First time winner (From The Westmorland Gazette)

First time winner

12:10pm Monday 31st October 2011 in Carnforth news By Daniel Orr, Reporter

A NORTH Lancashire farmer has excelled on her first-ever foray into the world of showing animals.

Sandra Blades, of Hill Top Farm, Keer Holme, Carnforth, was rewarded on her debut attempt at exhibiting with a champ-ionship and reserve double.

Mrs Blades, who trades as TW & SE Blades, landed top honours with two home-bred heifers at Skipton Auction Mart’s prestigious annual show of suckled calves and store cattle with show potential.

The champion was a British Blue-cross young-ster by one of the family’s stock bulls ‘Amos.’ And her Limousin-cross heifer by another stock bull secured the reserve championship.

“It’s the first time we have shown anywhere,” said Mrs Blades, a com-mercial beef and sheep farmer.

Her 24 Limousin and British Blue-cross heifer calves averaged £698 as part of the fortnightly sale of more than 500 head of store and breeding cattle.

Mother and son Janet and James Huck, of Aust-wick, presented the first and second prize winners in class for any other Continental-sired heifers.

And Simon Garth, of Birk Knott Farm, Keasden, was responsible for the first prize 2010-born heifer.

Livestock sales manager and auctioneer Ted Ogden said: “The trade for suckled calves reflected the rises seen in prices this year for finished cattle and strong stores.

“Many vendors reported increases in averages of around £125 to £130 a head on last year’s sale.”