Final preparations are underway for the annual Aberdeen Christmas Classic which will take place at Thainstone Centre, Inverurie later this month.
The two-day premier event, organised by Aberdeen and Northern Marts in conjunction with the Aberdeen Fatstock Association and supported by main sponsor Rapid Project Development (RPD), will be held on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 November.
A packed programme of events over the two days will see shows and sales of prime and pedigree livestock, including the Rising Stars competition as well as the Young Farmers and open stock judging competition, with £14,000 of cash prizes up for grabs. The event will once again feature a sale of Pedigree Heifers.
This year has seen RPD kindly donating two new trophies to the Young Farmers section, the first for Young Farmers Champion Haltered Animal and the second for the Young Farmers Best Pair of Lambs bred by Exhibitor.
Entries close for the Open Prime Cattle and Prime Sheep, Young Farmers Prime Cattle and Prime Sheep, Rising Stars competition and Pedigree Heifers sections on Monday November 11.
“The annual Aberdeen Christmas Classic is a fantastic opportunity for exhibitors to showcase their top-quality prime cattle and sheep to a busy ringside of buyers from across Scotland, and we encourage everyone to get their entries in before the closing date,” said ANM prime cull cattle manager, Tim McDonald.
“We are extremely grateful to all our sponsors and in particular we’d like to thank RPD for their continued support as main sponsor and for donating two new trophies to our Young Farmers sections. We look forward to welcoming everyone to Thainstone at the end of the month.”
Judging the Open Prime Sheep section is Stuart Stark, Bluebell, Alton Farm, Milton of Campsie, Glasgow and in the Open Haltered Beef Cattle section is Hugh Black, 74 High Street, Lanark. The Young Farmers sections will be judged by Louise Forsyth, WTS Forsyth & Sons, 21-25 Eastgate,
Peebles with Bill Cameron, Burnside of Edingight, Grange judging the Open Unhaltered Beef Cattle section.
At last years event, the Overall Christmas Classic Open Championship went to a February 2022-born heifer scaling 620kgs from Wilson Peters, Cuilt Farmhouse, Monzie which sold for the top price of £4,800. In the Pedigree Female Sheep section, the Champion Suffolk from the Innes Family, Dunscroft, Huntly took the top price of £5,000.