This year, dynamic husband and wife duo Stewart and Penny Dunlop from Ayrshire will be taking the cattle and calf classes by storm at the eighth Royal Ulster Premier Beef & Lamb Championships in November.
Stewart Dunlop
As cattle judge, Stewart’s years of experience on the farm and expertise from some of the largest shows in the UK will be instrumental in his decision making. A joiner by trade, Stewart’s true passion has always been his family farm on the scenic west coast of Scotland. His success in the showing ring has seen him travel the length and breadth of Great Britain in search of some of the highest accolades in the commercial cattle showing circuit.
In recent years Stewart has added Supreme Champion at the 2023 Borderway Agri Expo, Overall Reserve Supreme Champion at the 2022 LiveScot with a homebred Limousin-cross and Overall Reserve Champion at the 2021 Royal Welsh Winter Fair to his impressive portfolio.
In the ring, Stewart described that he will be looking for cattle with ‘style and show presence, a beautiful head, wide top, square plates and good legs’.
Commenting on judging at this year’s Show, he said ‘The Christmas shows and sales are the most anticipated on the calendar in the commercial world […] I’m really looking forward to seeing what the Northern Irish have to offer this year’.
Penny Dunlop
For Penny, agriculture has always played a pivotal role in her life. From her family farm in Aberdeenshire to her full-time role as a farm vet in Ayrshire, she thoroughly enjoys that no two days are the same when working closely with animals. Her introduction to the showing world came thanks to husband Stewart and she’s been a part of the Holehouse Farm showing team ever since.
As judge of the calf and cattle young handler classes, Penny will be looking for ‘correct animals with the perfect balance of sweetness, future show potential and character’. She said, ‘showiness, style and that ‘wow factor’ that keeps drawing your eye back to an animal are all qualities which I will be expecting to find’.
Weighing in on this year’s Championships, Penny commented ‘I am really looking forward to seeing the display of cattle on show which I have no doubt will be oozing in quality. It is a privilege to have been asked to judge at this event’.
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