Dunlops of Holehouse share their top tips in show cattle

Father-and-son duo Hugh and Stewart Dunlop, alongside Stewart’s wife, Penny, run 100 cattle and 100 ewes across 220 acres. It is a full team effort with Stewart’s papa, William – aged 86 – also down on the farm every day keeping everybody right.

Stewart and Penny are gearing up for the back end show circuit Hugh’s partner, Claire Sangster, also lends a hand where she can when she is not working full time as a sales executive for United Auctions.

“We are aiming to breed commercial cattle that are in the top percentage in local markets as well as keeping the odd one for showing purposes,” said Stewart, adding that all cattle are sold store at 11-12 months of age. This year the spring-born calves averaged £1710 with the autumn-born entries cashing in at £1700, mainly through United Auctions’ Stirling centre.

Stewart and Penny are gearing up for the back end show circuit Selling 90 heifers and steers annually, these tend to go to regular buyers year on year, which backs up the quality of stock at Holehouse.

Calves are creep fed on straw, with spring calves coming inside at four to five months of age, with the back-end calves being fed from a month old.

Calving is split 60:40 to spring and back end with their own home-bred heifers calving down at 21/2 years of age. All cattle are wintered in cubicles and slats at Holehouse.

The Holehouse team from left: Claire, Hugh, Willie, Penny and Stewart The aim is to retain six heifers annually as well as buying the same number in again at Stirling to introduce new bloodlines to the herd. Breeding cattle are also artificially inseminated as opposed to investing in a bull.

“It means we can be selective with our breeding and pick the genetics we want – matching up individual cows and bulls to try something new, although we are not saying that it always works out the best,” said Hugh.

The cattle team lined up for LiveScot in just a couple of weeks time Penny added: “We are able to sample a few different bulls rather than putting all of our money into one which might not suit all types of cows. It doesn’t work out any more expensive, but it just suits our system.”

Stewart ventured into his own pure herd of Limousin cattle in 2020 when he purchased Millburn Mojito, an in-calf heifer, at the Millburn dispersal.

Calving is split 60:40 to spring and back end “The plan was to run a small quality herd of Limousins, as I wanted to have something of my own which would hopefully be successful in the future. The Limousin is the terminal sire that we use so it was only natural this was the breed for me to make a start in.

“The goal is to hit the headlines at sales, but there is a lot of work for me to put in until then. It is an expensive breed to try and make a start with,” said Stewart, adding that Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Calves will be crept fed on straw, with spring calves coming inside at four to five months of age, with the back-end calves being fed from one month old Penny’s new goal is her small flock of Texel sheep, which she has been building up for the last couple of years.

“I was brought up with Texels – again they are a good terminal sire and the No. 1 on the market,” she said adding that she looks to breed shearlings to sell at Kelso Ram Sales, which she has being doing for the past two years.

All cattle are sold store at 11-12 months of age mainly through United Auctions' Stirling centre Having exhibited at calf shows and winter primestock events for almost 40 years, Hugh has won a heap of top awards but with the next generation coming through, the showing is more in the hands of Stewart and Penny. With both having full-time professions, the commercial show cattle take up their dark nights and weekends to ensure they are ready.

Penny is a farm animal vet at MBM vet group in Kilmarnock, while Stewart runs his own joinery business, Holehouse Joinery. “We want a show calf that has a flashy head, width throughout and overall be a well-balanced animal,” said Stewart, who prefers the black Limousin heifer type, with his father still traditional and with a soft spot for those ginger Charolais heifers.

Hugh added: “Correctness is vital, and legs are a major thing in cattle – calves must also have that show style and presence. There needs to be a balance between muscle, fat cover and locomotion.”

Selling 90 heifers and steers annually these tend to go to regular buyers year on year, which backs up the quality of stock at Holehouse On the genetics front, Hunters Hall Nutcracker has done well for the team, and the Wispa family has bred numerous show winners. Wispa was purchased from Duncan Semple, Dippen, in 1998 and her genetics are still at the fore.

Last year, a great-granddaughter, Barbie, did well at calf shows and has been retained for breeding. Again, everything is AI’d to Limousin, British Blues and the odd Charolais.

The back-end shows are the focus for the team, kicking off with Agri Expo then Stars of the Future before heading to LiveScot and normally the Welsh Winter Fair. This is the first year since 2015 that the Dunlops have made the decision to give the Welsh a miss.

Limousin and British Blue crosses are the main breeds at Holehouse “LiveScot is the one to win. It is the one on home turf, our family and friends are there and want to see us doing well,” said Stewart, adding that the family won the event in 1998, 2007 and 2009. The team got close again two years ago, bagging the reserve supreme and home-bred championship with the heifer, Martha Mae, a Huntershall Nutcracker daughter retained for breeding.

Hugh has always been an enthusiast of LiveScot being the chief cattle steward and is an active trustee, putting in long hours to make the event possible.

​Last year was a year to remember at Agri Expo, when they lifted the supreme championship trophy with Queen of Hearts, a black Limousin cross heifer, also by Nutcracker. She was then sold at the Welsh Winter Fair for £6200 to Gareth Corrie.

In 2021, the team bagged the runner-up at the Welsh Winter Fair with their heifer, Tidy Dancer, which sold for £10,000 to James Alexander, Jalex. She was then sold on as an in-calf heifer for £23,000 at one of the Jalex Select sales.

Breeding top end commercial cattle is the main aim at Holehouse However, the family’s top price was achieved in 2004 when their Charolais cross home-bred heifer, Dancing Queen, sold for a record price of £16,000 at the Royal Smithfield show in London. She was also a daughter of Wispa.

“Dancing Queen was a favourite from day one,” said Hugh.

“As soon as she was born, we knew there was something special about her.”

Going further back, Hugh won the famous Smithfield, on four separate occasions – 1996, 2002, 2004 and 2010.

In the summer, the team also venture to Ayr Show, the Royal Highland, and a couple of local shows.

Queen of Hearts stood champion at Agri Expo in 2023 Photographer: MacGregor photograhphy “We don’t aim for summer shows and won’t have the same beasts out in summer and winter – our primary focus is on the back-end shows – but we enjoy a summer holiday,” said Stewart and Penny, who didn’t show this summer when they were getting married at Penny’s home farm in Aberdeen.

They last bagged the top ticket at the Highland in 2019 and 2015 with home-bred British Blue cross heifers. “We are always on the hunt for new genetics and looking to try new things, to come up with the next best calf.

“We are going to continue to aim to breed the best we can and hopefully pick up some prizes along the way.

“There is a lot of pride in winning with a home-bred show animal,” concluded Stewart.

Farm facts

Involvement: Father and son duo, Hugh and Stewart Dunlop, alongside their partners Claire Sangster and Penny Dunlop respectively.

History: The Dunlop family purchased Holehouse in 1996.

Acreage: Farming 220 acres, of which 100 is owned and 120 is rented.

Livestock: Running 100 cows, which are predominantly Limousin and British Blue cross commercials. Alongside 100 ewes, 50% are Cheviots, which are used to breed Cheviot Mules going to the Texel terminal sire, with lambs sold live through Ayr auction market.

On the spot questions

Best investment:

Stewart: ‘The weigh scales for accuracy when dosing etc.’

Penny: ‘Self-locking yokes for vet work’

Hugh: ‘Penny – with her profession!’

Best tool for preparing show cattle: Clipping crate

The secret to show preparation: Long hours, hard work and patience. The hard work should all be done by the time you get to the show.

Best advice: Never be too big for your boots.

All-time favourite show:

Hugh: Smithfield at Earls Court for the excitement, camaraderie and friendships that were made.

Stewart and Penny: Livescot.

Photographs by Isla Campbell