Texel crosses ruled supreme amid a cracking show of prime lambs at LiveScot, with the breed taking both the champion and reserve honours in the butchers' section and the top two in the overall.

In recent years, it has been Beltex cross lambs that dominated the leader board and, while the mothers of the winners were from this breed, it was the Texel that was the terminal sire.

"There was very little difference in the top six pairs in the butcher's section, but the champions were just that bit better finished and they had more depth, which is what I look to sell in my shop," said the judge, Jimmy Mulholland, from Great Orton, Carlisle. "It was a tremendous show of lambs all through and one which is a real credit to the stockmen involved."

While it was a new breed at the top, the exhibitors, John and Peter Hall, and John's daughter, Joanne, from Inglewood Edge, Dalston, Cumbria, are no strangers to sporting the tri-colour, securing the championship for a fourth time at this event.

The family, who run 2000 ewes and 100 suckler cows at Inglewood Edge, led this year's line-up with a wedder and ewe lamb pairing by a Dutch Texel ram bought privately from Robin Slade, out of home-bred Beltex cross dams. April-born and scaling 97kg total, the pair, which were shown by Johnnie and Jeff Aitken, also stood first in their class at the Borderway Expo, last month. They later sold for the top price of £340 per head or £7.01 per kg, to Paisley meat stance owner, James Stark.

The same team also scooped the Beltex championship with a heavy pair of lambs on their first outing. These home-bred three-quarter-bred lambs, which passed the weigh-bridge at 105kg, were by a Northcop sire bought at Carlisle.

The second prize winners to the champion followed all the way to take reserve supreme. This was a pair of 100kg Texel cross ewe lambs from James Whiteford, Tercrosset, Brampton, Carlisle. Bred from frozen semen got by a 5000gns Proctors Rambo shearling bought at Carlisle, they are out of home-bred Beltex cross ewes and made £270 per head or £5.40 per kg to Robert Lawson, East Mains, Newbigging.

There was a double celebration in the hill breeds, too, when twins Elliot and Neil Cavers and their respective wives, Aileen and Elaine, not only scooped their first breed championship, but also the champion and reserve honours in the mountain and moorland section, with two different breeds.

The brothers, who have been exhibiting here for three years, run 600 Blackies and 1000 South Country Cheviots at Sorbie, Ewes, Langholm, and first lifted the Blackface honours with two 40.5kg home-bred wedder lambs by a Milnmark-bred shearling ram bought at Newton Stewart. They later sold for £125 per head to John Scott butchers, Paisley.

Their South Country Cheviot leaders, which also secured the overall Cheviot title, were wedders that scaled 45kg and stood second at the Borderway Expo. Home-bred, they are by a Springwells sire bought at Lockerbie in 2015 for £1100.

For the Cheviot championship, they beat off the North Country Cheviot winners, home-bred 94kg lambs from Innes Graham's Carruthers flock, from Waterbeck, Lockerbie. They are by a Gospelhall sire bought in 2015.

Leading the Mule and crosses section was a pair of Cheviot Mules that stood first at the Expo at Carlisle, from Alex Main, who runs 420 ewes at Byers, Bewcastle. Mr Main, who was showing Mules for the first time here, triumphed with a duo of home-bred wedder lambs by a Boghall sire bought at Kelso and which passed the weighbridge at 97kg.

North of England Mules scooped the reserve cross title for R and R Raine, Outhwaite, Renwick. Wedder lambs, these two on their first outing are by a F2 Gragareth and weighted 93kg in total.

The dam of this cross, the Swaledale saw it's championship ticket – for the second year in succession – go to a wedder lamb pairing from John Thirlwall, Quarry, Croglin, Carlisle. His 94kg duo are by an Usha Gap sire purchased for £1200, while the mothers are home-bred ewes by a £5000 Calverts of Pry House tup.

Archie MacGregor, Allanfauld, Kilsyth, also had his work cut out for him as the judge of the increasingly popular breeding ewe lamb section.

This competition, which included sections for Blackface, Scotch Mules and Bluefaced Leicesters, saw the Wight team, from Midlock, Crawford, win two of the sections, while Troloss Farms, Elvanfoot, led the Blackfaces.

Champion Blackie was a lamb by a £2200 Allanfauld, bred from a ewe by a £10,000 Connachan, shown by shepherds, Joe Cockburn and Danny Kennedy.

The Wights won the Scotch Mule section with a lamb by a home-bred son of Midlock Mustang, retained for breeding, with their Blue winner being a daughter of a £23,000 Carryhouse and out of a ewe by the £12,000 B4 Tanhouse.