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The 2025 Scottish Smallholder Festival Results
The 2025 Scottish Smallholder Festival was widely acclaimed as one of the best ever in its 14th year, with excellent competition in the Sheep, Goat and Pig rings and a day full of attractions in the equine ring and across the show floor.
The Sheep Competition saw 29 different breeds forward in a record breaking year for entries. Specialist classes for the Icelandic, Hebridean and Valais Blacknose breeds were introduced alongside the traditional classes, and each breed saw a strong entry list.
The overall Champion was from long time supporters of the event, Mr & Mrs N Robson from Huntly, whose Blackwelsh Mountain ewe lamb “Loanhead Holly” was a popular winner. Reserve was the Ryeland Ram Lamb “Landriggs Fergus” from E&J Henderson.
The RBST Scottish Championship for watchlist breeds was won by Allan Grant from Anstruther with a Border Leicester tup “Mearns Maverick”.
The ‘Wool on the Hoof’ classes proved the most varied and exciting in this year’s competition. The winner overall and the best Northern Short tailed was the Manx Loaghtan from Alexandra King. The best Hill breed WOTH was won by Heather Clough with her Derbyshire Gritstone ram lamb, and Joanne Fisher took the Closewool class with her coloured Ryeland. Patrick Playfair from the Borders won the Longwool class with his Norfolk Horn.
The Goat competition at the Festival was a busy one, with 42 goats forward for classes. The overall show champion was the coloured adult dairy female from Miss B Fairley & Miss R Fleming. “Ballingall Roxy” was a popular winner and beat all comers to the overall championship. The reserve was also from the same stable with the adult dairy Anglo Nubian, “Ballingall Tanni” taking the prize.
In the RBST watchlist classes, the owners of “Monksfield Pennyblack”, Dr R Hannah and Miss S Agrell continued a winning streak over the last few years to claim the adult female class as well as the overall RBST championship. All of the show winners and reserves were bred by the exhibitors – a fantastic achievement.
Pictured is Ballingall Roxy the overall Champion shown here by Miss B Fairley
In the Pig rings the Rare and Traditional breeds judge, Mr Nigel Overend from Northern Ireland picked as his Champion the Landrace Boar “Hedgerow Dromus 180” exhibited by Ms Grace Bretherton making her journey up from Lancashire worthwhile. She also picked up the reserve with her Middle White “Brontegold Sovereign”. In the AOB classes, the Hampshire ‘Raisinhall Precious 14’ took the top prize for Mr S Roberts & Ms J Fairclough from Northallerton.
In the Kune Kune classes the big winner was “Oldehouse Rebecca Gina 3” exhibited by Mrs A Stephen from Aberdeenshire. This pig also went on to win the Supreme Championship for the show, a fantastic result for the breed and for the breeder.
Pig steward Alan Jamieson from Sauchenhall Farm, Kirkintilloch had to be content with the reserve in the Kune Kune classes, while Ms Grace Bretherton won the overall reserve show champion.
The Scottish Pig show goes from strength to strength, and we are seeing more interest from Scottish Breeders and great interest from the visiting public. A number of breed societies attended and bloodlines brought up to Scotland as a result of the show.
The judges with Mrs A Stephen and “Oldehouse Rebecca Gina 3”, supreme champion
The Equine Ring was busy throughout the day, with 12 separate breeds forward for the Parade, and the penning area proved a popular destination. This year we were delighted to welcome Georgia Plimbley and her team from Destria, Scotland’s pioneering equestrian arts and stunts company, who offered a rare glimpse into the extraordinary world of equestrian stunts, liberty work, and horse training for film and television. In a collaboration between the British Horse Society Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Ifor Williams at the Stirling Trailer Centre a travel safety demonstration promoted safer travels and awareness of best practice in trailer use and road safety.
Five seminar rooms ran all day, with talks focusing on best practice, biodiversity, growing, abattoirs, food and drink, practical lambing and disease prevention amongst many others. The SRUC Theatre was busy all day as was the Scottish Food Guide Theatre. The many traders in the Hall also had a good day, including 30 crafters in the 3D2D zone.
In short, the Scottish Smallholder Festival once again did not disappoint. It achieved its goals in informing, educating and inspiring those who attended whether as paying public, livestock exhibitors, trade stands, organisations or crafters. It remains a unique event celebrating the value of small producers to the Scottish agricultural industry.
