Averages: 546 ram lambs, £1354 (-£195); 19 aged rams, £855 (-£266); 41 shearling rams, £664 (-£149); 33 gimmers, £717 (+£20); 20 ewe lambs, £379 (-£159).

Despite trade slipping on the year for both Scotch and North of England Mules, prices held up relatively well at last week's marathon Bluefaced Leicester Association sale at Hawes, where prices peaked at £20,000 and a further six lots sold at or above the £10,000 bracket

However, without last year's £37,000 record price from the Wights of Midlock, and one less lamb selling at the magical five-figure price, overall ram lamb averages were always going to slip. This year's high at £20,000 was almost half that of last year's too, but with the sale boasting an 87% clearance for ram lambs, most vendors went home in a relatively confident mood.

Star attraction was the best from Andrew and Caroline Hunter's Steel flock from Bellingham, Northumberland. The couple who were selling here for the third time, equalled last year's best with a tup lamb backed by Midlock bloodlines on both sides. The sire is the £8000 G1 Midlock while the dam, a home-bred ewe is by the £10,000 G34 Midlock, a Midlock Mustang son. Buying back some of their own genetics, he was knocked down to Allan Wight and son Ben, Midlock, Crawford, Abington.

More than financing that transaction, Midlock's pen of nine lambs cashed in at £4556, in spite of an 11pm sale calling. Tops for this flock at £16,000 was their No 5, a son of the £6000 K4 Marriforth, out of a ewe by Midlock Mustang, selling in a two-way split to Mrs Obie Sharp, Newbigging Walls, Lauder, and son-in-law, Colin Campbell, Easter Happrew, Stobo, Peebles.

Another the exact same way bred from Midlock made £9000 selling to HW and G White, Hillside, Ribblesdale and N and H Bowker, Cowling, Skipton.

Matching the £16,000 sale was the pen leader from Derek Hall's Firth flock from Lilyburn, Penicuik, purchased by Northern Ireland breeders, Alistair Christie, Ballymoney and William Adams, Ballymena, who earlier pushed the Midlock lamb to the limit. Producing a personal best here was a tup lamb by the £6000 Midlock G37 – another by Mustang – this time bred from a show ewe by the G1 Nunscleugh. Firth topped the averages league selling four at £5025

Two sold for £11,000 including the pen leader from Martyn Archer's Carry House flock from Hexham, purchased by JC and E Pedley, Yore House, Lunds, Sedbergh and Shaun Procter, Musgrave. Fourth in his class at the pre-sale show, this cracker is by Highberries Highland, and out of a ewe by the G34 Midlock.

The next at £11,000 came from Robin Booth's Smearsett flock from Feizor, Austwick, Lancs. His first, by the homebred G11 Smearsett, affectionately known as 'Ted' is out of a Highberries ewe by the Z4 Hundith. Northumberland duo, D and M Teasdale, Haydon Bridge and W and PF Walton, Bardon Bridge, were the final bidders.

Other Ted sons sold to £8000 to Welsh breeders, Michael James buying for the Duhonw flock from Builth Wells and David Abberley of the Old Hemley flock from Brecon, Powys.

Richmond-based breeders, J Allison and Sons, Sealhouses, then went to £6000 for another Smearsett lambs by Ted.

First time consignor, Alan Shennan had a day to remember too, taking £10,000 for his pen leader from the Farden flock from Turnberry, Girvan. This was a lamb by the £7500 Blarnavaid – a shearling ram bought at Stirling last year in partnership with Andrew McQuistin – a tup that bred 24 of the top 40 Scotch Mule ewe lambs at Castle Douglas for Farden. Bred from a Highberries ewe that is a full sister to the C18 Highberries, by Y22 Ilkley Moor, purchased for £4500, he sold to four Northern Ireland breeders to include with A McKillop, Cushendall; I Montgomery, Ballymena; S Duncan, Crumlow and J Stuart, Garvagh.

Messrs Lord's Hewgill flock from West Dowgill, North Stainmore, Kirkby Stephen, also hit £10,000 for their No 4 – a son of the homebred H45 Hewgill which sired five of the lambs in the champion pen of Mules at Hawes and eight of the champion winners at Penrith. He is out of a ewe by E47 Hewgill and was snapped up by Stewart Park and Eunice Mills, SP Dalpeddar, Dalpeddar.

Hewgill also accepted a £9000 bid for another son of the H45 tup, from WC Porter and Son, Riddings, Richmond, and Ed Bulman buying for the Pheasant Hill flock from Northallerton and £7000 for another.

On the income side, Stewart Park and Eunice Mills, sold their best at £9000 for L9 SP Dalpeddar. This boy is by the J22 Old Hemley and sold to four Scottish breeders to include Iain Minto, Dolphinton; Katreen Malone, Pitcairn, Lochgelly; Alan McArthur, Cretlevane and Neil Laing, Biggar.

Following SP Dalpeddar into the ring, Jamie Pirie had another cracking trade, following on from last year’s successful debut. This year he had sons of last year’s £37,000 record breaking K20 Midlock, which sold to £9000, to the Harkerside, Shafthill and Far Town flocks of WA Dinsdale and Son, JW Smith-Jackson and J Rutter-Armstrong, respectively.

Jamie’s first lamb got away well too, again by the K20 Midlock, making £7500 to Paul Fairburn, Marriforth.

The champion from Michael and Ella James' Duhonw flock, by the G1 Midlock, out of the same ewe as his best mule breeder, by the D17 Hewgill 'Stork' made £6000.

Shearling rams sold to £4600 for the best from JA and R Caton, Otterburn Lodge, purchased by J and I Whitaker, Clapham with aged rams peaking at £3000 from J and K Metcalf and Son, bought by Paul Hallam, Derbyshire

The gimmer trade was led by a £2000 sale for the second prize winner from J Buckle, Buckles, bought by R and AR Hunter, Redmire, Leyburn.

LEADING prices

Ram lambs – J Hunter and Sons – £20,000, £1900; C and D Hall, £16,000, £2100; J Wight and Sons, £16,000, £9000, £6200, £2500, £2200, £1800. WA and A Booth, £11,000, £8000, £6000, £5000, £3800, £3000, £2800,

£2500, £2400, £2000, £1800; RD Archer and Son, £11,000, £3200, £2500 x 2, £2200, £2000, £1800 x 2; Messrs

Lord, £10,000, £9000, £7000, £6000, £3800, £3500, £2200, £2000; RJ Shennan and Sons, £10,000, £1800; Park

and Mills, £9000; J Pirie, £9000, £7800; S Allan and Sons, £8000, £3500; R and PE Hargreaves and Sons, £8000,

£4000, £3200, £2500; CT and JE Willoughby, £7500, £5000; WC Porter and Son, £7000, £4000, £3200, £2800 x

2, £2500 x 2, £2200, £2000, £1800; JW Smith Jackson, £6500, £3400, £2400; JA and R Caton, £6000, £5500,

£4500, £2000; G Rawsthorne, £6000; M James, £6000; I and P Brown, £5000, £1800; JC and E Pedley and Sons,

£5000; WM Hutchinson and Son, £5000, £4500, £3800, £2200, £2000 x 3, £1800; Messrs Lawson, £4800; J

McQuistin and Son, £4000, £2700, £2500; M Porter, £3000; H Huddleston and Son, £3000; GP Taylor and Sons,

£2600, £2200, £1800; Kilnstown Farms, £2800; J and K Metcalf and Son, £2800; G and HR Shields, £2800, £2000,

£1800 x 2; RJD and FJ Wilson, £2600; Breck House Enterprises, £2500; W and D Lawson and Son, £2200, £1800. D Curr and Son, £2200; AC and K Pye, £2200; MR Thornborrow, £2100; J Allison and Sons, £2000; JC and E Pedley and Sons, £2000; J and A Brown, £2000; WA Dinsdale and Son, £2000; E Fairburn and Sons, £1900; J Hunter and Sons, £1900; MW and CM Ridley, £1800.

LEADINGFLOCK averages

Firth (4) 16,000 5025.00

Hewgill (9) 10,000 4989.00

Steel (5) 20,000 4930.00

Blarnavaid (4) 9000 4750.00

Farden (3) 10,000 4467.00

Midlock (9) 16,000 4556.00

Smearsett (15) 11,000 3520.00

Otterburn Lodge (8) 6000 2750.00

Penhill (6) 7500 2450.00

Carry House (14) 11,000 2421.00

Shafthill (6) 6500 2283.00

Redgate (16) 5000 2088.00

Riddings (20) 7000 2180.00

Auctioneers: Hawes Auction Mart