The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Bluefaced Leicester shearling achieves top price at Dingwall
A strong show of 353 rams and females sold through Dingwall and Highland Marts’ Dingwall centre on Saturday, where a good clearance was met in all sections, with a top price of £1,300 paid for a Bluefaced Leicester shearling.
Selling at that top price was a home-bred son of Cassington D1 from Raymond Baynes, Blackford, Croy. Bred out of one of Raymond’s original Rossiebank ewes, he sold to Ken Fraser, Gorthleck Mains, Gorthleck, Inverness.
The 37 Bluefaced Leicester shearlings also peaked at £1,200, £1,050 and £900 with the former being a home-bred shearling from Stuart and Muriel Ross, The Arr, Lethen, Nairn. Selling to Kenny and John Matheson, Milton of Aberarder, Inverness, was a home-bred son of Mendick F001, out of a home-bred gimmer by a Seaview tup.
Realising £1,050 was a home-bred shearling from John Procter and Sons, Nether Aucharnie, Forgue, while the Fotheringham family from Craigall, Forgandenny, received £900 for the same. They also sold to the Mathesons at Milton of Aberarder.
Also selling with a £1,200 price tag was the champion Texel from Ron McKay, Clyth Mains, Occumster. By Springwell Vierre, bred out a home-bred ewe, his full brother stood champion here last year and sold for £1,450. He headed back to Caithness with George Cormack, Wester Dunnet, Thurso.
The strong entry of 102 Texel shearlings also hit £1,100 thrice with the first from relatively new breeder, Lachlan Nicol, who runs nine ewes in his Moray Firth flock at Forres. His first shearling sold at auction, he is by Baltier Your The Man, and was bought inside an in-lamb gimmer from Jimmy Warnock’s Watchknowe flock at Lanark. Reserve champion in the presale
“The strong entry of 102 Texel shearlings also hit £1,100 thrice”
show, he sold to Morris Ross, Coldholme, Dallas.
Second at that price was a home-bred shearling by the 32,000gn Arkle Ying Yang from Caithness breeder, Douglas Wester, Lower Reiss, Wick, which sold to F Bradley, Tillyminate, while an Orkneybred shearling from D Paterson, Veltigar, Tankerness, made, bought by Neil Meldrum, Shenval, Ballindalloch.
Irene Fowlie, who runs her Essie flock at Adziel, Strichen, topped the 80 Suffolk shearlings at £1,000 and sold three others at £900. Dearest was the reserve Suffolk champion, a homebred shearling by Excalibur, bred out of a ewe by Essie Ulysses, which sold to Ewan MacDonald, Conon Brae Farms, Torgorm, Conon Bridge. The first shearling at £900 when sold to Shenval, Ballindalloch, was a home-bred shearling by Drinkstone Dionysus, out of an Essie Goldstar daughter, while Pitgaveny Farms, Elgin, paid the same money for its triplet brother. Another home-bred shearling by Excelsior, made £900 to Mid Fearn Farms.
A Texel home-bred shearling by Thinacres Yosemite from Shirley Henderson, Weston, Deskford, made £900 when purchased by Messrs D Munro, Pitkerrie, Fearn.
The 24 females sold to £300 twice for Beltex ewes from Alan Sutherland’s Bardnaheigh flock at Harpsdale, Halkirk, Caithness.