NI Flock Competition 2010
N. I. FLOCK COMPETITION RESULTS 2010
Judges:-Mr. Ross Sizmur & Miss Emma Littlejohn
Thomas’s Flock Best in U.K.!
A late evening phone call caused great excitement for Thomas Wright and his family, as he was given the news that his Ballytaggart Flock had swept the boards in the U.K. flock competition of the Dorset Horn and Poll Dorset Sheep Breeders’ Association. Not only did he win the overall Champion Flock, but also won the awards for Best Stock Rams, Best Ewe Rams and Best Shepherded Flock – what an outstanding achievement. This is only the second time in the 117 year history of this competition that a Northern Ireland flock has taken the top honors.
Thomas is no stranger to success, this most recent win crowns an already impressive list of successes for his 120 ewe pedigree flock. The Ballytaggart Flock was first registered in the Society’s Flock Book in 1992, he began with the purchase of 5 ewes from local Dorset breeders Samuel Robinson, James Wright, George Robson and Will Jordan and from these modest beginnings his farming enterprise at Kilraughts Road, Ballymoney has gone from strength to strength. He is currently using 5 stock rams namely Downkillybegs Jethro, Rossiz King Kong, Ballytaggart Knockout, Downkillybegs Klondyke and Ballytaggart Lynx. When considering the past highlights of his sheep breeding career there doesn’t seem to be anything that Thomas has not won. He has won the N.I. Flock Competition no less than 5 times, taking top place in 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2010 and he has been runner up in the National Flock Competition on at least 2 previous occasions before going one better this year. In the N.I. agricultural show rings he is hard to beat, winning many classes and championships over the years. In the 2009 season, the 50th year of the N.I. Dorset Sheep Breeders Club, he scooped the championships at all 8 shows where there were Dorset classes and took the Interbreed Championship at Ballymena Show. This year he exhibited only at Antrim Show, where he won Dorset Champion and went on the take reserve Interbreed Champion. Major successes have also been achieved at the Breeders Association Sales. He has twice taken the top prize at the Exeter May Fair with pairs of ram lambs and has also won the championship at the N.I. Premier Show and Sale and at the Worcester and Carlisle Society Sales.
Thomas certainly knows what it takes to produce sheep of the highest quality and his stock are much sought after. Thomas has teamed up with the other major award winning flock of William and Karen Carson, Ballymena to hold a joint production sale of ewe lambs, in lamb hoggets and stock ewes. This opportunity to purchase stock from the Ballytaggart and Downkillybegs flocks takes place on Monday 16th August 2010 at 7.30pm in J.A. McClelland and Sons, Livestock Mart, Woodside Road, Ballymena. The Downkillybegs Flock is the only other flock in Northern Ireland to have won the national flock competition, as recently as 2008 and the Carson’s have also had many major successes in the show and sale rings both here and across the water. Also in recent years, ewes bred at Downkillybegs or sires sold to other flocks have been responsible for a great many high achievements at Ballymena and Exeter Breed Sales.
It is very encouraging for N.I. Dorset breeders that national success is not limited to only one or two large flocks. In the Small Flock Category of the national flock competition Seamus Mullan’s Islaharnan Flock took first place, winning him the Petit France Award. This is a tremendous achievement as Seamus, from Drones Road, Armoy, has only been registered in the association’s flock book since 2006.
Mr. Ross Sizmur and Miss Emma Littlejohn from Okehampton, Devon who judged this years flock competition spent 3 days travelling around Northern Ireland, viewing the flocks which had entered and were very impressed by the standard here. This is evident by the fact that Northern Ireland breeders won 2 categories nationally.
The results of the Northern Ireland Flock Competition are as follows:-
CHAMPION FLOCK:- Ballytaggart – Thomas Wright, Ballymoney
RESERVE CHAMPION:- Richhill – Lamb Bros, Armagh
BEST NEW ENTRANT: - Cameron Carson
SMALL FLOCK:- 1st - Islaharnan - Seamus Mullan, 2nd - Beechmount - Amy McConnell, 3rd - Main Valley - Cameron Carson, 4th - Lisnafillan - Laura Weir.
LARGE FLOCK:- 1st - Ballytaggart - Thomas Wright, 2nd - Richhill - Lamb Bros, 3rd -Granagh - Samuel Caldwell, 4th - Kildowney - Graham & Mary Cubitt.
Best EWE LAMBS:- 1st T. Wright, 2nd Lamb Bros, 3rd Raymond Hill, 4th Seamus Mullan.
Best Stock RAMS:- 1st Thomas Wright, 2nd Graham & Mary Cubitt, 3rd Seamus Mullan, 4th Cameron Carson.
