ALL breeds sold well at the Spring Selection sale of 140 pedigree sheep through H and H’s timed online platform, which saw Blue Texels take two of the top three prices.

The event, which included sales of Badgerface Texels, Beltex, Blue Texels, Dutch Spotted, Texels and several other breeds, was topped at £5400 by a Blue Texel ewe hogg from Northern Ireland’s Janet Carson, Victoria Bridge, Strabane, Co Tyrone.

She is bred from an imported ewe that was reserve at Balmoral Show and champion at the recent online virtual show, and sired by the 3300gns Hackney X-rated. The buyers were Messrs McFarland, Omagh, Co Tyrone, who bought the top three Blue Texels.

Next on their list, at £3800, was the ewe lamb, Derg Emerald and her recipient dam, from S Allen and A Shortt, Strabane, Northern Ireland. Emerald is by Saltire Blue Derek, while her dam, Derg Beyonce, a Hackney X-rated daughter, has bred lambs to 2800gns.

The McFarlands also went to £2800 for the ET ewe lamb, Beckbred Blues Extra Special from Suffolk-based breeders, Chris and Laura Beck, Brockhall. This was an entry bred from a flush from Whatmore Candyfloss and sired by Jonsland Aero.

Top price Beltex and second top overall was £4300 for Andrew and Claire Wood’s Withy Trees Eden ET, from Whittingham, Lancashire, which sold to Messrs Hall, Skipton, North Yorkshire.

This ewe hogg is by Matt’s Ducati and bred from Withy Trees Copper Mountain, a daughter of the 25,000gns Broxty Boxer which sold for 5000gns.

Another from the same home, by the same sire, made £2400 to Aberdeenshire breeder, Stuart Wood, Woolhillock, who was buying back some of his own genetics. Withy Trees Elba ET is a ewe hogg out of Woodies Roselyn.

In an all Scottish transaction, Bruce and Colin Mair’s Aviemore flock, from Turriff, sold the second top Beltex at £3000 to Messrs Harrison, Carnwath.

Aviemore Fabienne 2 is a ewe lamb by the 5000gns Bailey Brook CR7 show tup that was champion at the Black Isle in 2018, while her dam, Aviemore Alice 2, is by the 6500gns Corstane Whistler. She sold with a recipient dam.

Jock McMillan, Carse of Clary, Newton Stewart, got £2500 for the ET ram lamb, Clary Finance. He is by Hackney Braveheart, bred from Clary Beautiful and sold with a recipient dam to Preston Farms, Omagh, Co Tyrone.

Leading the Texels at £4100 was a ewe hogg from Archie and John MacGregor, Allanfauld, Kilsyth, Glasgow, which sold to Messrs Coates, Stanhope, Bishop Auckland. This hogg is from the same family as the 24,000gns Allanfauld Am the Man and a 7000gns gimmer, with her sire being Garngour Bullet and her dam by Knap You’re The Man.

John MacGregor and his wife, Bryony, then sold the top priced Badgerfaced at £2450. Tamtain Betty Boo, an ET ewe lamb bred from an imported Sunnybank ewe and similarly bred sire, sold with a recipient dam to Messrs Hogan, Bennekerry, Co Carlow, Ireland.

An ET-bred pair of lambs from Aberdeenshire breeder Stuart Wood, Woolhillock, made £1600 selling to Messrs Millar, Kirtlebridge, Lockerbie. Woodies Bruiser and Woodies Bumble Bee, a ram and ewe lamb, were bred from imported parents and sold with recipient dam.

Just behind, on £1500, Stuart and Wendy Hunter, West Cairnhill, Insch, sold the ewe hogg, Hunters Aurora, for £1500 to Messrs Flett, Harray, Orkney. She is also backed by imported genetics.

Bruce Goldie, Townfoot, Dumfries, topped the entry of Valais Blacknoses at £4000 with the ewe lamb, Goldies Highness. ET bred from a flush from Denne Manor Donna and sired by Goldies Rudy, she sold with recipient, to Messrs Wemyss, Kirkcaldy, Fife.

Annan-based Dutch Spotted breeder, Ali Jackson, Maulscastle Farm House, Annan, enjoyed a flying trade, selling the seven highest priced lots, including six at £3000 and above.

Dearest at £3650 was an imported gimmer with ewe lambs, Tiptop Dime and Tiptop Dilly at foot, purchased by Messrs Barnes, Kendal, Cumbria. They are by the 2800gns Westbroad B Explorer.

They also went to £3250 for a pair of lambs bred from last year’s inter-breed sheep champion at the Great Yorkshire, Tiptop Hannah. Tiptop Delia and Tiptop Dago, a ewe and tup lamb, respectively, are again by Explorer.

Two lots from Tiptop flock made £3550 – the first a three-year-old imported ewe and her ewe lamb, Tiptop Daisy, also by Explorer, purchased by Messrs Shennan, Turnberry, Ayrshire.

Matching that was the ewe hogg, Tiptop Cassie, a daughter of Lochlad Baby Shark, bred from an imported ewe, selling to Messrs Middleton, Cowan Bridge, Carnforth.

Heading down to Stoke on Trent at 3150gns with Messrs Percival was Tiptop Destiny, a ewe lamb by Tiptop Charlie, again out of an imported ewe.

Perthshire breeders, Messrs Clarke, Alyth, bought two females from Mr Jackson at £3000 and £2450.

The flocks of the late Percy Tait, from Worcester, topped both the Rouge and Bleu du Maine sections with sales at £2000 and £1600, respectively.

Dearest was Knighton Vavavoom, the first prize Rouge ewe hogg at the Great Yorkshire last year, by Tullyvallen Shumacher, purchased by Messrs Theyer, Little Clancefield, Oxfordshire. Selling at £1600 was Perdi Sorento, a show-winning Bleu purchased by Messrs Cruden, Dyce, Aberdeenshire. She’s by Randalstown Nugget.

Auctioneers: Harrison and Hetherington.

averages: Beltex – Four ewes with lambs, £1005.00; 11 recipient ewes with lambs, £1923.63; 24 empty ewe hoggs, £1191.87. Blue Texel – Four ewes with lambs, £1062.50; eight recipient ewes with lambs, £1996.25; three ewe lambs, £1900.33; 13 empty ewe hoggs, £1712.69. Dutch Spotted – Three ewes with lambs, £3483.33; seven empty ewe hoggs, £1635.71. Badgerface Texel – Five ewes with lambs, £970.00; four recipients with pedigree lambs, £1342.50; three empty ewe hoggs, £1333.33. Texel – 11 empty ewe hoggs, £1161.45