Texel and North Country Cheviot lead Hope Show sheep rings

Continental breeds swept the board in Hope Show's supreme sheep championship, with a Texel from Martin Furness, near Buxton, Derbyshire, clinching the top spot and a Dutch Spotted securing reserve.

Mr Furness's two shear ram from he and his family's Westgate Texel flock is by Preenbank Emry and was bought at the English National Sale, Worcester, last year for 4,500gns. On its first appearance in the show ring, the ram was shown by his daughter, Amy.

The reserve champion rosette went to Jack and Steph Simpson, Stoney Middleton, Derbyshire, with their Dutch Spotted home-bred ewe lamb which also won at Ashover Show earlier in August and came third at the Great Yorkshire Show.

The show's hill inter-breed championship went to Jack Webster, Parwich, Derbyshire, and his two-crop North Country Cheviot ewe which he purchased from Lockerbie in February.

It has since had a successful show season this summer, having also won a first at this year's Great Yorkshire Show, breed champion at the Royal Lancashire and reserve breed champion at Mottram Show.

Clive Mitchell, Holme, West Yorkshire, was reserve with his two-shear Lonk ram which was also champion at Halifax Show earlier this year.

In the cattle section, Vicki Hopkinson, Swainby, North Yorkshire, took the inter-breed sash with her three- year-old Longhorn first calved heifer, Briarmead Ultimate Wish.

Marking a first-time supreme win since she started showing Longhorns at Hope in 2010, Ultimate Wish is home-bred out of a home-bred cow by Tetford Vaders Vortes, a bull purchased privately when it was nine-months-old.

The heifer will be shown at Stokesley Show in September, with plans to show her 2023 calf in the junior heifer classes next year.

Reserve supreme went to the British Blue champion, a home-bred bull, Redmires Saphire, from Ashley Mills, Redmires, Sheffield. An embryo calf born in January 2022, the bull was champion calf at the Newark Calf Show in 2022.

Hope Show also hosts two champion of champion classes for the local Derbyshire Gritstone and White Faced Woodland breeds.

The Derbyshire Gritstone section was won by E. and P. Howard, Blackburn, with the Whitefaced Woodland competition won by Casey Campbell, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire.

Results

Beef

Inter-breed (Panel) Sup., V. Hopkinson, Briarmead Ultimate Wish (Longhorn); res., A. Mills, Redmires Saphire (British Blue)

Commercial (J. Davis, Warwickshire) Sup., A. Dickson and L Powdrill, Cover Girl (Limousin cross) res., E. Wynne, Molly (Limousin cross)

Any Other Pure Beef Breed Native (N. Brocklehurst, Bakewell) Sup., E. Trueman, Roundhill Millie (Beef Shorthorn) res., E. Trueman, Roundhill Popsy, Beef Shorthorn

British Blue (J. Gill, Harrogate) Sup., A. Mills, Redmires Saphire; res., A. Sweetmore, Mere Rezzi

Highland (A. Hill, Shropshire) Sup., M. Burgess, Ursula 3 of Oakwood; res., R. Wain, Melody of the Rose

Limousin (J. Phillips, Carmarthen) Sup., A. Mills, Redmires Raven; res., L. White, Ladybowers Tobias

Longhorn (B. Bellew, Banbury) Sup., V. Hopkinson, Briarmead Ultimate Wish; res., T. Mills, Wheatlands Warrior

Blonde (C. Shenton, Cheshire) Sup., P. Marsden, Lowercroft Tulip; res., P. Marsden, Lowercroft Nic

Sheep

Inter-breed (G. Wainwright, Hope Valley) Sup., M. Furness (Texel); res., J. Simpson (Dutch Spotted)

Inter-breed hill (G. Wainwright) Sup., J. Webster (North Country Cheviot); res., C. Mitchell (Lonk)

Derbyshire Gritstone (S. Charles, Wardlow) Sup., J. Eggleton; res., C. Mitchell Derbyshire Gritstone champion of champions (C. Brett, Rochdale) Sup., E. and P. Howard; res., (J. Eggleton)

Lonk (J. Whitwell, Clitheroe) Sup., C. Mitchell; res., E. and P. Howard

North County Cheviot (S. Robinson, Clitheroe) Sup. and res., J. Webster

Swaledale (G. Walker, Cockermouth) Sup. and res., Bland family

White Faced Woodland (C. Campbell, Holmfirth) Sup., R. Smith; res., A Crampton

White Faced Woodland champion of champions (P. Atkin, Hope Valley) Sup., C. Campbell; res., R. Smith

Mule and Masham (G. Walker, Cockermouth) Sup., S. Taylor; res., G.A. and S.M. Wainwright

Jacob (D. Tuffney, Newark) Sup., Ridout and Higginson; res., G. Leslie

Rare Breed (E. Helliwell, Moreton in Marsh) Sup., C. Boothby (Llanwenog) res.,  C. Boothby (Llanwenog)

Any Other Pure Breed Native (I. Grisedale, Milnthorpe) Sup., N. Pagett

(Kerry Hill) res., B. W. Watson (Badger Face Welsh Mountain)

Suffolk (L. Peel, Northallerton) Sup., S. Buckley; res., H. Lyons

Texel (H. Wild, Chapel-en-le-Frith) Sup., M. Furness; res., F. Rushton

Bluefaced Leicester (J. Stott, Chipping) Sup., Mycock and Bright; res., H. Critchlow

Any other pure breed continental (J. Taylor, Belper) Sup., J. Simpson (Dutch Spotted) res., C. Plant (Badgerface Texel)

Commercial lamb (J. Taylor) Sup., E. L. Helliwell; res., G.A. and S.M. Wainwright