Two Beltex sell for £3200 at Kelso

BELTEX rams struggled to reach the heights of previous years and hit a top of £3200 on two occasions, resulting in a reduced average, albeit for more sold compared to last year.
The money makers came late on in the sale with the champion from the pre-sale show from the Buckles family the first to go under the hammer. 
The family, Kevin and Rachel together with sons Jack and Tom, welcome a number of top prizes and prices with their Buckles flock, but it was one from the boys’ Broxty flock that led, taking the pre-sale championship before selling to Michael Hall, of Scosthrop Farm, Airton. 
Broxty Brother is by Buckles Absolute, a tup that sold through Carlisle for 4500gns with a half share retained, while the dam is the former show ewe, Broxty Sizzle, by the 18,000gns Dooley Nepal. 
The Buckles, from Barras, Kirkby Stephen, sold another for £1700 to GV Farming, Kirkby Stephen.
Matching the £3200 sale was a shearling from John Guiry, but it wasn’t one of his own Glanton breeding that was in the money but rather a tup bought last year as a lamb at Carlisle for 850gns. 
That was Rathbone Bear, which was used John’s 40-ewe flock near Alnwick, before selling to R Jardine and Son, Upper Hardland, Castle Douglas. He is by Drumchapel Scooby and out of Longlands Sandy. 
Following at £2800 was the dearest of the shearlings from Stuart Wood’s Woodies flock at Woodhillock, Skene, with this one being the bought-in Smart Ass Bullseye. 
Originally bred by Dafydd Owen, he is sired by Georges V/H Triendhof, out of a daughter of The Godfather, Smart Ass Welshlady, and was knocked down to Michael Owens for the Glantre flock near Pontshaen, Dyfed. 
Stuart sold another shearling to Neil Harvey, Blackadder Mains, Duns, for £1700. This shearling was imported from Belgium as a lamb and is full of Belgian breeding.
Selling for £2600 to Messrs Knight, Low Broadleys, Calderbridge, who regularly top local prime marts, was a shearling from Grant and Gemma Anderson, Nether Stenries, Carrutherstown. 
John Hall paid £2100 to take a shearling Grant Maxwell’s from the Eildon flock at Faughhill, Melrose, home to Inglewood Edge, Dalston.
Airyolland Blackthorn was the last to break the £2000 barrier when he sold from Neale and Janet McQuistin to William McAllister for the Artnagullion flock near Ballymena, Northern Ireland. 
His breeding includes Dooley Nepal on to an Airyolland Pagan daughter. 
Another Airyolland shearling sold to R and A  Haywood, Newtonstead, Great Bavington, for £1800
On the other side of the balance sheet, the McAllisters sold a shearling to the Robsons at Yatesfield, Otterburn, Newcastle, for £1800. 
And Andrew Baillie, Carstairs Mains, Biggar, saw his dearest shearling sell to neighbouring breeder,  M Russell, Lamington, Biggar, for £1700.