Suffolk Show 2017: Paul and Anita do ‘the double’ after scooping interbreed supreme beef title for second year in a row

Two Suffolk Show stalwarts are celebrating after scooping the interbreed beef cattle championship for the second year in a row.

After about 35 years and 25 years respectively of competing at the event, Paul Barwood and Anita Padfield, who keep a 50-strong herd of Limousins and commercial beef, finally achieved their dream of scooping the interbreed for the first time last year.

And this year the couple, from Potter Heigham, in the Norfolk Broads, were celebrating again on Day 2 of the event after British Limousin Burnbank Jenny, this time with calf at foot, did it again.

'It's the second year she's won this prize, which is quite an achievement,' said Anita.

'I bought her as a calf in 2014 and this is her first calf we have bred from her.'

She was 'very excited' at the win. 'It's just emotional for her to have done it two years on the trot.'

Paul said was 'very pleased'. 'I have been trying to win the interbreeds for 35 years since I have been coming here,' he said.

Stockman Darren Knox was also celebrating after his Charolais scooped the reserve interbreed title.

Darren, who works for John and Jenny Knox at Nayland, near Colchester, looking after their pedigree herds, also keeps his own herd of Charolais.

And it was one of these, Drumshane Mademoiselle, which caught the judge's eye. 'I'm very pleased - she's only a baby heifer - only 14 months old,' he said. 'We are very happy with it - we bred her ourselves.

Beef interbreed judge Stephen Illingworth, who was on his first visit to the Suffolk Show, said the trip had been 'quite an eye-opener' due to the high quality of the entries.

'It's lovely. The same with the cattle. I didn't think there would be so much cattle down here, but the quality is excellent.' As a Limousin breeder himself, he considered himself especially critical, but in this case, he felt the quality of the winner was outstanding.

'I couldn't go past that. It stood out. It was a clear winner because it was a big-made cow, it had the looks, it was also doing what it's supposed to do commercially and it had a good calf at foot.'

The reserve Charolais was 'stylish' and had 'so much presence in the ring'. 'For me, it had that eye appeal,' he said.