2016 sheep champion was also our judge’s top pick – the Charollais gimmer shown by A. & V. Copland, Overhouse, Harray. The 2013 champion was a Cheviot gimmer shown by James and Elsie Wishart, Newbigging, Harray.
A total of 101 votes were cast in the sheep section.
Both the winners of our public vote will receive vouchers worth £100 from the competition sponsors — NorthLink Ferries for the cattle and Birsay Farmers Ltd for the sheep.
- For full reports on the final stages of our cattle and sheep competitions and the initial stages of our horse competition, which kicks off tomorrow, pick up a copy of next week’s edition of The Orcadian.