A hobby farmer from the Carman area beat out some of the larger cattle operators from across North America to take home top honours at the Canadian Western Agribition Texas Longhorn show in Regina last week.

Darryl Swark's mature cow, named Missy, was selected as the Grand Champion Female Texas Longhorn, and his six-month old bull calf won the Reserve Grand Champion.

The owner of D&S Cattle Company said he had no expectation of winning anything at the show.

"It was quite shocking for me. I've been to a couple of smaller shows over the last year or two, but this was the first big show that I've ever gone to."

There were over 50 animals entered in the show from across western Canada, Ontario and Wyoming.

Swark says winning two of the categories took him by surprise since he doesn't really make his living from raising cattle.

"I'm actually a carpenter by trade. I build houses and kitchen cabinets and small furniture and I have, as a hobby, three cows right now and I've just purchased a couple more heifers, but most of my time is dedicated to carpentry."

It's been 24 years since Texas Longhorns were last featured at the show.

The six month old Texas Longhorn bull that was selected as Reserve Grand Champion