New Year ‘baby’ champion at Skipton British Blue highlight

Fence beef farmer Michael Barnes made his first-ever appearance at Skipton Auction Mart’s annual pedigree British Blue highlight – and left with supreme championship and top price honours, awarded to a promising young bull born on New Year’s Day, 2011.

Mr Barnes, whose Rosslyn herd is based near Burnley at End Meadow Farm, landed the title at the eighth annual show and sale of pedigree British Blue breeding cattle last week with his 14-month-old double muscle black bull Rosslyn Georgie Boy, a well-bred embryo son of Gitan Du P’Tit Mayeur.

Mr Barnes said all his calves are bred using embryo transfers from the renowned sire, who remains popular in the UK and whose progeny are proven winners in both show and sale rings.

The victor’s dam is Woodview Amelia, a big, easy calving blue and white cow bred by Andrew Craig in Northern Ireland. Said to be ready for work, the champion, described as the “best bull by a long way” by judge Richard Maudsley, of Rathmell, sold locally for a show-topping 4,100gns (£4,305) to Joe & Nancy Throup, of Berwick Intake Farm, Draughton.

He will be put to work on their commercial suckler herd of mainly Limousin and Blonde crosses and his new owners said they were delighted to have secured a high-class black bull, anticipating that many of his offspring would eventually return to Skipton as store calves.

“We have always wanted a black bull and as soon as we saw him, we really liked him. He is very correct, with good legs, back end and top. He is also mobile, has a good temperament and shows real style,” said Mr Throup.

Coincidentally, the grand dam of the champion, Woodview Trixie, is also the grand dam of this year’s champion female and overall reserve champion, a British Blue heifer shown by North Craven brothers Jack and Tom Wallbank, of High Moss House, Keasden.