GYS: Supreme sheep goes to 'buzz word' Beltex

Tradition can be seen throughout the Great Yorkshire Show, but the owner of this year's Supreme Sheep has found success in a breed enjoying 'buzz word' status.
By The Newsroom
Published 12th Jul 2018, 13:01 BST
Updated 16th Jul 2018, 17:10 BST
Aled Groucott from Shropshire with his Beltex, pictured with Holy Jones and Paul Tippetts.Aled Groucott from Shropshire with his Beltex, pictured with Holy Jones and Paul Tippetts.
Aled Groucott from Shropshire with his Beltex, pictured with Holy Jones and Paul Tippetts.

Paul and Christine Tippetts’ Beltex shearling ewe, Hackney Can Can, was the animal that impressed judge Wade McCrabbe most yesterday morning.

Meanwhile, the next generation of farmers got a chance to show their skills in the Young Handlers Sheep class, including Samuel Brook, three, from Camblesforth, near Selby, showing a Greyface Dartmoor.

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Mr Tippetts, 50, said: “I’m over the moon. We’ve shown sheep for a long time but this is really one of the highlights. It’s the interbreed sheep championship and there’s always great competition at the Yorkshire show.”

He said it was nice to win with a Beltex – a breed which arrived in the UK from Belgium in 1989, changing the dimension of British lamb production with their double-muscle traits.

“Beltex seems to be the buzz word at the moment, everybody seems to be talking about Beltex,” said Mr Tippetts. “It’s great that we’re getting a bit of publicity for sheep that were struggling in previous years.”

The breed was developed as the Belgian Texel, and classes were introduced at the Royal Welsh show in 1995. Reserve Champion yesterday was a Clun Forest, shown by Anna Pennell of Darlington, County Durham.