Angus tops the interbreed poll at Balmoral
By Julie Hazelton
Black coats were fashionable at the 152nd Balmoral Show, with Aberdeen Angus cattle securing a number of prestigious prizes in the interbreed championship line-up.
Toast of the four-day show, hosted by the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society at Balmoral Park, was the junior Aberdeen Angus cow and overall breed champion Woodvale Miss Annie U436, who beat off stiff competition from native and continental rivals to win the LMC supreme champion of champions award.
Bred by Alwyn and Carol Armour and Sons, Dromara, County Down, Miss Annie was shown with her December-born heifer calf at foot. The 2021 show was memorable for the Armour family, winning their first-ever Balmoral Aberdeen Angus championship, and topping it off with the supreme interbreed beef title.
Interbreed champion pair in the native breed line-up were Woodvale Miss Annie U436 exhibited by Adam Armour, and Stouphill Eligh exhibited by Stephen O’Kane on behalf of Iain Colville. Picture: Alfie Shaw
Success didn’t stop there for the all-black breed with Woodvale Miss Annie U436 joining forces with the senior bull Stouphill Eligh U217, owned by Iain Colville, to win the M&S interbreed beef pairs championship.
Aberdeen Angus won the interbeed native group championship at Balmoral Show. Pictured from left: Iain Colville, Alwyn Armour, Gary Hanna, Alfred Clyde with Glen Cowie Blackbird Special V704; Adam Armour with Woodvale Miss Annie U436; and Stephen O’Kane with Stouphill Eligh U217. Picture: Alfie Shaw
The winning duo were then joined by Iain Colville’s senior heifer Glen Cowie Blackbird Special V704, to secure the Linden Foods native interbreed group championship.
Judge Matthew Goulding congratulates John Henning and Andrew Hamill on winning the interbreed exhibitor-bred pairs award at Balmoral Show with Drumcorn Lady Ida U492 and Drumcorn Lady Ida V665. Picture: Alfie Shaw
The Aberdeen Angus breed also topped the poll in the Tesco-sponsored exhibitor-bred pairs championship, with the winners coming from John and Ann Henning’s Drumcorn Herd based at Moira, County Armagh. The winning duo were the April 2018 Drumcorn Lady Ida U492 by Blelack Duke J262, and the May 2019 Drumcorn Lady Ida V665 by Weeton Panther S498.
The Aberdeen Angus team won second prize in the interbreed stockjudging competition at Balmoral Show. Included from left: Iain Colville, Lindsay Graham, Cathy Holmes, and Gary Hanna who was the highest placed individual.
Aberdeen Angus breeders rounded off a successful day by winning second prize in the interbreed stockjudging competition sponsored by LMC. The winning team comprised of Iain Colville, Lindsay Graham, Cathy Holmes, and Gary Hanna who was the highest placed individual competitor.
