The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Scottish flavour to sale’s top lots
Breeders from north of border make presence felt
Breeders from south of the border led the trade at the Beltex Sheep Society’s Premier Show and Sale at Harrison and Hetherington’s Borderway Mart in Carlisle, but Scottish breeders made their presence felt in several top-priced lots.
Consigned from the north-east and marking an unforgettable tup selling debut for Gordon and Lynsey Carroll was their shearling ram, Edendiack Darius ET.
He sold for 10,000gn to Jeff and Sue Wilkinson, who will take him to work in their Langlands flock near Richmond, North Yorkshire.
The husband and wife team from Gartly, Huntly, have only recently started breeding pedigree Beltex.
Their leader from their 30-ewe flock is out of one of the foundation females, Airyolland Betty Boo, which was bought for 7,000gn at the Beltex Beauties sale in 2017, while his sire is the noted Padkin Sugar Daddy. Also selling well from the north-east was Swffryd Dakota ET, an entry from Stuart Wood’s son, Murray, from Skene, Westhill.
Bred by and bought from Aled Groucott as a lamb, Dakota is sired by the 60,000gn Topflite Al Pacino and out of Hackney Treacle, making him a full brother to Aled’s successful show gimmer. He sold for 8,000gn to Belgian breeders Messrs Sprangers, Messian and Sprangers.
It was, however, the Buckles family – Kevin with sons Jack and Tom – from Kirkby Stephen, who had the most to celebrate.
They received the top price of 30,000gn for their shearling ram, Buckles Dark Dawn ET, by the 8,000gn Ardstewart Armani, from Alfie Taylor of the Heatheryhall flock near Pettinain, Lanark.
The Buckles welcomed a further 11,000gn from Angus Mutch, New Yatt, Witney, Oxon, for their Great Yorkshire Show champion, the Glantre Norrissired Buckles Dark Intentions ET.
Ram lambs also sold to 11,000gn for John and Richard Wood’s Arkle DJ-sired Kingledores Edmund ET, which also sold to Northern Ireland, this time to Mathew Burleigh, of the Matt’s flock, and Andrew and Jamie McCutcheon for their Bodoney flock.
Heading up the aged rams at 5,200gn was Langlands Bruiser from Ross and Kirsty Williams, Huntly. This 13,000gn buy had bred strong stock and sold to Neil Caul, of Balkello, S and A Moore for their Balhall flock, and Gregor Yarr of the Witton flock, all based in Angus.
Graham and Fiona’s Burke’s successful show gimmer Pentland Dixie ET, an Airyolland Wurzel daughter from the flock at Edzell, topped the female section at 5,000gn selling to Vicky Bowring for her Windmill flock in Nottingham.
Averages: 192 ram lambs, £1,202 (183 at £1,256 in 2018); 687 shearling rams, £1,152 (708 at £1,212); 10 aged rams, £1,320 (20 at £1,334); 289 gimmers, £651 (261 at £792).