Balmoral Show

McMordies have best Balmoral yet

In 2021, Balmoral Show was staged at the end of the summer show season, as opposed to being one of the first shows of the year. Here, the McMordie family of Solpoll Herefords had an exceptional show.

Solpoll 1 Starlet M19 from John and William McMordie, Ballygowan, led the honours at Balmoral Show which was held in September in 2021 rather than its usual May date. Judged by Devon cattle breeder Jeff Thomas who travelled from Cornwall, it lay host to 29 entries from 10 different exhibitors.

Six and a half years old, this McMordiebred cow is a daughter of the renowned Panmure 1 Henry which has already sired three Balmoral-winning daughters. Its dam is a Solpoll 1 Dynamite daughter and carries Canadian breeding on either side of its pedigree. Shown with its heifer calf at-foot, Jeff Thomas described the female as a ‘good, strong, powerful cow with real style’, adding it had ‘bred and fed a real good calf’.

In the interbreed championship, this cow went on to be placed third by judge John Elliot of Rawburn Angus, Kelso. John said: “All three females put on a maternal masterclass and on another day the Hereford could have won the show.”

In the final interbreed class of the week, the native team of five, consisting of cattle from the Haire family, John and William McMordie, Marcus Murdock, Stephen Cherry and Andrew McMordie took first prize. The reserve Hereford champion was from the same stable and came in the form of Solpoll 1 Triumph which also won the junior championship. March 2020born, it is by Moeskaer Mentos and out Solpoll 1 Starlet M19 from J and W McMordie

of another Starlet female and Henry daughter. In the interbreed performance recorded championship, this bull was tapped out as champion by well-known Kilrea-based Limousin breeder Paul Rainey, having already taken the native title.

During the breed judging, Jeff commented the bull was a ‘good type of bull’ with ‘excellent feet’ being ‘thick and

Solpoll 1 Real Good from J and W McMordie

full in its plates and nice across its top’. McMordies were back on top in the senior bull class, won by Solpoll 1 Real Good, out of another Panmure 1 Henry daughter, but this time by Canadianbred NBG 69T The Wonderer 36R 3W.

Success continued for the McMordie family in the 1 July 2019 to 31 December 2019-born heifer class where the reserve female champion was also found in the form of Solpoll 1 Starlet T4. Born in October 2019, it is a daughter of the show’s champion, Solpoll 1 Starlet M19. It is sired by Solpoll 1 Promoter, which is a son of the Canadian-bred FCC Twenty X 20X and was also reserve native and reserve overall interbreed beef performance champion. This heifer was also a class winner in the NIHBA virtual calf show last year.

The 1 January to 30 June 2019 heifer class was taken by Magheraknock Niki S2 from David Smyth, Ballynahinch, Co Down. By Free Town Mentor, a Mara Humorous son, it is out of a home-bred female, sired by Border Quaestor H5, bred by Stan Quan, Herefordshire.

The 2020-born heifer class was won by Stephen Cherry’s Ballypallady 1 TigerLily, a January-born Dorepoll 1 60G Chinook daughter. It is out of Boghill 1 Nicola, bred by FA and E Kerridge, Templepatrick, Co Antrim and by Trillick Hotspur, bred by Ireland’s JJ and C Farrell.

The group of three class was again taken by John and William McMordie, with the trio made up of Solpoll 1 Triumph, Solpoll 1 Starlet T4 and Solpoll 1 Starlet M19.

Marcus Murdock took the pairs class with two Romany 1 Lawbreaker progeny.

A duo of Solpoll animals placed third in the interbreed pairs competition from John and William McMordie. The Hereford group of three also placed third in the interbreed and was made up of Solpoll and Ballypallady animals.

A Hereford-cross heifer named Hetty from JCB Commercials, Newtonwards, Co Down led the native sired commercial class, bred by Aaron Quigley and out of a British Blue dam.

Results

(Judge: J Thomas, Cornwall) Champion and female, J and W McMordie, Solpoll 1 Starlet M19; reserve and male, J and W McMordie, Solpoll 1 Triumph; res fem, J and W McMordie, Solpoll 1 Starlet T4; res male, Solpoll 1 Real Good

Cow or heifer, born on or before 31

December 2018, in-calf or with calf at-foot, J and W McMordie, Solpoll 1 Starlet M19; 2nd, JE and RI and W Haire, Dorepoll 1 Sally 611; 3rd, JE and RI and W Haire, Dorepoll 1 Catalina 641

Heifer, born on or after 1 January 2019, and on or before 30 June

2019, in-calf or with calf at-foot, 1st, D Smyth, Magheraknock Niki S2,

Heifer, born on or after 1 July 2019, and on or before 31 December

2019, 1st, J and W McMordie Solpoll 1 Starlet T4; 2nd, JE and RI and W Haire, Dorepoll 1 Classic Kim 672

Heifer, born on or after 1 January

2020, 1st, S Cherry, Ballypallady 1 Tigerlily; 2nd, P Murdock, Moorside 1 Evita 10th; 3rd, S Cherry, Ballypallady 1 Top Notch Bull, born prior to 1 April 2019, 1st, J and W McMordie, Solpoll 1 Real Good; 2nd, JE and RI and W Haire, Dorepoll 1 639 Perfection

Bull, born on or after 1 January

2020, 1st, J and W McMordie, Solpoll 1 Triumph; 2nd, S Johnston, Maytown 1 Mario; 3rd, S Johnston, Maytown 1 Churchill Group of three animals, 1st, J and W McMordie; 2nd, M Murdock