My name is Stephen wallace BLB84 Slatehill, I come from Ballyclare Co Antrim. I started my own flock of borders in 2016 but have been involved with them all my life through my uncle the late Sam Agnew BL60L Ballynarry. My first ewes came from his flock and it started from there. Before my pedigree flock I would crossed my black face ewes with borders and still continue to. I have had good success in the show ring and my highlight so far would be winning RUAS ( Balmoral show) in 2023 with a shearling ram. I am very proud to vice president as I am the only second Ulster man to be in this position. I am very passionate about the border Leicester and hope to try and bring the breed back to the great breed that they are with the help of Richard Evans ( president) and the border Leicester society 

I am Duncan Whyte BL29Y Mearns flock 

I have had Border Leicester sheep since I was 16

I show at all my local shows as well as regularily at the Royal Highland Show and have been a previous winner of "Exhibitor of the Year"

Personal Profile

I have grown up with Border Leicester Sheep,my Grandad bought them for my father in 1959 and have been in every flock book since 1960 and have shown them every year as well.Originally they were buying rams to put on welsh mountain ewes and then started the Halton Pedigree flock.we still put 350 welsh mountain ewes to border leicester rams today selling welsh halfbred yearling ewes and ewe lambs at the annual sale at ruthin .There have been plenty of highs and lows but have stuck with them.Some off the highs in the show ring have been winning the Royal Welsh Show in 1999,2000 with the same homebred ewe,in 2008 with a homebred yearling ewe and last in 2013 with an aged ram Broomsgrove Bluesky.Two others high were judging the Great Yorkshire show in 2021 and especially The Highland show in 2022.I have met lots off people through Border leicester sheep and continue to do so as new breeders  are buying Border Leicester sheep.

I was previously Secretary from 1984 until September 1998. During this time, my full-time employment took me from John Swan at St. Boswells in early 1970 to Lawrie & Symington, Lanark, in 1985. I then went to Scottish Rugby as Ticket Services Manager in October 1995. The Society still retains a place in my heart. There have clearly been several changes, during my time away, the membership has fallen slightly but more so among the older generation. However there has been a huge change in the demographic of the membership. There are considerably more lady members and a significant number of Junior members. So well done Ladies and youngsters get out there and show us all what you can to do.

My time at Scottish Rugby gave me a great insight into big business and hopefully I can bring this to the table. Finally, a huge thanks to Council who have been a tremendous support on my return undertaking all sorts of duties, whether checking photos, flock book, membership, prizes,website, facebook, finances, the lot.
We have always been lucky to have had a good number of breeders on Council who have always been willing to take on and help with the various duties.
Lastly to the membership I may not have met you but whither in contact by phone or email it is always a polite and friendly conversation. So,thanks to you for your support

How long have you had Border Leicesters? My family have kept Border Leicesters for a very, very long time and are now the 2nd oldest flock in the flock book , personally Aged 10 my first border Leicester was a pet lamb called Poppy which I persuaded my dad to keep. 

What has been your highlight of showing / selling / judging? I enjoy showing at our local shows and we have won breed champion numerous times , and it's always great to see any sheep we sell go onto new breeders and do well at shows for other people. My judging career has only just started where i have judged Perth & Colmonel Shows both of which I enjoyed and I hope to be asked to judge more in the years to come. 

How long have you had borders?

Since 2016 when my youngest son decided he liked them, he’s never been near them since unless handed a halter or a bucket!

Why do you have borders?

They’re great characters and lovely to have around.  They are great mums (most of the time!), easy to manage and work well with our system. Shearing them is like shearing a giraffe but the size of the fleece is incredible.

What has been your highlight?

Winning the interbreed at the Royal Norfolk Show with my first shearling ewe and then winning Breed Champion at 3 counties show

What would you say to someone considering getting into the breed? Enjoy them, they are lovely sheep, prolific and friendly producing nice lambs which there seems to be a great demand for on the market for breeding stock and showing.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD BORDER? I purchased my first BL at Carlisle in 2019 after admiring the breed at the many shows I went to while showing my cattle.

WHY DO YOU HAVE BORDER’S? I am a big believer in British livestock breeds and wanted a breed of sheep that offered good growth rates, ewes with plenty of milk and a breed I feel I can help to expand in the present commercial markets.

WHAT IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR TIME WITH THE BREED SO FAR? Being asked to be vice chairman of the Welsh Region along with showing at Stafford County Show in 2021 getting all firsts and reserve breed champion with all home bred sheep after 2 years.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO SOMEONE THINKING OF HAVING BORDER’S? Firstly I would ask them to come and see the sheep I have. See the great characters they are, how easily they are managed and to see the quality of the lambs produced off grass and mothers milk and the returns they can offer on a large or small

As a family we have one of the largest and oldest Suffolk sheep flocks, about 25 years ago we bought our first border Leicester ram from Kelso to use on our April lambing suffolks to make commercial fat lambs and incredibly smart females to sell on for breeding. We’ve had a lot of show success with the shearling ewes including winning the commercial female classes at the royal show.

Seeing as the commercial cross was such a success we decided to buy our first border Leicester females and go pedigree in 2006, we started with a knowsie boomerang ewe lamb from Jim brown and a westforth what not ewe lamb from mrs m lampshire.

We have had amazing success at the Builth NSA ram sales taking away male and female champions, and of late taking the highest price rams at the Melton Mowbray rare breed sales 

My  name is Howard McIlwaine from Hillsborough, Northern Ireland.

I was introduced to the Border Leicester breed by the late R M Kirkpatrick, Mossgrove flock BL77E. I established the Temple flock BL85Win 1980 with the purchase of two ewe lambs from the Cavanhill flock BL535 and Ballywillwill flock BL15S , respectively.

My flock of Border Leicesters were a hobby for me as I worked full time in an Aerospace Company in Belfast.]

Notable successes include

Champion and Best Group of 3 at Cullybackey (2^nd Sale) 1989

Balmoral Show Champion 1991

Ballymena Sale Champion 2009

Ballymena Centenary Sale Champion 2015

I’ve  had the privilege of judging many Shows in the UK and Ireland with the most notable being, the females at Lanark,  Shearlings at Kelso and Tullamore Show in Ireland.

I have met so many people and made many friends through Border Leicesters spanning 44 years.

Social highlights include Ayrshire Flock Competition in Centenary Year 1996,  Burns Supper in the former McRobert Pavillion, Highland Showground 1996,  the Centennary Dinner at Edinburgh Sheraton and attending the Royal Highland Show for the the last 44 years.

Proud to have represented Northern Ireland on Council for many years.

Hi, My name is William Semple and i live in Northern Ireland. I started the Gortnagross flock (BLC23) after buying my first Border Leicester Ewe lamb at Ballymena in 2017 and 2 more in Carlisle the following January. 

I decided to start a pedigree flock as I really admired the breed especially at the summer shows and we were already using Border Leicester rams with great success on our Blackface ewes at home.

So far we have received great success both in the Sale and Show ring. I am grateful to be on Council as it gives me a chance to help and promote the breed I am passionate about 

Sarah Hudgins

In May 2021 I registered Farcroft Border Leicesters with just a handful of these magnificent sheep after buying my first from Carlisle rare breeds sale. Not being from a farming background it's been a steep learning curve but the Society and its members have guided me and after a fabulous year travelling the country showing off these beautiful animals my proudest moment came by winning the new flock exhibitor of the year award in 2024.

Mr Matt Steel

Border Leicesters have been in my family from the 1930s, starting with my great grandad H L Wrench. I grew up around my grandads flock (Don Wrench - Cae Hic), before starting my own flock (Cedidog) in 2021, when I purchased my first 2 ewe lambs from Solway and Mearns and a Tup lamb out of Lanark from Intock. These sheep started the foundations of my current flock. 

The breed has been a big part of my life and I now plan to keep the breed in the family for a long time and hopefully generations to come.

I currently have around 12 pedigree breeding ewes  and around 90 Improved Welsh mountain ewes, in which the Border Leicester rams are  used cross with to produce the Welsh halfbred lambs.

How long have you had Border Leicester?

I have owned Border Leicester since 2011.

Why do you have Border Leicester?

Having seen the Borders judged at the Royal Welsh show on a number of occasions, I was attracted to their graceful elegance and decided this was the breed for me.  Living on a small holding with minimal acreage I decided on the Borders as a hobby flock as there are not many flocks in Wales.  From the onset, it has been my aim to breed good quality yearling rams with the commercial man in mind and the potential of selling some to pedigree breeders. 

What has been the highlight of your career from showing/selling/judging?

Although I only compete at a number of local shows to support the rare breed classes of which I have won many breed championships on a number of occasions.  To date my main achievement has been gaining top price and top average for a Border Leicester yearling ram at the 2018 Builth Wells NSA Society Sale.  This was my first time of entering rams at this  sale and the bonus was to sell a ram to a registered Pedigree flock "Frensham Flock".  In 2019 I managed to repeat both top price & average at this sale for the second year in succession.

What would you say to someone who is considering using Borders as a crossing tup and /or getting into the breed?

As regards to using as a crossing tup, I always promote the breeds under estimated ability to produce prolific, hardy and efficient progeny for the commercial man. For new breeders, I would highly recommend this breed for a number of reasons, one of which is that they are, efficient to keep, easy to manage, producing good quality lambs and are very favourable in rare breed classes should they wish to show.

Myself & my family are still relative newbies when it comes to Border Leicester Sheep and really only got involved thanks to my son Euan, who, when he was 8, decided he wanted to keep his own wee flock of sheep. After visiting all the breeds at the Highland Show in 2016, he decided that Border Leicesters were going to be the breed for him! So, off we went to Lanark that year and purchased 3 foundation females & a tup lamb and the Shawsmill flock (B90) was born. 8 years on and he now runs 15 pedigree Border ewes.

We didn’t farm any sheep before 2016 but, after falling for the Borders, I decided (some might say stupidly), that I also wanted to start a commercial flock and was keen to use something that worked with the Borders seen as we had them already. Maybe not the most fashionable, we thought we’d have a bash at producing Scotch Halfbreds. Our commercial flock of North Country Cheviots began in 2018 with about 40 ewes and we have increased to about 180 ewes now (although there are a couple of texels in there too). This proved a good decision as the demand for Scotch Halfbreds is increasing as people start to see the benefits of them again as a maternal dam.

I still see ourselves as novices and continue to learn so much from other members of the Society and I can’t thank everyone who has helped Euan over the last few years enough. I hope that I can share that enthusiasm with any new members and will continue to use and promote the breed through our own farm business.

How long have you had Borders?  I sold a horse and spent the money on my first Borders in 1987 when John Drennan decided to disperse his flock.

Why do you have Borders?  They’re kept for selling shearling tups.  Showing started as a means of advertising them but now it’s something I love.  I’m pleased I’ve passed on the love of Borders to granddaughter Bella who has now started her own flock.

What has been the highlight of your career from showing/selling/judging?  Showing would be Male Champion ad Reserve Breed Champion at the Royal Welsh Show with a ewe.  Another highlight is very recent, I feel very honoured to have been invited to be Vice President of the Society and will do all I can to promote our wonderful breed.

What would you say to someone who was considering using Borders as a crossing tup and/or getting into the breed?  They produce great replacement ewes that last.  If showing is your thing then they are extremely stylish and catch the eye.

Sonya Smyth

My name is Sonya Smyth and I live in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, I'm the secretary of the Ulster Ram Breeders' Association, Border Leicester section which I took on in March 2016, although I had been helping out with the section before this and had got to know the members, the Association has a great bunch of people coming from all walks of life but all share a passion for the Border Leicester Sheep.

I have a few Border Leicester's which my grandchildren love, and although I haven't taken part in the local Agricultural Shows yet I love going to them, meeting up with all the members young and old, learning a thing or two and of course having a great day out so come join us.

How long have you had Border Leicesters? Since 2010

Why do you have Borders? We are dairy farmers and wanted to keep a flock of pedigree  sheep, that would follow the cows on the fields.  Then,  I was left a legacy in a will and thought buying a starter flock would be a wonderful way to honour the gift….and it was.  We sell from home gimmers and shearling rams each year mainly in Builth Wells at the NSA sales each year

What has been the highlight of your career from showing/selling/Judging?  There’s been a lot of highlights over the years but…..Winning both  Male and Female Champion the Three Nations Border Leicester National show in 2015, with the Ewe (unbeaten in her showing career) going on to win the title of overall National Three Nations Champion, beating her full brother.

What would you say to someone who was considering using Borders as a crossing tup and/or getting into the breed?  White faced, hardy, docile and trouble free.   The modern Border Leicester, is a well kept secret…until now!, Borders as a crossing sire offers, easy lambing, and wether lambs that sell well!