United Feeds support young judges
Four young Charolais judges will have an opportunity to test their judging skills against the best in the UK due to generous sponsorship from United Feeds who will fund their travel to compete at the Royal Show.
A competition to select the successful teams was hosted by Gilbert Crawford at his Coonaslee herd at Maghera.
In addition to selecting the Royal Show teams there was also a competition for the under 14 years age group and an open competition for parents and friends.
Master judges for the event were Brian and Rosemary McAllister, Kells who gave the competitors an excellent summary on the various aspects of their placings, while Rosemary also demonstrated the art of reason giving as this can be requested when there is a tie breaker at the Royal Show.
Winners of the places at the Royal Show were Andrew and William McMordie of Ballygowan and Ryan and Noel Kerrigan, from Donemana.
Results in each section were:
Under 14 years: 1. Matthew Mitchell, Cookstown; 2. James Causey, Cookstown; 3. Christopher Balfour, Bellanaleck, Enniskillen.
14 to 18 Years - 1.Ryan Kerrigan, Donemana; 2. Barry Quinn, Ballygawley3.Shane Quinn , Ballygawley
18 to 26 Years - 1. Andrew McMordie, Ballygowan; 2.Noel Kerrigan, Donemana; 3. William McMordie, Ballygowan.
John McGrath, chairman of the NI Charolais Club thanked Gilbert Crawford for hosting the competition at such a busy time when he was preparing for his production sale on 6 June. He pointed out that the club is indebted to Gilbert throughout the year for a tremendous amount of work and assistance and he asked the Secretary, Doris Leeman to present Gilbert with a gift on behalf of the club. John also paid tribute to the judging skills of Brian and Rosemary McAlllister who were happy to pass on their knowledge to the young competitors. Thanks were also expressed to Andrew Patterson, Gilberts Farm Manager and his team who had organised visits to view the Coolnaslee herd during the competition. The evening finished with a BBQ supper with food supplied and served by Marquess Meats, Muckamore and Crawfords Supermarket, Maghera.