Young breeder leads Hawes trade

This was due, in part, to rams not hitting the highs of £60,000 and £55,000 at the 2017 event coupled with many rams selling below the £100 mark and even as low as £50. That being said, the Swale boys remain relatively optimistic and were willing to take the highs with the lows, and a sound commercial trade from Scotland added to the Hawes spirit.

It was, in fact, the champion and reserve from the sale on day one that topped, and it was the reserve from young breeder, Brandon Acton, who runs around 60 ewes in the Ashes flock together with his brothers, Macaulay and Owen, that led the trade at £32,000. Named Ashes Frisky, this first prize shearling from the small breeders’ class is among the first crop to sell by the £30,000 Intake ram bought at Hawes from Mark Ewbank in partnership with the Ghyll House and Bull and Cave flocks, while his dam is a ewe bought for £400 from Porters which is in turn by a £40,000 Aygill. Come sale time, many thought this lad would stick at his opening bid of £1000 before momentum took over and he was knocked down by auctioneer Raymond Lund for £32,000 to Geoff and Carol Marwood, Long Green.

Early on day one, the champion from the Rukin family – John and Barbara together with sons, Chris and Mark – followed on at £28,000 when snapped up by Peter Lightfoot, Glenridding, and David Allinson, West Briscoe. Achieving the 600-strong Park Lodge flock's best price to date and first ever championship at Hawes, Park Lodge Jackpot is by a ram from the family's other flock, a Stonesdale tup retained for breeding that had sired rams to £8000 last year. This third prize tup hogg from Tan Hill Show is bred from a ewe by a Richard Harker sire.

Brothers Chris and Mark brought in a further £12,000 when Stonesdale Iconic, their second prize winner in the larger breeders' section, sold two ways to S Reynoldson and Son, Thwaite, and the family's Park Lodge flock. Bred from one of the best ewes in the 600-head flock, a now eight-shear by a Peter Lightfoot tup, Iconic is by a Claughton-sired home-bred ram called Stonesdale Dynamite that bred the brothers' £86,000 Stonesdale Governor a couple years ago.

The dearest to sell on day two was a third prize ram from young brother and sister duo, Josh and Annie Harker, Overthwaite, which attracted a top bid of £22,000 and sold in a two-way partnership to Mark Nelson, Bull and Cave, and Craig and Matt Ridley, Haltcliffe. The sire of this lad is a £12,000 Richard Hargreaves ram whose first crop peaked at £12,000 last year, while his mother is by a £45,000 Long Green, from which a son matched that £45,000 at Kirkby Stephen last year for the family's Overthwaite flock.

Funding that transaction, Mark Nelson and his wife Christa, who run 400 pure Swales and put a further 400 to the Bluefaced Leicester, welcomed £19,000 for their Bull and Cave Intake, a third prize tup. Out of a ewe by a John Porter ram bought five years ago, his sire is a home-bred ram that sold to Ghyll House two years ago for £38,000 from which Mark later secured a quarter share. This one heads to work at Marshaw Farm, Abbeystead, for KM and KJ Curwen.

Having secured a share of the champion on day one, David Allinson sold his best from the 650-strong West Briscoe flock run together with wife Heather and son Michael, for £18,000 on day two. The breeding here features Mark Ewbank's champion from three years ago, a £34,000 purchase which bred the flock's £16,000 shearling here last year, on to a ewe by an £18,000 Helbeck which has in turn bred shearlings to £6500. Forking out the cash was Edward Parkinson, Dunsop Bridge, with a share retained by the Allinsons.

Hitting the £15,000 mark was Mossdale Delaney from John Thorpe and Mary Dawson, who run more than 1200 ewes between Mossdale – which they took on from Patrick and Kirsty Sowerby back in 2013 – and Blackburn, from which 480 are bred pure with around 800 crossed to the Bluefaced Leicester. Their topper is by a £25,000 Kenny Whitehead-sired home-bred ram, whose dam is a full sister to the £65,000 ram sold a few years ago, while his mother is by Mossdale Innkeeper. Delaney caught the eye of JC White and M and DM Wilson, both Lunedale, with a share retained by John and Mary.

Helbeck Hippy 7 from Stanley and Pat Brogden, who farm 500 Swales alongside son Thomas' Texel cross females, was knocked down in a two-way split to Neil Richardson, Derbyshire, and Messrs Cockbain and Son, Keswick, for £13,500. He has some good breeding behind him as his sire, a Stevie Clarkson ram named Swaledale Hippy bought at Kirkby Stephen for £7000 as a five-shear, also produced the £60,000 Helbeck Unique that topped the sale here last year. His mother is a home-bred ewe by Buttrigg Limelight, a similarly-bred ewe to Unique's dam.

It was a good day for brothers, Paul and Mark Ewbank, when rams from Paul's Draymans flock secured the champion and reserve honours on day two before selling for £12,000 and £2500, while entries from Mark's Intake flock matched that £12,000 with another at £10,000.

First in was Paul's champion from the Draymans flock of 450 ewes which is full of Grayrigg Hall breeding, being among the first crop by the £16,000 'young' Grayrigg Hall while his dam is by the now six-shear 'old' Grayrigg Hall bought for £5000 whose sons have peaked at £34,000. This lad was another to sell two ways, with Bull and Cave and Paul Hallam, Arnfield, each taking a half share.

Paul's reserve champion, which was bred the exact same way, realised £2500 when sold to JM and JJ Dawson, Littledale.

With the brothers sharing rams but running their flocks separately, that same young Grayrigg Hall sire was behind Mark's dearest two from his 450-ewe Intake flock, from which the £12,000 ram sold to Robin Booth, Old Hall Cottage, Feizor. This lad's mother is an old Viceroy ewe, which goes back to a successful show ewe.

And at £10,000 when sold in a two-way split to the Rukin family and Brian Thornborrow, Frith Holme, was another by the young Grayrigg Hall but this time bred from a daughter of the £10,000 Aygill Bonanza which sired a £52,000 ram back in 2010.

Former shepherd, Robert Tennant, who secured his own tenancy just seven years ago and now farms 350 Swales alongside 20 Aberdeen-Angus cows, welcomed his best ever trade when Hemplands Atley went under the hammer at £11,500. Atley sold to Arthur Slack, Stoneriggs, who takes home a son of the £16,000 Richard Harker ram bought two years ago in partnership with the Ewbank brothers, bred from a ewe by a Mark Ewbank tup bought five years ago at Kirkby Stephen.

Father and son team, William and Richard Hutchinson, saw their Dolphinseat Godfather 1 go under the hammer at £10,500 when snapped up by the Kelsalls, Clapham, and P Capstick, Newbigging on Lune. This lad's mother in the 800-strong flock is from a money-making line, being by the £46,000 Eric Noble tup that has sired rams to £22,000 for Dolphinseat as well as £45,000 for others in the partnership, while his sire is the £30,000 Ghyll House Godfather bought at Kirkby.

A total of four rams sold for £10,000 apiece with the first of these being Oakbank Elvis from Patrick and Kirsty Sowerby's flock of 400 ewes. He was more than making up for his sire's purchase price, a £1200 Bull and Cave bought three years ago which also bred the £38,000 Oakbank sold last year, with this lad in fact selling to the same buyer, John Bland, Thwaite Bridge, with the Sowerbys retaining a share. The mother here is by a £25,000 Brogden ram.

With buyers keen to secure top rams at the final sale of the season, the further two £10,000 rams were sold late on day two. One of these was Nova Puffing Billy, the first prize ram in the small breeders’ class from brothers, Martin and Stuart Sunter. His sire, a £12,000 Paul Hallam ram bought four years ago, has been a consistent breeder with sons to £13,500 and £13,000 last year, while his mother is a Redgate-bred ewe by a Coates ram. Forking out the cash were three breeders – Bobby Blades, Scarr House, Messrs Hunter and Whitehead, Thwaite, and JW Porter and Son, Low Oxnop.

The last ram to break the five-figure barrier when sold to A and AJ Iveson, East Shaw, for £10,000 was Fawcetts Aguero from Graham and Joyce Scarr. The sire here, a £14,000 Paul Hallam tup shared between Thomas Hardiston, Christine Clarkson and Stevie Clarkson, has produced sons to a top of £22,000 for Fawcetts, while this shearling's mother from the flock of 300 pures alongside 250 ewes for the Mule job is by a £9000 Paul Hallam ram.

Averages: Wednesday, 266 rams, £1428 (-£905 for 51 fewer sold); Thursday, 250 rams, £1681 (-£369 for 71 fewer). Overall, 516 rams, £1551.