Planetree Dorus claims her first championship at Ballymena Show

Overcast conditions continued as judging kicked off at 10am, with Damien Tumelty from Downpatrick overseeing proceedings.

First class of the day saw Ballyhartfield Barua, a strong 5-year-old bull shown by Matthew Bloomer top the class, closely followed by herd mate Planetree Cerberus in second place. Derryola Red Bull claimed the yellow rosette taking third place for Antoine Nicholson.

In the intermediate bull section, it was the sleek fourteen-month-old Derryola Top Gun, shown by Ryan Lavery who topped the class, followed herd mate by Derryola Maverick collecting the blue rosette. Lesters Brumble was in third place in this class for David Lester.

Just four entries in the cow class saw Planetree Dorus, a stylish short legged cow receiving the red rosette for owner Lachlan Henry, followed by Derryola Beyonce from the herd of Ryan Lavery. Ballydavey Blissie Sue claimed the third rosette for Conor Daly’s Coolkill herd.

A strong entry in the in-calf heifer class did not make it an easy task for Damien, who placed the homebred Ballydavey Bonni from Susan McCullough in first position, closely followed by Derryola Violet also from Antoine Nicholson in second, with Derryola Hazel from Ryan Lavery following in third.

A very high-quality class of maiden heifers saw the eye-catching Lester’s Kay take the red rosette for David Lester followed by Derryola Jane in second place, with herd mate Derryola Uno in third for Ryan Lavery.

It was one, two three in the calf class for David Lester with Lesters’ Rocky, Alison and Dazzler taking the top three places, showing a lot of potential for the future of this herd in the show ring.

A super lineup of quality animals in the championship called for some deliberation by judge Damien Tumelty, who tapped out Planetree Dorus, winner of the cow class as his Champion. Ballyhartfield Barua, winner of the senior bull class was tapped out as Reserve Champion for Matthew Bloomer.

Moving on to the Young Handlers, in the under fourteen-year-old section Aoife Kernan impressed bystanders, and the judge leading her prizewinning heifer to claim a red rosette. Aoife was closely followed by Lily Lester in second place with the third-place rosette going Tommy Crawford.

Following on to the Senior Young Handlers it was sibling rivalry which saw Grace Bloomer narrowly pipping her brother Matthew to first place, in a hotly contested class which saw Cadhla O Neill follow in third.

Exhibitors would like to thank Ballymena Show and their sponsors for hosting classes for the Dexter breed, and to Damien Tumelty for kindly judging.

Results

Class 61. Bull born on or before 31st December 2022 (6 Forward): 1st Ballyhartfield Barua, Matthew Bloomer: 2nd Planetree Cerberus, Matthew Bloomer; 3 rd Derryola Red Bull, Antoine Nicholson; 4 th Frith Spida Man, Matthew Bloomer; 5th Planetree Eurus, David Lester; 6 th Buckna Fred, Jaron Davis

Class 62. Bull born on or after 1st January 2023 but on or before 31st August 2024 (4 Forward): 1st Derryola Top Gun, Ryan Lavery; 2nd Derryola Maverick, Ryan Lavery; 3 rd Lesters Brumble, David Lester; 4 th Ballindarragh Eclipse, Antoine Nicholson

Class 63. Cow or heifer born on or before 31st December 2022 (4 Forward): 1st Planetree Dorus, Lachlan Henry; 2nd Derryola Beyonce, Ryan Lavery; 3rd Ballydavey Blissie Sue, Conor Daly; 4th Derryola Razzle Dazzle, David Lester

Class 64. Heifer born in 2023 (5 Forward): 1st Ballydavey Bonni, Susan McCullough; 2nd Derryola Violet, Antoine Nicholson; 3rd Derryola Hazel, Ryan Lavery; 4 th Planetree Bona Dea, David Lester; 5th Aghadolgan Ruby, Jaron Davis

Class 65. Heifer born in 2024 (6 Forward): 1st Lesters Kay, David Lester; 2nd Derryola Jane, Ryan Lavery; 3rd Derryola Uno, Ryan Lavery; 4th Ballyloughan Ruby, Jaron Davis; 5th Ballydavey Ali, Susan McCullough; 6th Ballyloughan Rose, Jaron Davis

Class 66. Calf born in 2025 (4 Forward): 1st Lesters Rocky, David Lester; 2nd Lesters Alison, David Lester; 3rd Lesters Dazzler, David Lester; 4th Lester Bonni, David Lester

Class 67. Pairs of animals (2 Forward): 1st Ryan Lavery; 2nd David Lester

Class 68. Young Handlers- 7-14 Years of Age (3 Forward): 1st Aoife Kernan; 2nd Lily Lester; 3rd Tommy Crawford

Class 69 Young Handlers- 15- 21 years of Age (6 Forward): 1st Grace Bloomer; 2nd Matthew Bloomer; 3rd Cadhla O’Neill; 4th Philem O’Rourke; 6th Aimee McCann

Champion - Planetree Dorus, Lachlan Henry

Reserve Champion - Ballyhartfield Barua, Matthew Bloomer