Penrith Progeny Show – Traditional Type

After the wash out of last year it was great to get a dry day, ideal for showing sheep at their best, rather than with backs up and heads down…..and that was just the handlers!

There was a smaller number of sheep entered in both sections this year, and along with the fact the two rings, which usually ran next to each other, were at opposite ends of the sheep rings gave it rather a disjointed feeling, rather than the more community feel that it normally gets.

Topping the Traditional section, judged very ably by Ifan Owen, was the old tup from the Kirkstead flock. They had split the show team up, with Alan taking a team to Biggar and the lads heading to Penrith. Their champion was the same one that took the Highland title earlier in the summer. This giant of a tup is the record breaking R1 Espley they bought as a lamb out of Carlisle for £23,000 in 2022. He is full of great breeding too, by N7 Logie Durno and out of a daughter of the great F2 Ashes. He seems to have filled out since the Highland and is a great mold of a tup, oozing power and class. They also took the reserve spot too, this time with a gimmer shearling by the Bonvilston N11 and out of the old show ewe, L22 Kirkstead, by Burndale G1.

In the progeny section it was again the Kirkstead flock dominating, with the champion pen of ewes by the old L1 Ashes who has done so well for the flock. The reserve progeny group went to Scott & Claire Thomason, ably helped by son Isaac. They took the blue tickets with 3 tup lambs by the £15,000 Hope tup bought out of Builth Wells a couple of years back. One the lambs took the tup lamb class too, with his dam going back to some great homebred bloodlines, which won both Penrith and Great Yorkshire Show Championships.