The committee of the Scottish National Fatstock Club would be well enough pleased with the decision to move the Winter Fair to a Saturday while retaining the Highland Hall at Ingliston as venue.
Although exact attendance numbers on Saturday are unknown thanks to a free admittance policy, there certainly seemed to be more visitors than in recent years when it was held on a Wednesday. This was in spite of a competing interest this year with the Young Farmers’ 75th anniversary celebrations in Glasgow at the same time.
The hall layout was also improved, with a craft fair filling some of the previously empty space.
There are, however, timetabling tweaks which would help. A shorter lunch break, or none at all, would make for a more compact event.
The cattle auction did not start until after 5pm, some two hours after the champions had been judged and by which time the spectators had mostly left.
There was also an avoidable mid-afternoon clash between the judging of the overall cattle and sheep championships.
However, these are minor criticisms of what was a day liberally sprinkled with ‘feel-good factor’.
There was also no shortage of competitors, many from south of the border, proving there is still a healthy appetite for showing primestock.
Wilson Peters, Monzie, Crieff, made it a remarkable double following his overall championship at the National Meat Exhibition at Bridge of Allan last weekend.
His live champion on Saturday was a 19-month-old Limousin-sired heifer named Needing TLC.
Bred by Willie Stevenson, Coilavoulin, Pitlochry, she is by Naby Director and out of a Limousin cross British Blue dam. The heifer weighed in at 592kg on Saturday.
Just before choosing his champion, cattle judge Jimmy Mulholland from Great Orton, Cumbria, said he had two outstanding cattle in front of him, with Mr Peters’ heifer up against the steer champion from Michael and Melanie Alford, Collompton, Devon.
Mr Alford’s 22-month-old steer Harlem Shake is by the Limousin sire Cawfields Dazzler and out of a pure Limousin cow.
He bought it at Leyburn Mart last March for £1,400 and it has since collected the steer championship at 14 shows including the Royal Highland, Great Yorkshire and Royal Welsh. Harlem Shake turned the scales at 688kg on Saturday.
The Aberdeen-Angus calf champion was the previous week’s Thainstone Black Beauty Bonanza heifer champion Retties Ruth from Richard and Carol Rettie, Aberdona Mains, Alloa.
In reserve was yearling bull Cardona Eric from Robbie Galloway, Cardona, Doune.
The Limousin calf show was led by a young bull from John Elliot, Roxburgh Mains, Kelso. Roxburgh Homeland is by the 40,000 gns Plumtree Fantastic and out of the dam of the Burke Trophy winner Samy. Judge Willie McLaren said: “This is a tremendous bull and we will surely see more of him.”
The reserve Limousin was Foxhillfarm Izzy, a Wilodge Vantastic daughter, shown by Michael and Melanie Alford.
The lamb supreme championship at the Winter Fair went to JT
Whiteford, Tercrosset, Cumbria, with a pair of Texel-sired lambs in the over 90kg combined weight class.
This was the only pen which Mr Whiteford had forward on Saturday.
The reserve supreme championship went to the leaders of the young breeders class, brother and sister Kirsty and Andrew Morton, Lochend, Denny, with a pair of Beltex-sired lambs.
The judge was John Campbell, Roseborough, Alnwick.