Herd profile; Glenariff

A focus on quality family lines has helped the Glenariff herd develop a formidable reputation.

Families core to past and future glories at Glenariff

Norfolk born and raised, and from humble beginnings, Nick and Annalain Barrett have built their livestock enterprise from scratch. Sharing a passion for fur and feather, the couple earned a worldwide reputation for the breeding of Gloster Fancy Canaries.

Their Glosters have been exported to every corner of the world and have helped other breeders achieve immediate results. Having studied livestock husbandry and management at college, Nick worked with dairy cows, beef cattle, sheep and breeding pigs and then for 25 years was senior animal health inspector for Norfolk County Council.

However, retirement in 2001 allowed him to concentrate on his passion, breeding pedigree livestock, including the Glenariff Beef Shorthorn herd which was founded in 1987 with two maiden heifers from the Fingask herd and two from Major John Gibb’s Glenisla herd sale in Perth.

Following these initial purchases came selected females from Chapelton and Uppermill and numbers built up from a total of eight purchased females with the emphasis on buying families which included Lancaster, Broadhooks, Princess, Flossy, Rothes, Ruby, Katrina and Gina.

As with many families, the couple’s son, Andrew, soon developed the same passion for breeding and showing and he spent time working with George Cormack’s Aberdeen-Angus herd in Scotland. While there, he showed Angus cattle for HM The Queen Mother. Such has been Andrew’s passion for the breed that he quickly gained recognition as a judge, becoming the youngest person to judge the Perth Bull Sales in 2004. He has also judged many shows including Orkney, the Royal Welsh and the Great Yorkshire Show.

On the other side of the coin, and thanks to the hard work of Andrew alongside long-standing family friend, Lee Oakes, the Glenariff herd has enjoyed much success in the showring. With the pair making a formidable team when showing Glenariff cattle.

The current herd now totals about 100 breeding females, all from those original foundation cows, despite the original intention being to run half a dozen cows and a bull!

Heifers calve down at 30 months, in August and September, and are then brought back in line with the rest of the herd which calves from March onwards.

Key to the development of the herd has been a succession of top drawer stock bulls, with many leaving long-lasting legacies on their herd thanks to their offspring. The first bull to grace the herd was Chapelton Eagle, an Uppermill Lang son. In his time with the herd he sired the 2002 Royal Show female and reserve breed champion Glenariff Lancaster Krystal out of Fingask Lancaster Petula.

Following Eagle came Uppermill Lister, a bull bought from Perth as an over age bull and which worked until 2008 at the age of 17. He was reserve champion at the Royal Show and his progeny are an integral part of the herd even today with longevity, great maternal traits, sound feet and a wonderful red colouration.

It was back to Chapleton next, with the purchase of Chapelton Legend, an exceptionally correct bull, although not the largest. This son of Tofts Romany had stood reserve champion at Perth and went on to sire Glenariff Washington.

Nick Barrett has had a passion for breeding from a young age, earning worldwide acclaim for his Glosters, while also extending his expertise to livestock too.

Showing has helped the Barrett family raise the profile of their herd, with success seen at many of the major shows.

Next in line was Uppermill Beggar a bull which brought great stature to the herd and was shown successfully, winning the Royal Welsh Show and being breed champion twice at the Great Yorkshire Show.

Another Chapelton bull to make a mark was Chapelton Tyco. This privately purchased bull was by the USA sire C.F.Varsity and out of Canadian cow Blueridge Cheerleader (Canada). He won his class at the Royal Show, but was sadly later found to carry the Tibial Hemimelia gene.

Another great bull which has left his mark is Glenisla Drambuie II. He was bought privately, with the assistance of George McCulloch, from the HW herd. Drambuie’s Australian breeding included Broughton Park Thunder and Weebollabolla Theodore. He has bred outstanding, feminine, milky females including Glenariff Jacalin-Gina, Smithfield Festival Champion in 2016.

Podehole Foreman followed him, with this one being a son of the Royal Highland Show interbreed champion Trojan of Craigeassie.

Perhaps the most impactful of the recent sires has been Glenisla Ghillie. Again purchased with the help of George McCulloch from the HW herd, Ghillie had exceptional statistics and transformed the herd's breeding programme. His first calf, a white bull Glenariff Marcello, is now one of the herd's current stock bulls. He also sired Glenariff Nearctic who sold at the February 2021 Stirling sale.

And the most recent addition is Muiresk Northern Dancer, an Alvie Galaxy son purchased at the February 2021 Stirling sale. He had been junior male champion and reserve overall champion at Stars of the Future in 2019.

Meanwhile, a number of homebred bulls have also bred well for the herd, with the first of these being Glenariff Washington. This white bull was sired by Chapelton Legend and out of Glenisla Katrina who was from WF Tornado in North America. Washington was show champion on numerous occasions and sired Brave Bonnar and Cincinnati.

His son, Glenariff Brave Bonnar was a roan bull which had a temperament like no other, showing no aggression whatsoever. He enjoyed success, particularly at the Royal Norfolk Show in 2010 where he won the Queen’s Prize for the best animal in the beef section bred and shown by a Norfolk exhibitor. He was also champion at both the Royal Norfolk and East of England Shows that same year.

Then came Glenariff Cincinnati, a full brother to Brave Bonnar who won the Uppermill Calrossie Perpetual Challenge Cup in 2011.

Next up was Glenariff Macnair, a roan bull by Glenisla Drambuie and out of Glenariff Rothes Christa who has his father’s traits. This bull was recently sold, but is working locally on the Sandringham Estate.

And in keeping with tradition, the next generation of stockpeople are starting to help develop the herd too, with Andrew and his wife Danielle’s children, Tia, Logan and Lewis all keen to play their part. Tia has already seen Young Handlers success in the show ring and, while still at school, is confident her future lies within the pedigree livestock sector.

The third generation of the Barrett family, including Andrew’s daughter, Tia, are now playing their part in the herd’s future.

Having started with nothing the Glenariff brand has been built on traditional values of honesty, integrity and capability where the history has bred success long into the future. Without history there would be no future whether it is with the livestock, family or friends.