A REDUCED entry of Bluefaced Leicesters coupled with the usual buoyant demand ensured a bumper trade for rams which saw crossing-types sell to £13,000, with the traditional not far behind on £11,000.
Entries were down 45 head on the year, but with Scotch Mule and Cheviot Mule gimmer and ewe lamb values holding up against the previous year’s record breaking sales, most vendors went home in an optimistic mood.
“Blues were a great trade from start to finish on the back of the Mule sales. It’s the easiest sale I’ve had selling Blues here,” said Lawrie and Symington auctioneer, Archie Hamilton, who was selling in Ring 15.
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It was Ring 15 that produced the sale leader too when Melvin and Celia Ridley and sons Kevin and Stephen sold the No 1 from their Shitlington enterprise from Wark, Hexham, to Neil Marston, of the Highberries flock from Cockermouth.
Producing a personal best shearling sale for the 35-strong ewe flock was R10 Shitlington, a son of the P21 Dawyck, a £1000 purchase at Carlisle, which last year bred a £40,000 tup lamb at Hawes for the Ridleys. The dam, an old show ewe by a £1700 G24 Marriforth has bred several good crossing-type sheep.
Used at home as a lamb, R10 Shitlington bred three of the champion pen of Mules at Hexham which sold for £185 per head.
Shitlington also took £5500 from PJ and W Cameron, Woodhall, Innerwick, for their No 3, an ET shearling and the result of a flush from the K22 Shitlington ewe by Midlock G1 and got by semen from the well known G34 Midlock.
There was more top breeding behind the £11,000 lead priced traditional Blue from Ian Smith’s West Bolton flock from Hexham, sold in Ring 17. Surpassing the 40-ewe flock’s previous best of £3400, was R1 West Bolton, a son of an R45 Whinnyhall tup bought at Hexham, that goes back to the 12,000gns Bonvilston. He is out of a home-bred ewe by a J1 Espley purchased at Builth Wells for 7800gns. Buying back some of his own genetics, the shearling was knocked down to Martin Quinn, Whinnyhall, Lochgelly, Fife.
Despite an early calling, Dumfriesshire breeders, Alec and Anders Brown’s Macqueston flock from Thornhill, sold to £6500 for one of their best crossing tups, a son of the N15 Forebrae bought at Castle Douglas last year for £3800. Their R21 Macqueston which was the sire of five of the Scothc Mule ewe lambs in the top pen at Castle Douglas that made £212 and three of the winning pen at Dumfries, is out of a ewe by the £12,000 K1 Carryhouse. He was knocked down to Keith and Andrew Campbell, Overburns, Biggar.
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Minutes later, the pen leader from the Wight family’s Midlock flock, Crawford, brought out by Allan and Ben, made £6200 to H Fergusson, Dykeneuk, Sorn, who took a three-quarter share, with the remainder selling to James Nisbet, Orchardton, Ochiltree. Selling at this price was the R25 Midlock, a son of the P2 Riddings purchased for £23,000 in 2021 that last year bred sons to £25,000. The dam, a gimmer, is by Riddings M1.
Matching that £6200 sale was Mrs Obie Sharp’s No 3 from Newbigging Walls, Lauder, which sold in a three-way split to Aberdeenshire breeders, Chris Millican, Newton of Hassiewells, Rothienorman; Ross and Kirsty Williams, Ranna, Tarland and David Cowie, Scollys Cross, Strachan. This ET shearling is bred from a home-bred ewe by the £16,000 L37 Midlock and sired by the £65,000 record priced P1 Riddings bought at Hawes in 2021. Used at Burncastle as a lamb, the Newbigging Walls R12 was also the sire of some of the top Mule ewe lambs sold at Stirling.
The pen of 10 from Mrs Sharp, brought out by assistance of Alan Rogerson and James Brady were all sons of the £65,000 Riddings tup and saw another out of a similarly-bred ewe, make £3400 to Gerard McGinn, Chirmorrie, Barrhill.
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Sons of the £65,000 Riddings tup also proved popular for Mrs Sharp’s grand-daughter Emma Campbell and her father Colin, Easter Happrew, Peebles, who sold seven shearlings to average just over £2000. Six of those were by the record breaker to include the pen leader which made £3800, purchased by the Firm of Shawhead, managed by Alistair and Alan Maclarty, Douglas. The dam is by L37 Midlock.
Jack and Sheila Kay, Hartside, Oxton, Lauder, bought a traditional and a crossing-type Blue. They went to £5500 for the champion winner in Ring 17, a true Blue from Matthew Seed’s 80-strong Auchry ewe flock from Home Farm, Cuminestown, Turriff. His R5 Auchry is the first shearling son sold by the £3500 N2 West Bolton and bred from a ewe by the H1 Myfyrian, a 3400gns purchase at Builth Wells. Well known throughout the north, this big lad was supreme champion at Turriff and reserve at Black Isle Show.
The Kays also bought the lead priced Blue lamb at £2800, a crossing type from Jamie Pirie, Blarnavaid, Drymen. He is by the P1 Marriforth sire.
Top price for Blarnavaid was £4200 for a brown shearling purchased by Alan Shennan, Farden, Girvan. Top breeding is behind this cracker which is the first son to be sold out of a Midlock female by Asby Hall M2 bought at Carlisle as a hogg, with the sire being the P2 Highberries, a £12,000 purchase at Hawes.
Back amongst the traditional blues and Alan McClymont and sons Sam and Oli, Kirkstead, Yarrow, took £4400 for their pen leader which stood fourth at the pre-sale show. He is by the £3200 N11 Bonvilston bought here in 2021 and out of the reserve female at the Royal Highland Show in 2022 and 2021 – a home-bred daughter of the Burndale G1 show tup. The buyer was A Carr, Burton Meadow, Lancaster.
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Minutes later, Alan Cowens, Philiphaugh, Selkirk, sold the flock’s No 3, brought out by shepherd Scott Bell, for £3300, to Mrs Fotheringham, Craighall, Perth. His pedigree features a £1000 Gefrin son of a Mendick K2 bought here in 2021. The dam is by an M1 Burndale.
Averages: 367 shearling rams, £1248.28 (+£67.30 for 29 fewer); 14 ram lambs, £1014.29 (-£35.71 for two less).
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