Royal Highland Show – Crossing Type

Royal Highland Show – Friday 21st June 2024

It was a cracking show for the Blue Faced Leicester teams in both sections, with some great classes full of quality, which spilled over into the interbreed sections, with the single interbreed overall champion coming from the Crossing Type and the Traditional pairs, going on to take the reserve overall championship, quite some achievement for the breed

It was the Crossing type who kicked the day off in style on the Friday, judged by Jimmy Bell. His pick of the day came from the ewe class with a smashing one crop ewe from Jamie Pirie. She took a step up from last year, when she was second in her class at the Highland. She is by a homebred tup which he sold at Hawes for £12,000 but retained a share in, which was by the £19,000 Temain. She is out of a Dawyck ewe he bought in an online sale for £5800. This classy lassey didn’t just catch Jimmy’s eye in the show ring, it  also caught the eye of the interbreed judge, Jimmy Warnock, who fell for her the moment he set his eyes on her. “She just stood out to me and said hellooo to me right away” he said as he awarded her the interbreed title on the Saturday morning. It was a great finale to a great couple of days for Jamie and the family, who should have a couple of embryo tup lambs out of her forward at the sales this back end.

Following the champion to the reserve place was the second place ewe from the Dawyck flock. This smart sheep comes from a line of champions, with her mother taking the champion tickets back in 2017. She is by the £23,000 N1 Giants Causeway, which is doing so well for the flock, and its mother is by the F10 Penhill. It was her first trip to a show and she did herself proud.

In the male end it was the Midlock flock who were making the waves, taking the male championship was a shearling bought out of Hawes last back end for £6000 from Breckhouse. He was looking well, with plenty of length and style with a good skin on him. He was followed through from the class by the Lockharts from Culdoach,who took the reserve Male champion with their shearling.

Midlock won the aged ram class with the £40,000 Shitlington tup bought out of Hawes a couple of years back, and has since ballooned into a very impressive tup. Kevin Ridley from the Shitlington flock took the tup lamb class with a stonking lamb by the S2 Riddings bought in Hawes last year and out of a hogg bought at the Dyke dispersal sale for 5000gns.

In the female end, Midlock took the gimmer first place with a smart sheep by the P2 Riddings and in the gimmer lamb class it was a double celebration for the Richards family, Mcffi, who made the long trip from Carmarthen to compete, and in the lamb class they took both first and second places with lambs by S1 Temain bought out of Hawes last year.

Once again, a big well done to all involved over the whole course of the Show.