Swales hit £40,000 at Kirkby

Despite a massive entry of 1036 Swaledale shearling rams catalogued for the annual two-day show and sale at Kirkby Stephen, overall averages improved on the year and for more sold.
With top prices of £40,000 and £38,000 backed up by a further 26 five-figure sales, some 807 shearlings rams were cashed to average £1883.58 – up £209.54 per head for 75 more sold.
It was the Cockbain family, who farm 1000 ewes on the fells above Keswick, who enjoyed the day the most though – achieving the top price of£40,000 for Rakefoot Major Tom. Third in the pre-sale show on the Friday, this son of a £2000 Eric Coates tup bought in 2014, out of a show ewe, by another Aygill sire was knocked down to Richard Harker, Grayrigg Hall; Mark Nelson, Bull and Cave and Matt and Craig Ridley, Haltcliffe.
Rakefoot also produced the overall champion on Friday, with Rakefoot Mortlock, making £9000 to Messrs Dowson, Bowes.
On the debit side, Rakefoot forked out £28,000 for Stan and Pat Brogden and son Thomas’ Helbeck Flash 13 from Helbeck, Brougth. He is by a Christine Clarkson sire and out of an old ewe by a Catlow tup.
Mark Nelson’s Bull and Cave flock is never far away from the headlines and this year was no exception, producing the second top priced ram at £38,000. This was a son of the £50,000 Grayrigg Hall, out of a ewe by the £50,000 Rhinestone Cowboy bred by Thomas Iveson. The buyer was John Richardson, Ghyll House.
With two other Bull and Cave rams making £17,000 and £16,000, to RS Harker, Overthwaite and Geoff and Carol Marwood, Long Green, as well as a host of other big four figure sales, the flock averaged in excess of £8000 for 14.
Two shearlings realised £35,000, with the first on the Thursday from Richard and Gail Harker’s Grayrigg Hall flock. A son of a £11,000 Wear tup, out of a ewe by a ram bought privately from Richard Hargreaves, it sold in a three-way split to Peter Lightfoot, Gillside, Penrith; George Hutton, Setmabanning, Keswick and Peter Lee, Morley Hill, Hexham.
Grayrigg Hall also produced the champion on the Thursday, with Grayrigg BRO 8, a son of the £10,500 Brogden tup. He made £24,000 to Derbyshire breeder Neil Richardson.
The second £35,000 bid came for the reserve champion on the Friday from Richard Hargreaves’ Meadowbank flock. His tup, Meadowbank Hallam 11, by the £42,000 Paul Hallam tup bought with the Grayrigg Hall, sold to a quartet of breeders to include Stephen Clarkson, Low Whita; Ghyll House; Thomas Iveson, Low Blackburn and Graham Scarr, Fawcett House.
Father and son duo, David and Michael Allinson, West Briscoe, enjoyed a cracking day too when their first shearling, West Briscoe Moonshine, made £30,000, to Gillside, Setmabanning and Bill Cowperwaite, Settle. The big tup by a £4800 Paul Ewbank, is out of a ewe by a Walton ram that sold in the top pen of draft ewes last year for £340.
Four shearlings hit £18,000 on the Friday with the first of those from JW and Porter and Son’s Summers Lodge flock purchased by the Dixon brothers of Half Penny House and Stainton Manor Farm, Leyburn.
James Beckwith, New Hall, also received the same money for a son of a £20,000 Helbeck bought by Sam Hodgson, Glencoyne.
Brothers Jimmy and Stan Harker, Murton Hall, also achieved £18,000 from Robert Wear, Howe Green, Patterdale, who got for his money, a son of the home-bred ram The Business.