Beef Expo 2014: Baby beef championships
Fresh from her win at Balmoral Show and claiming the top title in the baby beef ring was the December 2013-born, Limousin x heifer Khaleesi (below), shown by Stephanie Dick, from the noted Ronick herd and owned by Co Down’s Dermot Small.
Sired by Swarland Eddie and out of a Belgium Blue cow, she was bred by James Alexander, from the Jalex herd, and was purchased privately by the Small family at the beginning of the year.
Khaleesi won the reserve female rosette in the commercial section at Balmoral Show just last week and was also one of the winning pairs. The 404kg heifer will next go on to contest her title at the Royal Highland in June.
The Lyons family, Thurlby, Lincolnshire may have failed to match their success of last year, but they did next best when clinching the reserve ticket with their champion steer Fire Fly (below), which tipped the scales at 394kg.
Born last August this calf is sired by the British Blue Dragon Blues Firefly and is out of a pedigree Limousin. This steer is bred by noted suckled calf breeders Mansel and Dafydd Lewis, Carmarthenshire, and was purchased by Trevor Lyons at Ruthin in February for 3,500gns, after he placed her overall champion in the pre-sale show. He will now go on to compete at the Royal Welsh this summer.
Judge Kevin Ludgate, who runs 20 pedigree and commercial Blues at his home in Buzzard, Bedfordshire, said there had been a “fantastic show of calves” forward in the baby beef line up.
He said it was a “very close championship”, but on the day the heifer was “sweeter and a little bit kinder in her appearance”.
Reserve steer and heifer winners
Earlier in the day TC Edwards and Sons won their third championship prize at The Expo when he won the reserve rosette in the baby heifer class with his Limousin x Miss Halfpenny, which weighed 369kg. Last year they won the baby beef championship with a pure Limousin heifer. Born in September 2013-born Miss Halfpenny was bred by Bryan Griffiths, Newtown, Powys, and was purchased privately by the family earlier this year.
Winning the reserve steer championship in the baby beef steer section was Conwy’s Tecwyn Jones with his homebred Eye Catcher (below). Born in August 2013 he is sired by a Belgium Blue and is out of a Limousin x cow. It was the first outing for Eye Catcher, which tipped the scales at 394kg. He now goes home to rest ahead of the Royal Welsh Show.
