Day two in the sheep rings saw the Texel section prove as busy as ever, with spectators crowding the ring to witness two north-east breeders claim the top awards.
Best overall was a ram lamb from the Knox family, of Mid Haddo, Fyvie, Turriff, winning their first championship in 20 years showing at the event. Their topper, a son of the 60,000gns Clinterty Yuga Khan, is destined for sale at Lanark in August.
Judge Steve Richardson, who is chairman of the Texel Society, was particularly impressed with the quality on display.
“The standard was very high, which is what I expected to find here,” he said.
“The ram lamb stood out to me because of his tremendous length and he also handles so well. He is a naturally muscled lamb with star quality.”
For his reserve, Mr Richardson plumped for the female champion, a gimmer from Jim Innes, Dunscroft, Huntly, who had won the Suffolk section the previous day.
She is by a home-bred ram, Strathbogie Yes Sir, which was sold privately for £60,000 with a share retained. She will next be shown at Turriff.
Following on in that ring, the Beltex contest was led by Aberdeenshire’s Stuart Wood, who was winning for the first time in six years showing, with the gimmer Woodies Call Girl, by Carrigans Bob Lee Swagger.
Mr Wood, a firefighter by trade, runs 35 ewes but is holding a reduction sale in December to reduce his numbers to 15.
Reserve there was Tiree Clover, a gimmer from Alasdair MacLean’s 30-ewe flock based on the Isle of Tiree. On her first outing, she is by the 13,000gns Callacrag Wisecrack.
The Wight family, of Midlock, Crawford, topped off an extremely successful show by taking the championships in the coloured Bluefaced Leicester and Scotch Mule sections, following on from their Blackface win the previous day.