Warwickshire Breeder to Judge up North!

The show season is fast approaching once again. The Lleyn Sheep Society will be supporting its members in the show ring with some impressive entry numbers reported.

Carol Burrows of Luscombe Farm, Snitterford, flock 213 has been given the honour of judging at this year's Great Yorkshire Show (GYS) in Harrogate.

Carol is well qualified for the task having previously won Breed Champion as well as Male and Female Champion at the GYS. Other successes include Reserve Champion at both the Royal and the Royal Welsh Shows and Champion at the Three Counties as well as much success at local shows. Both Carol and husband John have been active members of the Society and the Midlands Lleyn Breeders Club with John holding the position of Society Chairman in 2000.

Carol moved to Luscombe farm in 1980 to join John on his family farm. Previously Carol was a dairy herdsperson with her own flock of sheep.

The first Lleyn sheep were purchased in 1982 from Oswestry Market. Carol said "we bought the Lleyn because we wanted to be self contained". The sheep worked well with the rotational grass leys. When in full swing 450 ewes were run with half put back to the Lleyn to breed replacements and the other half put to the Charollais. A third of the ewes lambed in January to work with the early southern showing season and the rest lambed at the end of March. "The prolificacy was well over 200%" Carol commented. The breeding stock was sold through the Society sales and the prime lambs went to Farmers Fresh. Carol and John decided in 2007 to take life easier and retired form full time farming. The 180acres farm is made up of arable which is share farmed and grassland which is now rented out. Flock 213 sold as a whole to Crosby Cleland in Northern Ireland.

The Society congratulates Carol on her appointment as judge for the Great Yorkshire Show. I hope that you will be able to join Carol and the Breeders at the ringside on the Tuesday to see the judging take place.