This year marked the 176th Royal Highland Show, one of the UK’s premier agricultural shows. For the first time in five years, the Highland hall was at full capacity, with almost 7,000 livestock.
Exhibitors arrived on the 40ha site up to three days before the show to allow their cattle to settle. Whether they won or lost, they didn’t leave the grounds for nearly a week after.
Throughout the cattle rings, many of the top accolades were achieved by Irish- and Northern Irish-bred stock.
None more so than the Simmental ring, with Auroch Eve securing the overall championship for the second year running.
Having secured the championship as a two-year-old heifer last year, owner Michael Barlow, Leyland, England, this year showed her as a three-year-old with calf at foot.
Eve combines Auroch breeding on both sides and was originally imported from Ireland from the famous herd of the late David Wall.
The reserve junior female honours in the Simmental ring also came from Irish-bred stock, with the two-year-old Fearna Finesse coming up trumps.
Originally bred by the Neenan brothers, Finesse was reserve junior female champion at Roscommon last year before securing the top price of €8,100.
Sired by Kilbride Farm Newry and out of a Raceview King dam, she was brought out by new owner Richard McCulloch.
Parade of champions from Highland Show
Charolais
Rising to the top in the male section of the Charolais breed was again from Irish soil.
Kilbline Instigator, bred by the Sugrue family from Bennettsbridge, Kilkenny, claimed the male overall championship accolade for their new owners, the Irvine family who run the famous Inverlochy herd.
Sired by Oscar and out of a Doonally new dam, the two-year-old is no stranger to success, having won the male championship at Tullamore Show in 2014 and senior championship at the national Charolais Show 2014 before being sold for sold for €7,200 at the Charolais premier in 2015.
Instigator later joined with the female champion and overall champion Wissington Jocasta to win the interbreed pairs.
Northern cattle
Northern Ireland breeders stole the Royal Highland show in the commercial ring, claiming both overall and reserve championships.
Having secured commercial champion and reserve interbreed at Balmoral last month, JCB Commercials again took top honours at the Highland.
J-lo, a December 2014 Limousin-cross heifer out of a Limousin-cross-Blue dam, continued her winning ways to take the overall commercial championship.
Gareth Corrae, Johnny Neal and Charles Bever, who make up JCB Commercials, based at Newtownards, Co Down, purchased J-Lo for £1,100 at last year’s Hilltown Christmas show and sale.
Standing reserve to J-Lo was another Northern Ireland-bred heifer.
Jack Smyth, Co Tyrone, secured the title with his 10-month-old Empire-sired heifer Mini Mojo.
Belgian Blue
Fresh from her history-making efforts at Balmoral Show, becoming the first Belgian Blue to win the interbreed, Springhill Golden Girl was again on form when she claimed overall champion in the Blue ring.
Exhibited by Sam Martin, Newtownards, Co Down, this homebred five-year-old Gitan Du P’tit daughter, impressed on the day, with judge Allan Wilkinson commending her on her overall ring presence.
Saler
It was a clean sweep for the father and son Elliot outfit in the Saler ring. Two homebred cattle went on to secure the overall and reserve champion sashes for the Northern Ireland duo. The champion was the three-year-old Drumlegagh Galaxy sired by Fanfan, while junior bull Drumlegagh Hamish took the reserve.
Not stopping there, John also went on to secure the reserve junior championship with Drumlegagh Kyra.
Interbreeds
Having caught a lot of people’s attention, both in the Highland hall and when it secured the overall Hereford championship, it was Normanton 1 Laertes from TD and WT Livesey, Leicestershire, which prevailed for the interbreed championship.
With its maternal half-brother Normanton 1 Eastern Promise securing reserve interbreed title for the family years ago, Laertes did one better by scooping the overall title.
Judge Gerald Smith described the two-year-old as “perfect, he’s got good length, shape, muscle throughout, not too strong in his front, breed character, he moved well with power in his four legs and great top line ... just perfect, an easy winner”.
The former national calf show champion is out of past female of the year Normanton 1 Jews Ear C21 and by Romany 1 Distiller.
Standing reserve to the stylish bull was overall Limousin champion Whinfellpark Glittered.
Having come out on top of the largest set of entries from any breed, the five-year-old secured the first overall championship for exhibitor AW Jenkinson.
The Wilodge Cerberus daughter was shown alongside its April heifer calf, with the pair claiming first in the senior cow class, female champion and overall champion before being tapped forward on the Saturday as overall reserve interbreed champion.
Dairy interbreeds
Despite taking the biggest hit on entries this year, the red and white Friesians took both junior championship and overall championship.
Cuthill Towers Classic Ellie continued its form from the depleted red and white ring to secure overall dairy interbreed champion.
Bred by A and S Lawrie, the third-calver is no stranger to success having claimed the breed championship at this show last year.
Sired by Poos Stadel Classic, Ellie milked over 11,000 litres last year and this marks the first interbreed championship for the Lawrie family.
Reserve
Standing reserve to her in the overall was the highly tipped Friesian champion Blythbridge Goldwin Rosalee ET.
Brought out by Blythbridge Holsteins, this is the 500-cow farm’s first homebred champion, having secured the breed championship seven times before.
Again no stranger to the show ring, the Braedale Goldwyn daughter was crowned champion at the livestock show in Birmingham last year.
Graded EX 95, the fourth-calver last calved in September and has produced over 16,000 litres over 290 days.