Page 161 - Beltex Year Book 2024

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SHOW JUDGES 2024
ROYAL HIGHLAND SHOW WIL EVANS 20-23 JUNE
GREAT YORKSHIRE SHOW ANDREW MORTON 9-12 JULY
ROYAL WELSH SHOW ANDREW BISHOP 22-25 JULY
The Myna Beltex flock was
established nearly 30 years ago
after purchasing Beltex rams to
use on cross-bred ewes, to
improve the quality of our fat
lambs. This gave us a taste for
the breed, and we decided to
purchase ewes in order to
produce tups for our own use and to sell on.
Unfortunately, in 2001 we were affected by foot and mouth
disease and lost all our yearling ewes and a large portion of
our commercial flock, therefore had to rebuild numbers from
thereon. Our pedigree numbers have recently settled at
around 80 ewes.
We regularly compete at our local county show and have
been fortunate to have won on some occasions! We’ve also
historically competed with fat and carcase lambs at the Royal
Welsh Show.
Our highlights within the breed are selling Myna Actor to the
Procters flock in 2016 for 8000gns who then went on to win
the aged ram class at the Highland Show the following year.
We also sold Myna the Godfather in 2014 to the Kingledores
flock for 3000gns, who featured in many a champion’s
breeding. Another big event for the Myna flock was hosting
the 2016 UK AGM and flock visit, which saw around 400
visitors and raised £4500 for charity.
We run a commercial flock of around 1500 ewes, which are
all crossed with pedigree Beltex and Beltex cross tups, all of
which are home bred. All commercial lambs are sold through
the live market. There will also be around 650 cattle on the
farm at any one time.
I am honoured to have been asked to judge at the Royal
Highland Show, which is regarded as probably the best
Beltex showcase in the country.
What will I be looking for at the show? You can find out on
the day!
We’ve been using Beltex rams
commercially since I bought
the third prize ram lamb at
Beltex at the first ever sale at
Carlisle, then bought some
females a few years later.
The flock now numbers about
50 ewes and our best purchase
by far has been the 10,000gns Gyffin Dexter shared with
Buckles. He has left brilliant females in the flock and it didn’t
matter what type of ewe you put him to.
Without a doubt our sale highlight was selling Mortons Glory
for 9000gns at the Beltex Beauties in 2022. She did well in
the show ring too and we’ve won championships at local
shows over the years but we had a better year this year when
we finally got a red rosette at the Highland Show with
Mortons Hiccup, after so many blue tickets it was great to
finally get a red one!
We like to show our commercial fat lambs and have won the
section at the Highland plenty times, taking Supreme
Champion in the commercial sheep section three times.
I’ve enjoyed showing at the Yorkshire and am looking forward
to judging. I’ll be looking for a proper Beltex with hard
muscle and I like females to had a good, sharp head to catch
my eye.
The invitation to judge the
Beltex Sheep at the Royal Welsh
is a great honour and I am
looking forward to being there.
I started breeding Beltex in
1990 with my father. We won
multiple shows and sales with
my pedigree sheep but more so
winning butchers lambs and carcase competitions throughout
the winter at all the major winter shows up to the current date.
I shall be looking for an original type Beltex with top line, loin
and deep hindquarters with a thick dished head. The type to
breed a carcase as they were originally intended to.
I look forward to seeing you all in Builth.