Ayr show

What is your farming background?

Cameron: We have a flock of 600 sheep al together, at home. Half of them are all pedigree Beltex, Suffolk and Bleu Du Maine. We have them all for crossing over the Beltex, to result in the very best quality cross lambs you can get!

Finlay: We also have a commercial flock of 300. We breed lambs off them and sell them on, mostly through Lawrie and Symington at Lanark.

The farm is all sheep, apart from cattle that we keep on a bed and breakfast basis through the winter. We have about 150-head of cattle for this job. Dad and Grandpa used to have cows but got rid of them a few years ago, but all the slats and cubicles are still there, so we use them, and we make the silage and feed them at home all through the winter months.

Cameron: We all do a bit of everything at home – whatever work needs done!

Archie: I feed the lambs and bed pens. They are my main jobs, and I like having straw fights with Cameron and Finlay.

Have you always been interested in stock, and showing?

Finlay: We started showing at our local shows – the smaller ones to begin with, Straiton and Dalrymple. We started getting sheep ready for them and it all went on from there and now we go to Ayr and the Royal Highland show.

Mum and dad and other family members have been a big help and have always encouraged us and helped us with the showing.

Cameron: In 2019 we actually started our own flock, Twinsplusone.

Finlay: The Twinsplusone flock is all Beltex – we have got three gimmers, two tup hoggs and three ewes.

Cameron: We are actually hoping to sell two of our gimmers at Carlisle on May 22.

We bought our first ewe was from Donald Douglas, and we bred a lamb called Elvis from it, then sold him and made a bit of money off him and bought another gimmer to breed with from Ireland.

Finlay: We’ve done some flushing and embryo transfer when Dad’s been doing his, and we want to try and up our numbers over the next few years – that’s the plan for just now!

Do you always get on when you are working together?

Both: Not always…

Finlay: We have differences of opinion. We’ve started dressing our own sheep, so we sometimes disagree over that. We are quite competitive over who does the best job.

Cameron: We just about have a competition before we even get to a show, but we’re always pals by the end of the day.

So are Beltex your favourite breed?

Finlay: Definitely. We’ve been brought up with them and Mum and Dad have taught us all about them, so that’s what we know.

Cameron: We just think they’re the best all-rounder. They have just got a good arse on them, a good flat top, a good shape, good teeth, strong head, and good character – what more could you ask for in a sheep!

Finlay: You get a good carcassed lamb from a Beltex. The end product is what is important and they’re brilliant at that. Dad always says that Beltex are the ultimate improver in any breed when you use them for crossing, and we agree with that.

What was the first show you went to? What is your favourite show?

Cameron: We started doing young handlers at Ayr, then Dalrymple and Straiton, that same year, and now we go to the Highland Show. The wee shows are great for the good banter, we know lots of people and they know us, so it is always a great day out, regardless of what happens in the ring. The best bit of the show is the after party, regardless of if you’ve won or not won.

Finlay: You can’t just dive into showing at the big shows, you need to work away at the wee show, and you need to support the wee shows, generally.

Cameron: We’ve really been missing the local shows, we’re ready for a good day out with Uncle Boab from the Gass and the Dalwyne boys. It’s been a long two summers without them.

Instead of going to the Highland Showcase this year, we’re going to Drmsynie for a holiday, and we’ll just wait until things are more normal and hopefully go to the Highland next year. Nobody has been getting things ready the same, for showing, so we just decided to hold off and wait.

We’re really missing Ayr show, too. It is a show that’s got a special place in our heart. Dad is the chairman of Ayr show just now, and Aunt Lorraine is the secretary, so it’s a big family affair. We see so many people that we know there, as well, so it’s a special day out, every year.

Have you had any big show success stories, yet?

Cameron: At the Highland Show in 2019 me and Finlay did the sheep young handlers, and he came second and I came third out of a class of 40.

After the judging though, the judge actually said to me that I should have been second and Finlay third, and that he’d got us muddled up, so that story sounds much better to me! We like to have competition between each other, but we’re pleased for the other one too – most of the time! It’s not all about winning, it’s about taking part.

Finlay: Archie’s just getting started with his showing. Covid has stopped the first couple of summer’s that he could have done it more, because he is still just wee.

Have you had any show ring disappointments?

Finlay: There have been quite a few between different shows. It’s always disappointing, just getting a bad place but Mum says we always have to look up to the judge, make sure your sheep are right, and take what you get, so we just try and do that.

There is always the next show to look forward to.

Who do you admire in the show ring? What advice have you been given?

Finlay: We both definitely look up to Mum and Dad the most. They’re amazing at giving us lots of tips and advice about how to show. Dad says it’s mostly Mum though, because he’s too old now. We definitely couldn’t do any of it without their help and advice.

Cameron: The best advice we get is being told to remember to look up to the judge, check your sheep’s position and try your hardest. That’s what everyone said to us when we were getting started, and you have to think about that every time you take a sheep into the ring.

As well as that though, we always have to keep at the back of our minds that it’s not always about the judge. Someone round the ring could see your sheep and something could come out of it, so you have to concentrate the whole time and not take your eye off the ball.

What do you get up to when you are not busy with sheep jobs?

Cameron: I love to rugby. Lots of our sheep pals live quite far away from us, so we like to meet up with them and go on weekends away and things, when Covid lets us!

Finlay: To be honest, helping on the farm is the main thing, but catching up pals is also a big thing. Showing comes with a good social life.

Cameron: It definitely does. Even when you are competing with someone in the show ring, you make friends with them, and you see them every show, so they become friends for life. It is a brilliant way of life.

What are your big plans, looking to the future?

Cameron: Just now, my plan is to go on to be a livestock auctioneer at Lanark or Carlisle or something. Archie Hamilton at Lanark is who I look up to the most. I just like the buzz in a ring, when you are having to speak fast, and I like the banter with the buyers and sellers. I have been practicing for a couple of years now, and Archie’s said to me that he’d like me to help at Lanark in the future, so fingers crossed that’s what happens.

We’d both like to have a shot at judging shows in the future, too.

Finlay: I would like to take over from Dad and Grandpa on the farm at home. I really do look up to them and my other Granny and Grandpa from Broomknowes, and Mum and everyone on the two family farms.

They really help me and give me lots of advice. I also really want to buy a quad bike – that’s a big aim of mine just now. Dad says I need to keep saving.

What would you say to someone wanting to try showing?

Cameron: I think we would be always want to encourage anyone to give it a go. I would just say that you just need to practice and practice, and put in lots of work at home, before you even head to the show.

Finlay: I would just say to make sure you do everything right in the ring and do your best – and hope for best.

We’re keeping everything crossed for their being shows next year!