Page 160 - Beltex Year Book 2024

158
SHOW JUDGES 2024
BALMORAL SHOW STUART WOOD 15-18 MAY
ROYAL CORNWALL SHOW ANNE STORY 6-8 JUNE
ROYAL THREE COUNTIES SHOW GRANT ANDERSON 14-16 JUNE
The Woodies flock was founded
in 2007 with some females
from the late Gavin Shanks
which were then joined by
three from the Beachy,
Brickrow and Headlind flocks.
Since then, it’s grown to around
40 pure Beltex ewes that we
run alongside my son, Murray’s
flock of six.
The top six to eight ewes are flushed twice in September and
October giving us around 120-130 embryo lambs each year.
We’ve enjoyed our fair share of show and sale success over
the years with a major highlight being at the 2018 Royal
Highland Show where Woodies City Girl stood Beltex
Champion and went on to claim the Inter-breed, something
I’ll never forget.
Sale wise, the 2020 Premier Sale at Carlisle where we sold
Woodies Explosive for 16,000gns, Woodies Emperor for
14,000gns and Murrays Expert also for 14,000gns. That
week, we sold 29 sheep between the two flocks to average
£3400. Other leading prices include selling Woodies City Girl
for £20,000, Woodies Baldy at 16,000gns, Woodies Big Yin
and 10,000gns and Woodies Carmen for 7500gns.
It is an honour to be asked to just Balmoral Show. I’ll be
looking for something that is true to type that is correct with
good legs and movement, has great length and loin and
most importantly the Beltex extreme muscling. Overall
something that I would be happy to see in my field at home.
We run 80 pedigree Beltex
ewes at BorderEsk, alongside
Rachael’s Beltex .
We pride ourselves on
breeding females which are
capable of natural birth and
rearing lambs naturally, hence
we do very little flushing and
this works for us.
I have been fortunate in being invited to judge at several
shows before, including Armagh Show, Lincolnshire show,
Lancashire Show and many other local shows, not to mention
the Welsh Flock Competition.
We also enjoy showing our own Beltex having our best
achievement to date at Great Yorkshire Show in 2022
winning both the Male and Female Champion, with our
home-grown gimmer taking Supreme Beltex Champion.
We are very proud to have bred BorderEsk Leapfrog who went
onto sire many Champions and high-priced progeny but our
best day to date with our flock has to be selling Finders
Keepers for 30,000gns and our pen of 10 averaging over
6,000gns.
I’d like to thank the Royal Cornwall show for inviting me to
judge the Beltex classes. I will be looking for true Beltex type,
with natural muscling and style with that ‘Look at Me’
presence.
I established the Topflite flock in
2002 with the purchase of two
females from the Downkillybegs
dispersal sale at Borderway Mart
in Carlisle. I currently have a
small flock of 12 ewes due to
work and family commitments.
The majority of tup lambs born
are kept and sold as shearlings through the Premier Sale in
Carlisle or at Kelso Ram Sales.
My first success was in my third year of breeding when I bred
Topflite Jazzy Baby, a Headlind EE By Gum ewe lamb who was
unbeaten in her summer show classes and was sold in 2005
setting a new record of 2800gns at the Beltex Scotland Club
Sale in Lanark Mart.
I have always enjoyed showing at local and national shows
throughout the country winning numerous red rosettes and
breed championships.
One of my biggest breed and lifetime achievements was the
day I sold Topflite Al Pacino, he was undoubtedly the best
shearling ram I had ever bred and he set a new breed record
of 60,000gns when sold in 2016 breaking the previous record
of 34,000gns set some 13 year's previous
I have always looked for a correct animal with breed type. I
will be looking for something with a little more style than the
others, something that catches the eye but this animal must
handle well and have good locomotion, mouth and skin.
I must thank the Royal Three Counties and Central Beltex Club
for their invitation to judge at this prestigious event and I look
forward to the day.