Blues lead Kelso averages

While the Bluefaced Leicester breed again topped the shearling ram and ram lamb average league tables and produced two of the three top sheep overall, demand was much more selective than in previous years.
Purchasers seemed to be watching the pennies – but it wasn’t the quality end that suffered. Reduced demand for those at the tail end resulted in more sheep selling at £300-£400 compared to previous years.
“Bluefaced Leicesters were a solid trade with the better end easily sold, but they had to be big and powerful with good skins. The bottom end were not nearly as easy to cash as they have been in previous years,” said Lawrie and Symington auctioneer, David Lowry, who sold the bulk of the Blues, adding that commercial rams were still making £1000-£2000.
It was the team from Midlock, Crawford – Allan Wight, son Allan and his son Ben, and shepherds, Brian Gilchrist and Iain Clarke – who again produced the sale leader when their best matched their £12,000 top of last year.
Star of the show this time and taking the second top price overall – next to Karen Wight’s Texel shearling, Midlock You’re The One at £23,000 – was Midlock Bronco.
Backed by some of the best bloodlines in the business, he is bred from the top breeding Midlock ewe by the £12,000 B4 Tanhouse tup, that has produced several five-figure rams, plus Midlock Mustang which was retained for breeding. 
The sire is the £34,000 record priced Blue, H1 Kirkby Redgate bought at Hawes, in 2015, in partnership with the Hamildean and Firth flocks.
A proven breeder, this tup bred some of Midlock’s £125 Scotch Mule ewe lambs along with ewe lambs shown at Peebles. He was knocked down Sheila Kay and son, Jack, who run a pedigree flock at Hartside, Lammermuir, and also breed large numbers of Scotch Mule ewe lambs.
The same sire also produced the second top Blue price and the only other five-figure sale at £10,000. 
This was Jim and Linda Dick and son, Colin’s pen leader from the Hamildean flock, from Stobo, Peebles, which enjoyed a flying trade. Their consignment of 10 shearlings led the flock averages at £2690.
Producing a personal best for them in selling for the past six years, was the pen leader which sold in a two-way split to Northern Ireland breeders, Graham and Julie Loughrey and Jimmy Mills, of the Temain and Ballytober flocks, from Limavady and Larne, respectively. 
Their purchase, which is bred from a ewe by Midlock Big Ben – a £6000 son of Midlock Mustang bought at Hawes in partnership with the Nunscleugh and Firth flocks – is also a top show winner having stood reserve inter-breed champion at Haddington Show and first at Dalkeith. As importantly, he bred eight of Hamildean’s £135 Scotch Mule ewe lambs sold at St Boswells.
Another shearling by the £34,000 Kirkby Redgate ram from the Dicks realised £3600 to JRD and JA Short, Ouston, Whitfield, Hexham. His dam is by the B4 Tanhouse ram.
Pedigree and Scotch Mule ewe lamb breeder,  Andrew Warnock, Dreva, Broughton, Biggar, bought Hamildean’s No 2, which made £4200. He is a direct son of Midlock Big Ben but out of a Marriforth gimmer by a Tanhouse sire that was bought at Hawes for 900gns.
Top priced ‘true blue’ was Matt and Connel Drummond’s shearling ram from Cassington, Maybole, which made £7000 selling to Devon pedigree breeder, Barry Nicholls’ Heddon Valley flock, from East Middleton, Parracombe. 
Another backed by top genetics, this lad has already made his presence felt at several events, having been champion at the pre-sale show, inter-breed sheep at Stranraer and Dalrymple and first at the Highland, is sired by a £1000 Auchry bought here as a lamb. The dam is a home-bred ewe by a W1 Teviot that boasts three reserve championships at the Highland and at the Progeny Show at Penrith.
Rams from Mrs Obie Sharp’s Newbiggin Walls flock, from Longcroft, Lauder, brought out by Alan Rogerson and Jimmy Brady, enjoyed their best trade to date, producing the second top average of £2260 for 10, backed up by sales at £5000, £4000 and £3800. 
The dearest, by the £9000 Duhonw tup bought at Hawes in 2015 in partnership with the Edlingham, Riccalton and Happrew flocks, is bred from a ewe by the £6000 E1 Midlock and sold to Garry McDonald, Stobo Home Farm, Peebles, and RJ Fallows and Son, Burnton, New Cumnock.
The £4000 shearling was by the same sire but out of a ewe by a C2 Midlock and was knocked down to R Jardine and Son, Upper Hardland, Balmaclellan, Castle Douglas.
Next best from the pen – all of which were used as lambs on the farm which produced 600 Scotch Mule ewe lambs to average in excess of £120 – was a £3800 sale for the No 3 shearling, a son of the £15,000 H2 Carry House, out of a ewe by the £19,000 C2 Midlock. Dunbar breeders, Hector Macaskill, Woodhall, and John Hamilton, Aitkengall, both Innerwick, forked out the cash.
Matching the £5000 bid and producing a best ever for Garry McDonald’s 22-ewe Mid Auchengray flock, from Stobo, Peebles, was a shearling son of an H8 Orra View ram bought at Ballymena. This tup is bred from a home-bred ewe by an F15 Cottage tup bought at Carlisle, and was knocked down to Sam McClymont and sons, William and Scot, who run the Auld Tinnis flock at Tinnis, Yarrow.
Jimmy and Wendy Bell’s Cottage flock, from Stobo, was another in the money, with a £4500 sale for their No 3 shearling, purchased by Cumnock breeders, John Guild, Laight, and James Nesbit, Orchardton. He is by a home-bred tup retained for breeding and out of a ewe by an E4 Hewgill that is a full sister to a £14,000 Cottage ram. Used as a lamb at Drumnessie, he bred some of Mr Gray’s top Scotch Mule ewe lambs recently sold.
Just behind, on £4200, Robert McTurk, Barlaes, Castle Douglas, bought the lead shearling from the Cunninghams’ Parkgatestone flock brought out by James and Lynda and daughter Leigh. Also used at Drumnessie as a lamb and the sire of Mr Gray’s champions at Stirling, he is the last son of the £18,000 Dalpeddar Buzz. The dam is by a £5000 Parkgatestone and one of 40 pedigree ewes in the flock.
At £3400, Hexham breeder, Martyn Archer, Carry House, sold an ET shearling son of the £10,000 G34 Midlock, out of a ewe by the G1 Highberries Highlander to WJ Scott, Low Leam, West Woodburn, Hexham.
Just behind, on £3200, Colin and Jackie Campbell sold the pen leader from their Happrew flock, from Stobo, Peebles, to A McKillop, Cushendall, Northern Ireland. Another by the shared £9000 Duhonw, he is bred from a ewe by the E5 Town Head.
Top priced ram lamb at £1900 was a traditional Blue from Matthew Seed’s Auchry flock, from Turriff, purchased by Steven Craft, Fife. He is by an H1 Myfyrian sire, is out of a ewe by a Cassington ram.
First time Kelso consignor, Alex Brown, Macqueston, Tynron, Thornhill, was also in the money selling a tup lamb at £1800 to Steven Buckley, Sittinglow, Buxton. This one is by the £8000 J2 Lunesdale.