There was a real buzz around Ballymena Mart for the Northern Ireland Commercial Beef Breeders’ Summer Spectacular, which took place recently. From the first calf class of the day to the final championship, there was real show tension in the air and a sense that this was the culmination of a show season where the quality has been nothing short of exceptional.
At the heart of that show was the acclaimed heifer Armani, the Limousin-sired middleweight from Trevor and William Shields, Kilkeel, Co Down. All summer she has been locked in battle with the Jalex team of Luna Noir and Runway Ready, both proving worthy rivals on every occasion. But this one belonged to Armani, who was described by judges Sandra and Nigel Cochrane as “the type we try to breed ourselves – elegance, shape and flesh in perfect balance”.
Earlier in the day she secured the heifer championship and was tapped out as Limousin champion by Gordon Cutler, who praised her style and natural fleshing.
The Ampertaine Elgin daughter, which was bred by Noel McSweeney in Co Cork, was purchased by the Shields at the Carrick Winter Fair last November and took home the overall commercial championship from Balmoral in May.
Reserve champion
Her arch rival, James Alexander’s tremendous black heifer Luna Noir matched the champion stride for stride all day. First coming up trumps in the heavyweight heifer championship, she went on to claim the reserve champion Limousin and reserve supreme champion for team Jalex. Like the champion, this Mereside Lorenzo daughter was also purchased at the Carrick Winter Fair in November, from Laois breeder Sean Ramsbottom.
JCB Commercials came out on top in the calf championship with Shadow, a calf carrying all the hallmarks of their breeding programme – sharp, correct and full of natural style – while reserve went to Ivan Lynn and sons with Knocklayde Mist.
In the breeding heifer championship, Jalex lifted the title with Worth A Try, a heifer which keeps getting better all season, while the Gormley family claimed reserve with Call Me Classy, a Limousin-cross heifer sired by Pabo Rocknroll.
The butcher’s animal class showcased cattle with real commercial punch, with the overall champion going to Maisy and Chris Lee with D and A McCrea in reserve.
Jalex joy
Team Jalex’s momentum continued through the breed sections, their cattle appearing again and again in the major line ups. They lifted the British Blue championship with Runway Ready, a Notaire Du Tordoir-bred heifer packed with trademark Blue muscle and swagger; while the Killen family from Crossgar secured reserve with their stylish entry Blue Jeans, a heifer that drew plenty of admiration around the rails.
Jalex also claimed the Charolais championship with Chrunchy, a powerful, well balanced entry, that set the tone for the rest of the section. Rorysglen Livestock pushed hard here too, taking both reserve and special mention with their home-bred steers – a sign of a herd producing consistent, commercial cattle with real ring presence.
Their strength was confirmed earlier in the day when the Steer championship weight class was awarded to Rorysglen Livestock with their impressive Charolais-cross Atlas, with stablemate Diesel taking the reserve spot – a superb double for a team whose steers continue to stand out in the show ring.
In the native championship, the heaviest animal of the day stole the show. Sparkle, a Hereford-cross, tipping the scales at an impressive 818kg, powered her way to the champion rosette – a big, honest, natural heifer, with presence to burn, presented by James Leonard.
Jalex took reserve with Back to Basics, an Angus-cross showing great commercial appeal and movement.
The exhibitor bred titles were awarded to the calf champion and reserve from the morning classes – Shadow, the super stylish Limousin-bred calf from JCB Commercials – with reserve going to Ivan Lynn and sons with Knocklayde Mist.
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