Special Livestock Events

The Anniversary Show and Sale of store cattle takes place at Thainstone Centre on the first Friday in January.

The 2025 event will be held on Friday 3rd January, with the sale commencing from 10.00am in Ring 2.

The RNAS host the annual Royal Northern Spring Show at the Thainstone Centre in February.

The 2025 event is set to take place on Wednesday 26th February.

The show hosts a variety of livestock shows and trade stands, including the Show & Sale of Pedigree Bulls and Exhibition Cattle in conjunction with AN Marts.

The Young Farmers Overwintering Competition hosted by AN Marts in conjunction with the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (SAYFC), encourages young farmers to take part in the buying and selling of cattle through the live auction system and in particular, to practice the art of stockmanship in the tasks of selection, feeding, presenting and parading animals for Show and Sale.

Thainstone hosts the Young Farmers Overwintering Competition in March.

The 2025 event will be held on Saturday the 29th March.

Caithness hosts their Young Farmers Overwintering Competition in April.

Thainstone Centre hosts Rare & Minority breed sales during May and August each year.

These auctions feature a diverse range of entries which attracts interest from all over Scotland. Entries feature minority breed livestock, including cattle, pigs, goats, and sheep, along with horses, ponies and rare breed poultry.

Please note: Sales of poultry are currently under government restrictions; we hope to return to poultry sales in 2025 however this will be considered closer to the Rare Breed Sales.

The annual Thainstone Spectacular Show and Sale takes place in August. Showcasing the best of commercial cattle from across Scotland.

Our 2024 Spectacular saw the Overall 2024 Born Haltered Champion tap out for a smashing £9,000.

Caithness Livestock Centre hosts the annual two-day sheep fair in September.

Notable events include the Show and Sale of Multi Breed Rams and Ram Lambs under the auspices of the Caithness Sheep Breeders Association, alongside the North Country Cheviot Sheep Society Show and Sale.

The Thainstone Pedigree Ram Show and Sale takes place every year in September, showcasing the best of MV Accredited Rams.

Categories include judging of Suffolks, Texels and any other breeds including Bluefaced Leicester, Border Leicester, Charollais, Beltex, Blue Texel and Dutch Spotted rams.

In our 2024 event, good trade with record averages was experienced with a top price of 4,800gns in the Texel Sale.

Thainstone Centre hosts the Shetland Pony Show and Sale in October.

The show attracts registered pedigree Shetland ponies from across Scotland.

In the 2024 event, the First Prize Stallion sold for the top price of 6200gns, with a strong average of £1055.54 across the sale.

The Christmas Classic, in conjunction with the Aberdeen Fatstock Association, is Thainstone’s last special event for the year, taking place in November.

The two-day premier event attracts top prime, commercial and pedigree stock with consignors joining from across the country.

Notable competitions include the Rising Stars Calf Show, open stock judging, and the Young Farmers stock judging competition.

The annual Christmas Show takes place at Caithness Livestock Centre in December.

The two-day event provides a great opportunity for exhibitors across the North of Scotland to show their top-quality prime cattle and sheep. The Baby Beef Competition is also set to return.

The 2024 event saw the Overall Champion in the Open Prime Cattle Section tap out for a top price of £5,000, selling to MacKay’s Hotel, Wick for the 25^th consecutive year.