INTEREST in the Lleyn breed continued to go from strength to strength at Carlisle, when rams peaked at 9000gns and cashed in to average in excess of £1100 on the year, which was a rise of more than £200 and followed on from a £132 increase the year before. 

With rams meeting a 75% clearance rate and a total of 33 breaking the four-figure barrier, females met a slightly more select trade but this was perhaps dampened by the fact many buyers were unable to make it to the sale on time due to an accident closing down the M6 motorway, the road linking Carlisle to the south. 

For this reason, the gimmer trade picked up half-way through but buyers were selective when it came to ewe lambs with only the bigger, ready for tupping sorts catching the eye while others failed to reach £80. 

Setting the top price of 9000gns was the pen leader from John and Ruth Dugdale, and son James, Borrins, Giggleswick, North Yorkshire. Tripling their previous best price of 3000gns was Borrins Fearless, by Borrins Echo, a home-bred son of a 6000gns Knowles Cragg ram, while the mother goes back to a 2008-born Lluest tup that added some power to the female line and is still going strong. Fearless claimed the championship at Westmorland Show in the week prior to the sale, and it was the judge, John Blakey, who forked out the cash to take him home to North Side, Netherton, Morpeth, Northumberland. 

This purchase was well and truly funded by two rams making 7500gns and 6700gns for John, sister Paula and daughter Harriet, who also surpassed their previous best of 3000gns. Their top tup and selling to John Geldard and sons, Charles and Richard, was Netherton Fearless, a son of the 750gns Borrins Arrow, out of a home-bred ewe from the flock at North Side. 

And, in a reverse transaction of the sale leader, the Dugdales paid 6500gns to secured Netherton Fabio, with this one sired by the 2000gns Fort Cracker bought a few years back.

Next in the trade stakes at 5500gns was the overall champion, a shearling ram named Lochar Firefly from one of three flocks run by Jim Goldie and sons, Hamish and Bruce, in Dumfriesshire. He is by the Plasucha Chief, and out of a hogg by the 18,000gns Lluest Nobleman. Sitting in the top 10% of the breed's Signet figures, he sold in a two-way split to Welsh breeders Helen Wells, Glaneri, Ferwig, Cardigan, and Twose Farm, Maenhir, Login, Whitland, both Dyfed.

There were more championship tickets and top prices for the Goldies when their champion pen of five gimmers sold for the top price of £400 per head via a phone bid to Ryan Bowie, Glencallan, Crieff.

Securing the top ewe lamb price of £300, however, was the first prize pen of five that went on to stand reserve pen of females from JG Morton, Bank Hall, Kirkland, which sold to Conor McConville, Barr Hill, Newry, County Down. 

See the September 30 issue of The Scottish Farmer for the full report, pictures and averages.