How long have you had Borders? 55 Years. My father bought his first females and Ram from his good friend Norman Hughes, Tycanol, BL51F having been brought up on the home farm of Corriecravie here on Arran in the 1920s where BL rams were used on Scottish Blackface ewes. We won our first red ticket at Denbigh and Flint show in August 1966 and I’ve been an enthusiast ever since. At Clachaig we use homebred BL rams on many of the Blackface, Cheviot and Lleyn ewes, the resulting female offspring make excellent crossbred ewes and the wedders sell well both store and finished.

What has been your highlight from Selling/Showing?
Bringing out Bosolo Ghali (929949) for son Duncan who was in NZ to make £3000 at Lanark and who went on to win the Royal Highland as a 2 shear for my brother Jim, Eildon,BL44W.
Winning the Individual Interbreed sheep championship at the English Royal show in 1991 with Hillend Major (27447) who also went on to win the Royal Highland in 1993 and to date running the
only flock to have won supreme Championships at the Royal Highland, The English Royal, The Royal Welsh, the National show and breeding the Champion at The Royal Ulster.

What would you say to someone considering using a Border Ram or starting their own flock?
The Border Leicester is a great sheep to work with and handle and is very suitable for crossing with all breeds of sheep to provide good commercial cross bred females and wedders.
For those who have an interest in pedigree breeding and /or showing it is possible to make a start in Border Leicesters without spending the huge sums of money that it takes to get involved in many
other breeds.
Finally, the society is renowned for its friendly and helpful members, competitive at show and sale time but always looking to promote and further interest in the breed.

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.

I was previously Secretary from 1984 until September 1998. During this time, my full-time employment took me from John Swan at St. Boswellsin 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 hugechange 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 Borders? My family have kept them for generations, I started getting interested about 20 years ago when I showed a ewe lamb for the first time at the Royal Highland Show.

Why do you have Borders? Besides the family links to the breed I love keeping and showing Borders, they have a great character and presence especially in the show ring. We usually sell a proportion of tup lambs each year at Lanark as well as selling some females either at sales or privately. We also keep some tup lambs each year to cross onto a small flock of Herdwick Ewes. We find the “Bordwick” to be an excellent hardy cross ewe which is easy lambing with plenty of milk.

What has been the highlight of your career from showing/selling/judging? Standing reserve overall champion at the Royal Highland Show in 2014 with a ewe. She had been second in her class behind a great ewe from Jim Brown (Eildon) but followed her all the way to stand reserve overall.

What would you say to someone who was considering using Borders as a crossing tup and/or getting into the breed? Borders offer something for everyone whether you are looking for an eye catching breed to show or a good quality crossing tup to breed hardy, long lasting maternal ewes.

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 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!  

How long have you had Border Leicesters? All my life and father before me... so a long time! 

What has been the highlight of your career from showing or selling? Reserve champion at Lanark 2000 with Ditton Reserve which sold for £3400 to Knowsie. Getting female champion and reserve female on my 1st outing to the Royal Highland Show was also a highlight. I have also been privalaged to judge at all major and local shows

What would you say to someone who was considering using Borders as a crossing tup and/or getting into the breed? I've used Borders on Cheviots, Texels and Blackface ewes and all resulted in substantial breeding females. Try the Border, you won't be disappointed! 

How long have you had Border Leicesters? Our family have had Borders for over 100 years. My granny brought them with her when she married my grandfather and she took great pleasure in giving us and all our cousins ewe lambs for birthday presents.

Why do you have Borders? They are big sheep but so easy to work with. I love lambing time, especially the thrill of seeing new breeding coming through and I love trimming them up for shows and
sales. They look so elegant when they’ve had a “cut and colour”.

What has been the highlight of your career from showing/selling? In the sale ring gaining the record price in the Border Leicester breed for a ewe hogg in 2016. She sold at Carlisle female sale to Messrs Park and Baird for 1400 guineas. Our record was topped this year by a very good hogg bred by W & T Nelson (Kilphin)

What would you say to someone who was considering using Borders as acrossing tup and/or getting into the breed?
If you need a tup, don’t hesitate, buy a Border Leicester. They bring great conformation and hardiness and will last for many years as crossing tups.

How long have you had Border Leicesters?   My Dad bought our first Border Leicester Ewe in 1968.  Since then we have built a flock of 25 ewes and have had various successes with the breed.

What has been the highlight of your career from showing/selling? We have enjoyed selling a lot of tups throughout the years and also winning the highland show with a 2 crop ewe in 2017.

Why do you have border Leicesters? My Dad had always had them since I was young and always enjoyed working with them. We have enjoyed bringing out a lot of tups to sell and we also keep a lot of tups to cross our hill ewes to produce a longer lasting x ewe.

What would you say to someone who was considering using Borders as a crossing tup and/or getting into the breed? Borders are good cross to produce a hardy cross ewe that will last longer with a lot less mastitis problems. Border Leicester tups are also cheaper to buy and live longer allowing you to get more use out of them. 

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.