Balmoral Show 2011: Commercial Cattle Championship

Limousins have triumphed in the commercial classes, with a heifer from Alistair Crawford, 8 Forthill Park, Tyrone, taking the overall championship title.

Red Ruby was bought at Allam’s Christmas Fatstock show and sale at Balmoral last year and is joint owned by Mr Crawford and Richard Beattie. She was handled by Moses Irwin in what was her first outing.

Ruby is by a Limousin sire and out of a Belgium Blue cross Limousin cow and weighs in at 470kg. Judge Terry Coghill praised her for her “brilliant motion and even fleshing”.

Taking the reserve was another heifer of the same breed, Vanilla Ice from John Killen, 34 Abbeyview Road, Crossgar. The prize joins a long list of successes at the Balmoral having won five reserves and one supreme championship in the last six years.

Ice is a homebred heifer from Mr Killen’s herd of 10 cows. She is out of a Blue Limousin dam and sired by Limousin Guards Bomber.