Hobby farmers Robert Tremayne and Nichola Osgood travelled from Kent to show their beloved Charolais cattle at the breed's national championship at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate and carried off the top prize.

The couple’s two year old heifer Marne Sweet Pea carried off the Breed Champion trophy, beating some of the best breeders in the country. After competing in their local show in Kent they travelled the 260 miles to Harrogate in the early hours of Monday to take part.

Nichola said they were amazed to win the Breed Championship. “We were astonished, Marne Sweet Pea is only just two years old, we are hobby breeders, we only have two Charolais.

“We knew she was good and decided to come up to Harrogate because it is the National Show. We hoped she would do well in the junior section but we were really surprised when she was declared breed champion.

“We are very small breeders, Rob came to join me at Goudhurst in Kent from Cornwall last year, although he had been breeding Simmentals for 25 years, and we are building up the business but we both have full time jobs, I run four village shops and Rob works on a farm. The National is always a good one to come to, there are a lot of quality animals and if you can compete with them then you are doing well, so we are really pleased.”

Celebrity farmer Adam Henson, who was drafted in to help judge the Charolais National Show, said: “Charolais are one of the biggest breeds of cattle, they came here in the 60s when we were trying to drive for productive livestock, and they’ve done an amazing job as a milk breed as very good quality beef and lovely to look at.”