The world record price for a working sheepdog at an official sale was smashed at Skipton Auction Mart’s sale when Northumberland shepherdess, 34-year-old Emma Gray, hit 18,000gns with her 2½-year-old black and white bitch, Megan.

The July, 2017-born, Megan arrived with some of the best bloodlines in the business, being related on both sides to many top-performing trials dogs, International sheepdog society’s supreme and international champions among them.

Megan found a new home in Oklahoma in the United States, with Brian D Stamps, of Tuttle, in Grady County.

She is by twice international champion, Roy, from Welsh breeder, Ross Games, of Talgarth, in southern Powys, out of Co Durham-based Lynne Moreland’s Maggie, which is a litter sister to Littledale handler, Ricky Hutchinson’s international supreme winner, Jock.

Breeding from Megan is also on the agenda, including a visit to a proven work and trials dog with connections to twice world sheepdog trials champion and three times international sheepdog society supreme champion, Welshman, Aled Owen.

Taking the day’s second top call of 6500gns was the two-year-old tri and mottled dog, High Ash Hugo, from Ian Sutherland, Strathnaver, Sutherland. Runner-up in two nursery trials, this is a grandson of Glossop-based Roy Driver’s Sailor.

Next best, at 6000gns, was from North Yorkshire handler, John Bell, of Parks Farm Howden, Selby, and his fully home-bred 12-month-old tri-coloured bitch, Parks Farm Fan.

She is by Smithymoor Tweed and out of Florence, and was purchased by Devon’s Ray Edwards, on behalf of a client.

Welsh handler and Welsh team captain at this year’s World SheepDog Trials in North Yorkshire, Ceredigion’s Dewi Jenkins, of Tal-y-bont, Aberystwyth, continues to produce some of the country’s most sought-after and top-selling working sheepdogs, returned with a single entry in his two-year-old black and white bitch, Littleheath Nan. She is by JR Gilman’s Bob out of R Heath’s Highcliff Flo.

A grand-daughter to Co Antrim-based Michael Gallagher’s renowned trials dog Cap, Nan has already successfully reared a litter of seven pups. She sold for 4400gns to Scottish contract shepherd, Allan Gordon, of Kilmalcom, Renfrewshire, and will be used solely as work dog, primarily on Scottish Blackface sheep.

Also achieving 4400gns was Ben, a black and white yearling dog from another Welsh handler from Ceredigion, Tregaron’s Dan Rees. This promising nursery trials prospect head north with Moffatt’s Alistair Mundell.

There was again strong Irish representation. C McLaughlin, from Cloontagh, in Co Donegal, made 4300gns with his 21-month-old black and white bitch, Moya, by Moss, from Co Roscommon’s Pat Byrne, out of James McLaughlin’s Jess.

The grand-daughter of the latter’s Ben (Dan), a twice Irish national champion, and Ricky Hutchinson’s famed Sweep, also travelled north to Dumfries and Galloway with Newton Stewart’s Jim Mitchell.

Auctioneers: CCM Auctions