Balmoral 2008
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Three Interbreed Titles, Best Steak and Commercial Champion are Charolais!
The consumer who wished to view and experience meat quality at Balmoral Show had the complete production chain for quality, tenderness and taste demonstrated by the Charolais breed.
The Charolais breed may have been small in numbers they certainly made up for this in awards, taking three Interbreed titles – Reserve Beef Interbreed champion; Junior Beef Interbreed Champion; Marks and Spencer Interbreed Bull performance award - along with Tesco’s Best Steak award and the commercial championship.
The beef judging began with Ashleigh Victor, weighing in at a massive 1560 kilos taking the Charolais championship. This Doonally New son, exhibited by Messrs. McGovern, Donnelly and Donaghy then went on to claim the reserve Interbreed Beef Championship. Ashleigh Victor is no stranger to awards having won the junior championship at the Irish National Show in Tullamore and the supreme championship at the premier show and sale in Tullamore before coming to Northern Ireland. This success continued when last year he took the Charolais championship at the Highland Show and one of his sons sold for 14,000gns at Perth.
The reserve champion Charolais was a junior bull from George and Gary Henderson’s herd at Bushmills and it went on to take the Junior Interbeed championship at Balmoral. Sandelford Curtis is a son of Goldies Usher, a sire purchased at Carlisle three years ago for 14,000gns. His dam is Sandleford Velvet the daughter of a Drummeer Major heifer and his grand dam has a number of daughters in the herd which have all bred show winners.
Standing second to Curtis in his class was Sandelford Chaplin which went on to give George and Gary Henderson a second Marks and Spencer Interbreed Bull Performance championship in succession. Chaplin is one of a pair of twin bulls and his twin brother is very aptly named Charlie. He is another Goldies Usher son, out of Sandelford Tessa a Major daughter.
Chaplin’s full sister, Sandelford Bess took the Orage trophy for the best cow or heifer and also repeated last year’s success taking the John K.Currie trophy for the best junior female.
Livestock haulier and cattle breeder, Sam Milliken from Coleraine demonstrated the value of a Charolais sire in commercial beef production when he showed his heifer, Ruffles and took the supreme championship in the commercial cattle section. Sam purchased Ruffles at the NI Charolais Club’s suckled calf show and sale in Swatragh last year where she was a prizewinner. She was bred by Sean McCloskey from Park, Co. Londonderry who took all of the suckled calf awards at the show with progeny of Ratoary Vierra, a sire he purchased from Sean McGovern at Perth for 15,000gns.