POPES PREMIER WINS NATIONAL PEDIGREE CALF SHOW INTERBREED AT 2023 ENGLISH WINTER FAIR

POPES PREMIER WINS NATIONAL PEDIGREE CALF SHOW INTERBREED AT 2023 ENGLISH WINTER FAIR

  • Fishpool Poppy wins Female Championship & Overall Reserve
  • Jack Heath wins Overall Young Handler with Tirley Natalie

Popes Premier, Simmental & National Pedigree Calf Show Interbreed Champion

At the opening day of the 2023 English Winter Fair held at Staffordshire County Showground, the 30th January 2023 born bull calf Popes Premier, from Messrs JH & VG Wood, Popes Farm, Dutton, Preston, Lancs, won the Simmental Pedigree Calf Championship before moving on to win the National Pedigree Calf Show Interbreed, a first for the Simmental breed.

Sired by Popes Lethal Weapon, Popes Premier has been shown all summer as a calf at foot alongside his multi title winning mum, Popes Princess Immie, who amongst a welter of wins was the Overall Supreme Interbreed Champion at the Great Yorkshire Show, and was the Simmental Supreme Champion at the Simmental English National Show held within the Royal Norfolk. Premier’s grand dam is the herd’s famous, and much decorated cow, Popes Princess Cleo.  Judging the Simmental section was Jim Goldie of the noted Newbiemains herd, Annan, Dumfriesshire, and who was full of praise for his Champion:  “This calf had tremendous style about him, was long and clean, and very nice over his rump. He moved really well with good legs and feet, and is just a very modern young Simmental bull.”

Judging the Interbreed was the well-known commercial producer John Hall, Penrith and who very much endorsed Jim Goldie when commenting: “This is a very smart calf, well grown, and beautifully brought out.  Very modern he carried plenty of shape, had no gut to him, and had a lot of class and style. I just loved this young bull and felt he was an easy winner on the day.”

Popes Premier with Hannah Wood and Simmental judge Jim Goldie

Winning the Female Championship, and the Overall Reserve in the Simmental section, was the junior heifer calf Fishpool Poppy from Tom & Jennie Hassall.  January 2023 born, Fishpool Poppy is by Newbiemains Kalypso and is out of Kilbride Farm Eunice 277J.  From a noted female line, Kilbride Farm Eunice 277J was purchased privately from WH Robson & Sons, Ballyclare during Covid. This red ticket made it a notable double for the 12-breeding female Fishpool herd with Poppy also having a class win at the recent Simmental Youngstock Show held within the Borderway Agri Expo at Carlisle.  Of his Female Champion, Jim Goldie said: “Poppy was a lovely, feminine heifer, with great length and just full of breed character.  Again she was good on her legs, had tremendous locomotion and showed herself extremely well.”

Fishpool Poppy, Female Champion & Overall Reserve

Taking the Reserve Male Championship, and first in class one, was Storersmith Navarone from local breeders R&L Storer Smith, Ashbourne Road, Uttoxeter.  December 2022 born, Navarone is got by the AI sire Clonagh Latin Lover, and is out of Storersmith Havannah, a Popes Barclay daughter. Through the two days of the show Storersmith Navarone, along with his stablemate Storersmith Newton, a Ballinalare Farm Galaxy son, drew much attention as they featured on the Midlands Simmental Club’s promotional stand. 

Back in the females and taking the Reserve Female Championship was the smart young January 2023 born calf Newton House Posh from JW Gosmore Partners, Tattenhall Chester.  Standing second in its class to the Female Champion, Newton House Posh is by Lissadell Mr Mullarkey VIP, a bull purchased at Roscommon Premier Sale, and is out of Clonagh Krystal Posh, a Bruchag Glenfiddich 15 daughter.  Next stop for this young heifer will be the mucha anticipated Next Generation III Sale of Simmental Females & Weaned Calves due to be held at Borderway Mart, Carlisle on Friday 1st December.

In the fantastically supported Young Handlers Championships it was a ‘big win’ for fifteen-year-old Jack Heath, Sheaf Farm, Tarvin, Chester, who took the Overall Championship whilst showing the Simmental heifer Tirley Natalie of Steve White, Tarporley, Cheshire.  With a little ‘form’ behind him Jack, who is a member of Beeston YFC, also recently won the Overall Young Handler title as part of the Youth Development Programme, and held at Rosemead Angus, Shackleford, Nr Godalming, Surrey.

A big well done also to the Midlands Simmental Club for putting on an informative and welcoming Simmental promotional stand over the two days.  In the trade stands competition the Midlands Club was awarded a terrific second place. 

SIMMENTAL CLASSES AND CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS AT THE 2023 ENGLISH WINTER FAIR

Class 78 Senior Bull Calf born between 1st October 2022 and 31st December 2022
1st – Lot 229: Storersmith Simmentals – STORERSMITH NAVARONE s. Clonagh Latin Lover
2nd – Lot 228: Storersmith Simmentals – STORERSMITH NEWTON. s. Ballinalare Farm Galaxy

Class 79 Junior Bull Calf born between 1st January 2023 and 30th June 2023
1st – Lot 233: VG Wood – POPES PREMIER s. Popes Lethal Weapon
2nd – Lot 235: S White – TIRLEY PATRICK s. Rathnastan Lobster Pot
3rd – Lot 236: Renshaw & Brassington – DOVEFIELDS PHOENIX s. Star Green Kenny
4th – Lot 234: VG Wood – POPES POWER s. Saltire Impressive
5th – Lot 232: Storersmith Simmentals – STORERSMITH PROVIDENCE s. Ballinalare Farm Galaxy

 Class 80 Senior Heifer Calf born between 1st October 2022 and 31st December 2022
1st – Lot 237: S White – TIRLEY NATALIE s. Kilclaven Impulsion 17
2nd – Lot 238: J & T Gosmore – NEWTON NICE ONE s. Lissadell Mr Mularkey
3rd – Lot 239: J & T Gosmore – NEWTON HOUSE MAJESTY s. Lissadell Los Angeles

Class 81 Junior Heifer Calf born between 1st January 2023 and 30th June 2023
1st – Lot 243: T & J Hassall – FISHPOOL POPPY s. Newbiemains Kalypso 19
2nd – Lot 242: J & T Gosmore – NEWHOUSE POSH s. Lissadell Mr Mularkey
3rd – Lot 247: VG Wood   – POPES TRIXIES PEARL s. Clonagh Lucky Explorer
4th – Lot 245: VG Wood – POPES TRIXIES PRUDENCE s. Saltire Impressive
5th – Lot 241: Storersmith Simmentals – STORERSMITH PUZZLE s. Ballinalare Farm Galaxy

Sp.2a. The Midlands Simmental Club kindly offer £75 to the Champion Bull calf
Lot 233: VG Wood – POPES PREMIER      

Sp 2b. The Midlands Simmental Club kindly offer £50 to the Reserve Champion Bull calf
Lot 229: Storersmith Simmentals – STORERSMITH NAVARONE     

Sp.3a. The Midlands Simmental Club kindly offer £75 to the Champion Heifer calf
Lot 243: T & J Hassell – FISHPOOL POPPY

Sp. 3b. The Midlands Simmental Club kindly offer £50 to the Reserve Champion Heifer calf
Lot 242:  J & T Gosmore  Ches – NEWTON HOUSE POSH   

Sp.4a. For the Overall calf sired by a Pedigree Simmental Bull £100 offered by The Midlands Simmental Club
Lot 233: VG Wood – POPES PREMIER      

Sp. 4b. For the Reserve Overall calf sired by a Pedigree Simmental bull £50 offered by The Midlands Simmental Club
Lot 243: T & J Hassell – FISHPOOL POPPY Sp.15 Overall Interbreed Championship For the overall Champion in the Pedigree Calf Show £1000 offered by Tithebarn Ltd.
Lot 233: VG Wood – POPES PREMIER      

32,000GNS HEATHBOW NATASHA LEADS THE WAY AT RECORD BREAKING HEATHBROW DISPERSAL SALE!

32,000GNS HEATHBOW NATASHA LEADS THE WAY AT RECORD BREAKING HEATHBROW DISPERSAL SALE!

  • 32,000gns sets new UK breed record for a Simmental female sold at auction
  • Five lots, including outfits sell for 10,000gns and more
  • Sale grosses £347,700

Simmental achieved a new 32,000gns female breed record in Stirling on Monday 23 October when David and Lesley Sapsed dispersed their entire noted Heathbrow polled herd following a decision to retire after almost three decades of breeding pedigree Simmental.

Star of the sale at 32,000gns was Heathbrow Natasha, an 18-month-old maiden by the herd’s illustrious Heathbrow Important 17, the multi-title winning show bull, herd sire and European Simmental Bull of the Year in 2019, and she was out of Raceview Emerald Alicia600 EX91 by Milnafua Graduate. A striking, fleshy well-balanced heifer exemplary of the breed, Natasha had already been in the limelight during her short-lived show career having secured the Great Yorkshire Junior Interbreed title and Reserve Breed Champion at Edenbridge, together with a fist full of red tickets. She was knocked down sold to Jimmy and Vikki Wood based at Popes Farm, Dutton, Preston, Lancashire.

The Wood family from the Popes herd with David, Lesley and Brenda and Heathbrow Natasha

Commenting after the sale Jimmy Wood said: “It was actually our daughter Hannah who bought her and will be starting a herd in her own name with Natasha as her foundation female. We first saw Heathbrow Natasha at Herts County Show when she was just a young heifer and immediately saw her potential. We’ve been ‘up close and personal’ to her ever since having shown at many of the same shows through the summer. She’s just kept coming on and we thought she was outstanding at the Great Yorkshire Show. Natasha has everything we would look for in a female. She’s full of femininity with lots of sparkle and presence and is a totally new bloodline with the best of breeding behind her, a real cow maker for the future. It’s a big price tag but it’s a long-term investment and there’s always going to be competition when that quality of heifer and genetics comes to the market.”  

The Wood family took home another four entries. At 9,000gns they secured Heathbrow Melody, an April 2021 born in heifer by Heathbrow Klassik 19, out of Raceview Emerald Alicia and scanned in calf to Blackwood Kirk. Also heading home to join their Popes herd at 7,500gns was the Heathbrow Findlay 14 sired Heathbrow Girlie’s Ivy VG88. An in-calf Heathbrow Girlie’s Freesia EX94 daughter she was a successful member of the Sapsed’s show team.

Heathbrow Melody 9,000gns
Heahthbrow Girlie’s Ivy 7,500gns

The dispersal’s second top call at 14,000gns went to Heathbrow Milky Way VG85, a January 2021 born heifer by Scotland Hill Cairo 11 EX91 and out of Dirnanean Girlie E31 EX93. She was sold with her three-month-old twin heifer calves at foot, Heathbrow Girlie’s Polly and Heathbrow Girlie’s Poppy, sired by Heathbrow Masterpieve 21. The trio went to breed newcomer, Jimmy Hodge, Fellowhills Farm, Horndean, Berwick upon Tweed.

Heathbrow Milky Way 14,000gns

“Milky Way stood out as one of those animals that you wouldn’t want to change, and she is certainly making a good job of her twin heifers,” said former Holstein breeder, Mr Hodge who currently runs 30 pedigree Herefords. “I was so impressed with the quality of the Heathbrow cattle on offer, I thought I would give them a try and invest.”

Making 13,200gns in total was Heathbrow Kitkat’s Treasure VG87, a rising four-year-old Kilbride Farm Newry daughter and out of Darsham Real Treasure EX91, together with her nine-month-old heifer calf, Heathbrow Paradise Treasure by Blackford Kirk 19 EX91. Kitkat’s Treasure who was scanned in calf to Heathbrow Masterpiece was secured for 9,000gns by J A Griffin, Common Lane, Hemingford, Huntingdon, while her calf attracted a 4,200gns from V M Bailey and Sons, Mixbury Hall Farm, Brackley, Northants.

Heathbrow Kitkat’s Treasure 9000gns & Paradise Treasure 4200gns

The same buyers went to 7,600gns for their own pair. Heathbrow Girlie’s Lorna VG87, a February 2021 born heifer by Heathbrow Grand Slam 15 and sold in-calf to Kilbride Farm Morikawa was knocked down for 3,800gns, while the Baileys made an identical 3,800gns bid for her 10-month-pld bull, Heathbrow Napolean 22 by Blackford Kirk 19 EX91.

Heathbrow Girlie’s Lorna 3,800gns & Napoleon 3,800gns

Two entries shared a 10,000gns bid. First to go was Heathbrow Sarah’s Elegance EX94, a Celtic Comet daughter and out of Dirnanean Sarah. This 10-year-old was sold with her July-born bull calf, Heathbrow Polo, by Heathbrow Grand Slam to Mr R J Grenham of Boars Head Farm, Crowborough, East Sussex.

The second 10,000gns call was made by George Scrivens and Holly Grant, Highfield, Shrewley, Warwickshire for Heathbrow Magical Star sold in-calf to Blackford Kirk. A January 2021 born Heathbrow Important 17 daughter, she was out of Heathbrow Ice Star. George commented: “We’d visited the Sapseds four or five times over the last 12 months and rather than coming away with five or six average animals we really wanted a couple of the very best. Magical Star was top of our shopping list. She meant more to us than any other animal in the sale and we’re thrilled to come away with her.”

Heathbrow Magical Star 10,000gns

The couple’s quest to invest in a heifer calf to show next year was achieved when they paid 5,200gns Heathbrow Precious, a six-month-old by Heathbrow Important 17 daughter with her dam, the rising ten-year-old Heathbrow Fancy EX92 who goes back to Dirnanean and Swallowhill lines.

A cow and calf pair attracted the next highest total at 9,700gns. The EX90 classified nine-year-old Heathbrow Fizzy by Dirnanean Welcome and scanned in calf made 3,200gns to Ward Farming, West Mains Farm, Carnwath, Lanarkshire. A 6,500gns bid secured Fizzzy’s eight-month-old bull calf Heathbrow Phoenix 23, by Heathbrow Important 17 for Robert Blyth and Son, Harestonhill Farm, Wishaw, Lanarkshire.

Heathbrow Fizzy 3,200gns

Minutes later, the next heifer and calf unit was sold for a total of 8,400gns. The three-year-old Heathbrow Luxury VG86, by Cairo made 4,200gns to John Tuohy, Coose Farm, Whitegate, Co Galway, while the same 4,200gns price tag went to her 10-month-old bull calf Heathbrow Nautical 22, by Blackford Kirk. The buyer was Speirs Farms Ltd, Pepsal End, Pepperstock, Luton.

Totalling 7,800gns was Heathbrow Kimberley VG88, an April 2019 born Heathbrow Grand Slam daughter sold in calf to Morikawa and her nine-month-old bull Heathbrow Paddy 23 by Heathbrow Important. Kimberley made 3,800gns to Nether Balfour Farms Park, Balvenie House, Drumolk, Banchory while Paddy attracted a 4,000gns bid from Wisson and Son Partnership, Southwood Farm, Abbotsley, St Neots.

Heathbrow Kimberley 3,800gns

Heathbrow Heidi VG88 and her eight-month-old twin bulls by Heathbrow Important 17, went for 7,700gns in total. The seven-year-old Heathbrow Freddie Star 14 daughter sold in calf to Morikawa was bid for 2,500gns to Simon Kemp, Kingston, Canterbury. Heathbrow Pele 23 made 2,400gns to J and M Troup, Southbank Farm, Skene, Aberdeenshire, while his twin Heathbrow Pogba 23 sold for 2,800gns to J C McLaren and Partners, Dargill, Crieiff, Perthshire.

Next pair at 7,500gns was the January 2020 born Heathbrow Lavender VG88 (pictured below) together with her eight-month-old bull calf, Heathbrow Principal 23. Another Important daughter, Lavender was sold scanned in calf to Moriawa and made 5,500gns to Inverdunning Ltd, Inverdunning, Dunning, Perthshire ,while K Thain and Son, Shank, Huntly, Aberdeenshire went to 2,000gns for Principal.

Heathbrow Lavender 5,500gns & Principal 2,000gns

David Sapsed commented after the sale: “We’re both really delighted with the trade  and it was fantastic to see such widespread demand for the Heathbrow cattle.  There were a lot of new entrants and younger breeders buying cattle and we hope their purchases set them off on as enjoyable a pedigree road as we have had. Cattle sold into Scotland, back to England, and with an export trade to both Germany and the Republic of Ireland. 

“Very much the icing on the cake was the fantastic sale of Heathbrow Natasha to the Wood family.  That’s our first female at auction to sell for over 10,000gns and for her to set a new Simmental female record, well it was an unbelievable finale to our pedigree breeding career.  We were so pleased with how the cattle travelled and looked at the sale and huge thanks are extended to Brenda Hide, Rhys Grenham, Richard Rettie and all the team for their hard work. We’ve always tried to breed genuine, long, stylish cattle that have good locomotion, are quiet and a little bit slightly later maturing. Lesley and I would like to thank all of the bidders and buyers on the day and we wish everyone the very best of luck with their new purchases.”  

Averages: seven cows and calves £6,555; 25 cows £3,948; 12 bull calves £3,509; eight heifer calves £3,728; 10 in-calf heifers £5,975; 14 maiden heifers £5,955; two bulls £4,883.

Auctioneers: United Auctions

KILBRIDE FARM NORTON P SECURES CLASS ONE OF THE 2023 BRITISH SIMMENTAL VIRTUAL SHOW!

KILBRIDE FARM NORTON P SECURES CLASS ONE OF THE 2023 BRITISH SIMMENTAL VIRTUAL SHOW!

It’s the first ‘big reveal’ of this years Simmental Virtual Show, and we are delighted to announce the results for Class One -Bull Calf born on or after 1st August 2022.

1st Place, class 1 – Kilbride Farm Norton P

Congratulations go to the Kilbride Farm herd of WH Robson & Sons, Ballyclare, Co Antrim whose October 2022 born bull Kilbride Farm Norton P has been awarded first place. Norton is sired by the imported bull Flop Agrochyt, bred in the Czech Republic, and is out of Kilbride Farm Jolly 17G (P).

This first class had a great entry of 74 bulls and the top eight places have been awarded by the judge Harry Houldey of Manor Fields Simmentals, Lockerbie, as follows:

1st Kilbride Farm Norton P
2nd Lisglass Nugget
3rd Mixbury Hall Pioneer 
4th Auchorachan Noble P
5th Omorga Nashville
6th Oaktree Farm Pablo
7th Cladymore President 
8th Kilbride Farm Nebulus 22

Please look out for a short video clip from Harry and with his general comments around this first class. 

A huge thank you to everyone who entered Class One. We have been thrilled with the quality of the entries and have had some terrific comments and feedback. 

SIMMENTAL BEEF WORKS A TREAT AT DRUMSLEED!

SIMMENTAL BEEF WORKS A TREAT AT DRUMSLEED!

Producing quality Scotch Beef to a high standard by utilising home-grown cattle is the name of the game for the Smith family from Laurencekirk, who’s Simmentals are tickling the tastebuds of consumers from across the UK.

Douglas Smith opened the shop in 2020

Passionate about producing sustainable & traceable beef products, while making extra income from the farm, Doug Smith of Drumsleed Farm with the help of his wife, Fiona & mum Morag, has opened his own honesty shop which is fully stocked by their own Drumsleed cattle – a herd comprising 240 suckler cows, which is an even split of 110 pedigree cattle & 130 commercials.

“Following Covid-19, we opened up our little beef shop which is situated on Drumsleed Farm. It’s an honesty shop so there’s no one there manning what is sold, it is just filled with freezers & fridges which are packed with our own beef products that are made available to customers at any time of the day,” explained Doug.

A snapshot of tasty products available from Drumsleed Meats

“Our main driving force behind the shop was to improve the traceability of our meat & cut out the middlemen in regards to supermarkets, as well as to interact more with our customers. There are not so many cattle in the area & people in our local villages love being able to see the cattle in fields, so we have always wondered if locally sourced beef would be of interest to them – which it has.

“My wife also runs an honesty shop – Farm to Table – selling her own vegetables & potatoes from her family farm, so I jumped on the back of that idea. We’re continually being encouraged to reduce food mileage & you can’t get anymore sustainable or locally sourced beef than this,” he added.

With the Drumsleed herd being well known within the breed for producing quality pedigree stock – annually selling bulls at United Auctions’ Stirling Bull Sales & Thainstone’s Spring Show – it is, however, the commercial heifers which are proving to be the ultimate when it comes to producing quality prime cuts of beef.

“Our commercial herd is made up of mostly pure Simmentals that don’t meet the pedigree standard we are looking for, with a small selection being Saler & Beef Shorthorn crosses. We prefer to rely on heifers for our meat business as we believe the beef is sweeter & more tender than bull beef, which can be tougher with a little bit more testosterone through it.

Typical Simmental Heifers destined for the Farm Shop

“At the moment we are putting away around one heifer every three to four weeks for the shop & we would like to increase this over the next few years on the basis that the demand for our beef continues to be there,” he said.

“We have no real checklist for picking our meat heifers, but they have to be quiet in regards to temperament & have a good shape & fat cover on them’” commented Doug.

In order to produce alternative cross cattle on the farm & reduce the herd from becoming too pure, a Saler bull is used over the younger Simmental heifers at two years old with a small selection being crossed to the Beef Shorthorn in order to provide some replacement females.

Heifers which are selected to be butchered for the shop are reared on a 90% grass-based diet having been grazed out on grass throughout the summer months, as well as fed a silage & straw mix when indoors, which is also mixed with homegrown cereals to improve fat cover on the cattle.

“We hold back between 12 & 15 heifers per year for the shop & aim to be killing out those heifers between 16- & 20-months old at around 700kgs, with any other surplus stock being sold store or for breeding females,” stated Doug.

“Our breeding females are sold privately to repeat customers at one year old & we aim to retain around 20 commercials & 20 pedigree females for replacement purposes too,” he added.

Within the shop itself, beef products on offer include burgers, sausages, all cuts of steak, roasting joints & beef olives – all of which are made by Allan Rennie of Rennies Butchers, based in Forfar.

“We have a good relationship with Allan Rennie having used him for private kills beforehand, so when it came to sourcing a butcher for the shop, there was no doubt he was our first pick. He is very flexible with us, which is a huge bonus as our customers have the option to phone in & pre-order specific cuts of meat, so Allan is always keen to help us meet the requests of our customers & keep them returning,” said Doug.

The heifer beef is hung for a minimum of three weeks before it is vacuum packed & returned to Drumsleed to be sold.

“Allan Rennie is an Aberdeen-Angus man but there’s nowhere within the area that is specifically dedicated to one breed. We have sold some of Allan’s Angus meat through the shop if we are in short supply & it’s great meat but it’s all down to how the meat is hung & if it is the right carcass’” explained Doug.

“We like a bit of fat cover on our meat which we believe brings flavour to it, & it helps that the heifer meat is really tender. Overall, we are receiving some really great feedback about our Simmental beef & our customers seem to love the marbling content through the cuts.”

As well as selling their own beef through the shop, Doug is also providing Simmental mince & steaks to a local restaurant – Gannets of Laurencekirk – who transform the meat into their own pies which are then sold on.

“We team up with Gannets of Laurencekirk to run a hot food stall at some of the farmers’ markets & local events, where we used our own supply of burgers & beef. We are aware that there are a lot of small & local businesses within our area & it’s important that we support on another as much as possible, so we hope to continue with this venture later in the year,” he said.

“Consumer demand for beef is always dependant on the time of year & you tend to find that through the summer, demand outstrips supply as it’s barbecue season, whereas it can be quieter over the winter months. However, we can’t fault the support of the local community who have been fantastic at keeping us in business & we really do appreciate them,” added Doug.

The Smith’s little farm shop is also gaining popularity with customers further afield, which has been aided with the help of social media.

“Social media has been the only form of advertisement we have relied on when it comes to promoting our products. One of our Valentine’s boxes was bought by a customer in Wales so that goes to show how far social media has promoted our little business, but we are aware that it costs a lot to deliver straight to the doorstep & we do want to try & keep costs as low as possible. However, the next step is to hopefully get a website set up & running in order to try & sell beef to customers online too,” he stated.

Looking to the future of their little shop, Doug has big plans for extending the meat options available for his customers.

“Ideally, we would like to add in lamb or pork to the meat line and preferably would like to do this ourselves and invest in fat lambs or pigs in the future, but this is a long-term goal and not something that will happen any time soon – so watch this space! I’m passionate about the low food miles aspect with our meat & I will continue to promote this aspect as I believe it’s a real driving force behind gaining the consumers attention.

“It’s really enjoyable to engage with the public & allow them to see what we do here at Drumsleed. When it comes to running an additional business like this, you really do need to dedicate time to do it properly, which is probably something I didn’t fully appreciate with ties to the farm & my family. However, my advice to anyone thinking about diversifying in some way would be to just do it! Don’t be scared to try it out & if it doesn’t work then try something else. From start to finish, it really has been one of the best decisions we have made & I’m looking forward to what the future holds for our wee shop.”

This article by Kathryn Dick, and use of the pictures by Rob Haining, is republished with the kind permission of The Scottish Farmer (TSF).  Our thanks are extended to both Drumsleed Simmentals and TSF.

HOLLYBROOK MAXIMUM TOPS THE SIMMENTALS AT MELTON MOWBRAY

HOLLYBROOK MAXIMUM TOPS THE SIMMENTALS AT MELTON MOWBRAY

  • Hollybrook Maximum Takes the Reserve Interbreed

The April 2021 born Hollybrook Maximum from Chris & Zara Curson, Hollybrook Farm, Welbourne, Dereham, Norfolk sold for 3900gns to top the small section of Simmentals at the fledgling Melton Mowbray Multi Breed Sale on Saturday, 25th March.

Hollybrook Maximum, Overall Reserve Interbreed, Overall Simmental Champion and Top price of £3,900gns

Earlier in the day this bull had been placed as the Simmental Overall Champion by the judge, John Barlow of the noted Denizes herd, before going on to lift the Overall Reserve Interbreed in front of all seven of the breed judges.  Commenting, John Barlow said:  “This is just a natural Simmental bull with plenty of length and a good second thigh.  He’s a good commercial Simmental bull ready to work.”  Hollybrook Maximum, got by AI, is sired by Clonagh Diehard Gallant, and is out of Williams Vikki’s Blossom.    Purchasing the Champion online, and one of two bought on the day, was the significant Simmental based commercial enterprise in the shape of Fristling Hall Farm, Swan Lane, Ingatestone, Essex.  Melton Mowbray represented only the second Society sale for the Cursons who run a 20-cow pedigree herd alongside a 60 cow Simmental based suckler herd.

Selling at 3200gns was the homozygous polled bull Blue Cedar Mungo from Nigel Darling, Intwood Farm, Intwood, Norwich.  This January 2021 born bull is by the Danish bred AI sire Sneumgaard Imperator, and is out of Blue Cedar Edwina, with both parents being homozygous polled.  With both calving ease, and gestation length figures in the top 1% of the breed, Blue Cedar Mungo was purchased by H Catlin, Leylandii Farm, Boston, Lincolnshire.

Selling two bulls at 3000gns was CH Evans & Son, Kington Grange Farm, Claverdon, Warwickshire.  The first of these was the red ticket winner Wroxall Marmite.  Heterozygous Polled, this January 2021 born bull is by Forsdale Gallipoli, and is out of Wroxall Esprit-Zilla.  Arriving with a show track record that had seen him win breed championships at the Three Counties and Staffordshire Shows respectively in 2022, Wroxall Marmite was another bull to be snapped up by Fristling Hall Farm, Essex.  Following directly on was the March 2021 born Wroxall Meatball.  This March 2021 born calf, who stood second in his class to the Champion, is by Coose Gambler (P), and is out of Wroxall Favour-Patiance (P).  With Calving Ease figures of +3.6 placing him in the top 15% of the breed, Wroxall Marmite was purchased by GT Hall & Son, Dudley Wood Farm, Atherstone, Warwickshire.

Champion, Hollybrook Maximum and Reserve Champion, Key Marvel with Judge John Barlow

Averages:

4 Bulls                  £3438.75