NISA Sheep Young Handler of the Year Final proves highlight of the show.
The Inter-Breed Dairy Championship at Clogher Valley Show was won by an outstanding Holstein fourth calver, owned jointly by the Willis and Booth families.
But she didn’t have it all her own way.
Andrea Rafferty, from Co. Monaghan, judged the dairy classes at Clogher. She described her champion as a tremendous example of the Holstein breed, adding:
“The quality of all the dairy stock competing in all the classes was exceptional. But at the end of the day, the champion had that little bit of extra ring presence.
The Beef Inter-Breed Championship was won by the elite Limousin cow, Deerpark Shakira with the Simmental Champion, Ballinalare Farm Nikita taking home the reserve inter-breed accolade.
It has been confirmed that both young cows are now back in calf, so watch this space in 2026.
The Commercial Beef Championship at Clogher was won by Robert Miller with his very special young heifer, Baby Spice.
And it really is a case of success building on success. Clogher was the heifer’s sixth show championship of the year.
Sheep Young Handler of the Year
An undoubted highlight of this year’s Clogher Valley Show was the event’s hosting of the Northern Ireland Shows Association’s (NISA’s) Sheep Young Handler of the Year Final.
It is a competition that has seen the next generation of pedigree sheep breeders turn out in very large numbers at qualifying shows, held across Northern Ireland over the past three months.
But, at the end of the day, it was all down to the 24 enthusiasts who turned out for this year’s championship class in the hope and expectation of catching the judge’s eye.
Jean McCollam, from Nutts Corner in Co. Antrim, was given the responsibility of selecting her champion.
At the end of a long deliberation, which included an in-depth conversation with each of the finalists, she tapped out Jake Piggott, from Killinchy in Co. Down as the ‘young handler of the year’. He exhibited a Zwartble shearling ewe.
But it was a close run thing, as Jean explained.
She said: “It was great to see so many competing in the class. And this is a trend that has been replicated at all the shows this year.
“We need to see lots of young people coming through – they are the future of sheep breeding in Northern Ireland.”
The Texel breeder also confirmed the overall quality of the sheep competing at Clogher Valley 2025.
She explained: “Better breeding and better nutrition are ensuring that sheep sizes are increasing. This is particularly important when it comes to selling pedigree breeding stock.”
Sheep numbers were up by an estimated 25% at this year’s Clogher Valley Show.
