MALHAM Moor’s Bill Cowperthwaite again lifted the prime cattle championship at Skipton Auction Mart’s July show on Monday.

Mr Cowperthwaite, of Tennant Gill Farm, who also landed the title in May as a first-time exhibitor, repeated the achievement at the latest renewal with his first prize 580kg British Blue-cross heifer, which sold for £1,633, or 281.5p/kg, to Keelham Farm Shop.

Keelham, which last month opened its new flagship shop in Gargrave Road, Skipton, right on the mart’s doorstep, was attending the venue’s first prime shows since the much-anticipated launch.

They bought five prime cattle in total, including two further prizewinners from Silsden Moor’s Simon Bennett – his second prize heifer, a Limousin-cross at £1,434, or 265.5p/kg, and the third prize Limousin-cross bullock for £1,448, or 247.5p/kg.

Keelham also secured a brace of Limousin-cross heifers from Bingley’s Keith Downs at £1,403 and £1,326, or 257.5p/kg for both.

Keelham Farm Shop remains the most prolific buyer of primestock champions and prizewinners at Skipton. Last year, they bought every single monthly prime cattle champion at the mart.

Mr Cowperthwaite was also responsible for the second prize bullock, a Limousin-cross that made £1,612, or 275.5p/kg, on joining Kitsons Butchers in Northallerton, who struck again when paying the day’s leading per head price of £1,702, or 274.5p/kg, for the first prize steer and reserve champion, a 620kg Limousin-cross from Trawden’s Jim Baines.

Mr Baines was also responsible for the third prize heifer, a British Blue-cross which made £1,268, or 224.5p/kg, when selling to Stanforths Butchers for its shop on Mill Bridge, Skipton.

In a standalone show class for young bulls, Claire Crowther, of Greenfield, Oldham, made a clean sweep of the prizes with three home-bred British Blue-cross entries. The trio sold to a high of £1,006, or 193.5p/kg.

Cull cows also had their own show classes, with Chris Akrigg, of Cray, taking the red rosette in the beef section with a British Blue sold for a show-topping £1,390, or 165.5p/kg, while first prize winners in the dairy-bred show class were JP and KE Hartley, of Bolton Abbey, with a black and white entry knocked down for £1,016.

Cull cows averaged a healthy £729.92 per head, or 113.02p/kg.