Smithfield Festival: Sheep supreme championship

The top honours of overall supreme sheep champion was awarded by judge John Hall for his continental champion, David and Linda Wadland’s pair of Blue Texel x Texel cross ewe lambs (Valley View Farm, Appletree Lane, Daventry). Weighing 98kg, they’ll be sold at the fair, having originally been destined to sell at Newark.

He also favoured the continentals for his reserve, picking a pair of pure bred Texels from Andrew and Becky Bishop, Pitfield Farm, Eldersfield, Gloucestershire, over the native championship pair of Southdowns from Meesers Harmer and Wakeham-Dawson.

 The Bishop’s purebred lambs are by homebred tup, Dylan and out of a Dutch Texel. It was the first outing for the pair which will be sold later in the day.

Speaking about his champion, Mr Hall said: “They are a very well matched pair, beautifully turned out and well finished and their backs were exactly the same. In the end I liked the tail of the champion pair over the reserve – they didn’t give quite the appearance of fat.”