Halkirk top Highland Rally

 

Halkirk Young farmers came out on top at the recent Highland Rally held at Caithness Livestock centre by kind permission of Aberdeen & Northern Marts.  The event was a full day of competitions where members competed in a number of sections such as Industrial; Stock judging, Practical Competitions and Sports.  

 

The Hamilton Auction Mart Trophy is awarded annually to the overall top placed club of the Highland Rally.  After the results were announced Halkirk veteran Isobel Swanson said it was a monumentous achievement for the club with such strong competition on the day. Their haul of 80 points saw them just pip Nairn with 70 points and Bower with 60 points.

 

The Convenor for the event, Mr Stephen Sutherland, was pleased with the number of participants; approximately 100 members competed from six clubs.  Ross Sutherland YFC, Inver-Ross YFC, Nairn JAC, Bower YFC, Halkirk YFC and Forss YFC, all represented.

 

The Industrial Section of the Rally had a large number of entries.  Winning the Baking section of the Industrial Section, the Nan Howie Silver Salver, was Inver Ross YFC with 64 points.  In second equal place were Halkirk YFC and Nairn JAC with 48 points.   The overall Industrial Section Winners were Inver Ross YFC with 52.5 points who took home the Press and Journal Rose Bowl.   Following in second with 47 points was Nairn JAC and third place went to Forss YFC with 32 points.

 

The Stock judging Competition and the Practical Competitions took place at the mart in the morning of the event.  There were 99 members participating in the Stock judging Competition, making up a total of 33 teams.  The first placed team, and winner of the Farming News Trophy was Halkirk A, Bryan Sinclair, John Anderson and Gavin Munro.  Runners up were Bower A, James Barnetson, William Barnetson and Stuart Mackay and third were Halkirk E, Kate McNicol, Fiona Coghill and Sarah Jardine.  The best individual and winner of the Day Challenge Trophy was Euan Grant of Bower with 290 points.  James Barnetson of Bower was second with 282 points followed closely in third place by John Anderson of Halkirk with 280 points.

 

In the Practical Competitions the winners were as follows:

Digger Driving – Inver Ross YFC

Using a Tractor & Loader – Forss YFC

Fence Tying – Bower YFC

Welding (Stick and MIG) – Bower YFC

Identification – Bower YFC

Junior Class “decorated wooden spoon” – Nairn JAC

 

The overall winner of the Practical Competitions was Bower YFC with 25 points, in second with 23 points was Nairn JAC followed by Forss YFC in third place with 22 points.

 

The Sport Competitions took place in the afternoon of the event despite the torrential rain that fell.  Inver Ross YFC was first place in the boy’s football with Nairn JAC in second place.  Forss YFC took first place in the girl’s football with Halkirk YFC in second.  The Tug of war was won by Halkirk YFC with Nairn JAC and Bower YFC taking second and third place respectfully.  The winner of the Sports Trophy was Halkirk YFC with 26 points.  Nairn JAC was second place with 14 points and Inver Ross YFC was third with 13 points.