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you use all different bulls and never breed a type. It’ s only in the last ten years I’ ve realised that you don’ t breed a type that way. Breeding all comes down to families especially on the female side. The cows we now have can all be traced back to just three cow families and 40-50 per cent of the current cows are directly related to the heifer I bought from Walter Smith’ s Staffordbased Roughley herd – Roughley Ellebell.”
While Jim is allegedly taking a back seat on the farm the herd is still his domain and he’ s particularly impressed with the bull he purchased from France with another breeder Aled Edwards from Wales.
“ We have half shares in Fenomen. Buying a Limousin bull in the UK is very expensive so we had both gone to France for their national show and sale. Fenomen wasn’ t the one I had originally gone over to see with a view
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to buying and I hadn’ t planned on sharing him either but Aled said he was interested and it made sense. He went on to win the beef championship and we brought him over to the UK. We had our first calves from him in spring 2016. His semen went live on semen stores in January.”
Jim has had some proud moments in the show rings with his Limmies but he’ s always had one premise that he has followed throughout.
“ I always said to myself that I must never farm to show, the showing had to come out of the farming. My favourite moment was when I won with junior male champion at the Royal Show. I didn’ t get to bed at all that night!”
Showing has become very much a part of Richard’ s life too but for him it has been Shire horses that have provided the kick and it was Jim who unwittingly set him on his way.
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“ Dad had gone to a sale to buy a Shetland pony for his grandchildren and came back with one but also this Shire gelding. Typical auctioneering practice had brought about not having one without the other. The Shetland went up to my brother’ s place while the Shire stayed here. It wasn’ t long afterwards that Francis and Mark Richardson of Bewholme, who have Shires and are very well known in the breed, came calling one day and spotted the gelding. Next thing I knew I had swapped it for a mare in foal and my breeding and showing career with Shires had begun!
“ I now have five – two geldings, two mares and a two-year-old. I don’ t want to get any more than that as it is a hobby and hobbies can prove expensive when they’ re not earning anything for the farm. I joined the Northern Heavy Horse Society and now attend various
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shows with Francis and Mark and Johnny Philips. They took me under their wing and showed me what to do. We help each other. I’ m a willing groom for them and Mark’ s a willing plaiter for me, in fact he’ s one of the best in the country. I’ ve also now bred one or two good ones.”
Richard had the reserve gelding champion with
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