Dunblane family follow up success at Perth Show with ewe Auchenlay Grace too
Charollais sheep champion gets nod from inter-breed judge
Published:
A farming family from Dunblane chalked up another victory in the sheep lines.
Robert and Maimie Paterson and their son, Robbie, of Upper Auchenlay, were supreme with their Charollais leader.
Auchenlay Grace Too, a two-crop ewe by Wraycastle Delboy and out of a home-bred ewe by Scratchmere Snowman, was interbreed at Perth on Saturday as well as second at the Royal Highland and champion at Doune and Dunblane and Braco.
The Patersons have scored many interbreeds at Black Isle over the years.
The reserve went to new Suffolk breeder, Lee Dunn, of 25 Fairmuir Road, Muir of Ord.
He has just 10 ewes in the Corriemount flock that he started in January with foundation females bought from Gary Gitshan and the late Duncan Gill, who farmed at Easter Templand, Fortrose.
Mr Gill was a highly successful Suffolk flockmaster who started in the breed in 1963. He died in January.
Mr Dunn's breed leader and overall reserve was a gimmer, by Cairness The Captivator and out of a ewe by Middlemuir Gaan bred by Mr Gitshan. It was first at Nairn and second at Sutherland.
Overall judge was Michael Aynsley who runs 1,300 park Cheviot ewes and a further 400 hoggs as well as 150 suckler cows at Lee Farm, Wardshill, Morpeth, Northumberland. He holds the distinction of being the first sheep breeder to win the Royal Highland Show sheep supreme with a cross.
He said: “The champion was fantastic. It handled well. It had a tight skin, good back end and plenty of length. It was well balanced too.
"There was not much between it and the Suffolk. It was also a really good handling sheep too."
In the groups of three, the supreme went, for the second year in a row, to Charollais breeders William and Carole Ingram, of Logie Durno, Pitcaple, Inverurie, with the ram they were reserve with and a gimmer and ewe lamb.
An impressive team of hill North Country Cheviots from the Badanloch Estate at Kinbrace were reserve to the delight of shepherds Hugh and Jan Mackenzie. Out for them was a ewe, gimmer and two-shear tup.
The best continental from Ross-shire was won by Allan Chisholm's Wester Moy Texels at Muir of Ord. He runs 30 pedigree ewes and 300 largely Texel cross ewes.
Reserve from Ross was the Beltex from Donald Douglas, of Braes of Coulmore, North Kessock.
The overall pure-bred from Ross went to Lee Dunn's Suffolk ram lamb, while a Blackface ewe lamb from Niall MacLean and sons, Duncan, 13, and James, nine, of The Aird, Black Isle Road, Muir of Ord, was reserve.
