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A POPULAR Ross-shire venue associated with the biggest agricultural event of the year hosted the Young Farmers Highland Rally at the weekend.
Members enjoyed being together for a full day of activities and competition.
The event was hosted by RNI District and held at The Black Isle Show Ground in Muir of Ord by kind permission of The Black Isle Show Society. NFU Mutual joined the event as main sponsor once again.
The Hamilton Auction Mart Trophy awarded annually to the overall top placed club at the Highland Rally went to Bower YFC with 96 points, ahead of Forss YFC with 73 and Halkirk on 56.
The day started with an impressive array of baking, handicrafts and team entries in the industrial section.
Bower won the Nan Howie Silver Salver for most points in baking. Second equal were Inver Ross and Forss. The Rose Bowl for club with the most points in the Industrial Section was also won by Bower.
The stockjudging took place in the morning with 161 members from each of the six competing clubs taking part. The first placed team, winning the Farming News Trophy, was Bower A made up of John Forbes, Alistair Macarthy and Jak Murray.
The best individual, and winning the Day Challenge Cup, was Bower member William Campbell.
Top placed female was Bower member Erin Hewitson. Tilly Munro, Inver Ross, was second placed female and in third was Lena Campbell, Forss.
In the junior section, first went to Erin Hewitson Bower, second place to Benjamin Rogers, also from Bower, and third to Tilly Munro, Inver Ross.
The practical competitions included digger handling thanks to Scot Agri who kindly provided the digger and judge. Michael Hunter of Nairn was the only member to complete the challenge with no faults.
Setting up a sheep race proved a tricky and time-consuming task. The quickest time was achieved by Halkirk members Lynn Ronaldson and Kris Sutherland with an impressive time of 6 minutes and 49 seconds.
The sports took place in the afternoon, where members competed in boys 5-a-side football, girls 5-a-side football, tossing the sheaf and tug of war. The overall winners for the sports section were Bower. Forss were second and Inver Ross third.
Rally convenor Margi Campbell said: “It was so lovely to see so many attendees – about a third more than we hoped for – and it made for a really close and interesting day of competition. We were really thankful for a lovely day weather wise and grateful for the help of so many that make the day run smoothly.
“Congratulations to Bower on their overall win.”
Results List
Industrial – Baking Section, Winner of Nan Howie Silver Salver
1 Bower YFC
2 = Forss and Inver Ross
Industrial Overall most points
1 Bower YFC
2 Halkirk YFC
3 Inver Ross YFC
Stockjudging – Team
1 Bower A – John Forbes, Alistair Macarthy, Jak Murray – 874 points
2 Bower C – Abbie Gunn, Isla Mackay, Caitlin Coghill – 859 points
3 Forss J – Robbie Levack, James Mackay, Rhianna Mackay – 857 points
Individual Stockjudging
1 William Campbell Bower
2 Murray Mackenzie Halkirk
3 Erin Hewitson Bower
Junior Stockjudging
1 Erin Hewitson Bower
2 Benjamin Rodgers Bower
3 Tilly Munro Inver Ross
Female Stockjudging
1 Erin Hewitson Bower
2 Tilly Munro Inver Ross
3 Lena Campbell Forss
Practical Section
1 Halkirk
2 Forss
3 Inver Ross
Sports
1 Bower
2 Forss
3 Inver Ross