The curtain came down on the season finale in quite dramatic fashion at Hawes Auction Mart’s annual two-day Swaledale ram sale with the final day producing a new centre record breed average of £2831.
Notably, the average over the two days was up a massive £386 on the year to level at £2226 for more than 500 shearling rams.
The golden hour of the sale came mid-way through afternoon on the second day, when the unshown shearling ram, Kisdon Lovely, from Christine Clarkson’s 170-ewe Kidson flock from Muker, Swaledale, sold for a colossal £92,000.
By a home-bred sire Christine had retained a half-share of, this cracker was out of a ewe by the £34,000 Bull and Cave champion which has been used successfully. While several consortiums had teamed up to buy the tup, the hammer fell on Paul and Sue Hallam’s final bid for their Arnfield flock based at Tintwistle, Glossop, in Derbyshire.
There were more fireworks to come when Mark and Chris Rukin of the Stonesdale flock, in Swaledale, received £86,000, for their pre-sale champion, Stonesdale Governor, from Alan Coates, Aygill. His purchase is by the home-bred sire, Stonesdale Dynamite, and out of a ewe by another home-bred tup by a Malcolm Taylor ram.

Adding to the celebrations, the Rukins’ second shearling, Stonesdale General, made £46,000. This was a son of a £12,000 Hallam tup, out of a ewe by a Bill Cowperthwaite ram, which sold in a two-way split between the Porter brothers, Stephen and Brian, of the Summerlodge and Oxnop flocks respectively.
The third Stonesdale shearling fetched £14,000, to WM Hutchinson, Redgate, Kaber, and Neil Richardson, Fernyford.
The highlight on the first day, came when John Dixon of the Stainton flock achieved his best ever with a £43,000 sale for Stainton Vector. This corker, by a Helbeck tup going back to the prolific Limelight sire, was bought by Mark Nelson, Bull and Cave, and Richard Harker, Grayrigg Hall.
Despite a late calling, the Ewbank brothers, Mark and Paul, enjoyed a cracking trade, achieving £30,000 for a shearling son of a Grayrigg Hall ram which goes back to their own breeding on its mothers’ side. He was bought by John Richardson, Ghyll House; Bull and Cave; and Bobby Blades, Scarr House, Muker.
Other highlights included a £22,000 bid for Dolphinseat Noble Eric 11 from WM Hutchinson, Redgate, selling to Stonesdale and Brian Thornborrow, Frith Holme.
Redgate was also in the frame alongside Neil Richardson, Fernyford, and Ian Bell, Askrigg, to buy a share of Ghyll House’s £21,000 shearling ram. Another by a Grayrigg Hall ram, he was twin to the lead ewe hogg at Tan Hill show.
It was also a day to remember for Barney Richardson, Fernyford, when he took a day off school and not only won the small breeders’ section, but also the overall championship on the first day. This was with a son of a home-bred tup going back to the £46,000 Eric Coates tup, which made £20,000 to John Bradley and Jack Wade.


LEADING prices:

Wednesday – Shearling rams – J Dixon and Sons, £43,000; BM Richardson, £20,000; B Thornborrow, £18,000; P Hallam, £18,000; WA and A Booth, £18,000, £6500; S Buckle, £12,000; RM Dixon, £10,500, £8000; JR and AE Airey, £10,000, £6000; TW Cowperthwaite, £10,000; PE and KA Sowerby, £9000; Haltcliffe, £9000; Hunter and Whitehead, £8500, £6500;  D and M Brown, £8000; G Calvert and Sons, £8000; F and MP Allinson, £6500; N Richardson, £6500.
Thursday – Shearling rams – MM and CL Whitehead, £92,000; MR and CR Rukin, £86,000, £46,000, £14,000, £6500; MR Ewbank, £30,000, £10,000, £8000, £6000; WM Hutchinson and Son, £22,000; W Richardson and Son, £21,000; RS Harker and Son, £20,000, £16,000, £10,000; JA Alderson, £18,000; TS Brogden, £15,000; SW Porter, £14,000, £12,000; CJ and AJ Owen, £10,000; T Robinson and Sons, £10,000; P Ewbank, £10,000, £6000; J and JE Bradley, £9500; GK Hird and Sons, £9200; JW Porter and Sons, £9000; CT Akrigg, £8000; TH Harrison and Son, £7500; A and JA Iveson, £7200; JR Rukin, £7200; BR Lawson and Son, £7000; KM and KJ Curwen, £6800.


Auctioneers: Hawes Auction Mart