Beautry flock leads way at Skipton Beltex winter highlight

Mr Currie’s February-born shearling ewe, Beautry Tania, scanned in lamb with twins, sold for the day’s top call of 1,000gns to the Rathbone pedigree flock of Michael Davis and his daughter Becky, of Eldroth,

The Davis family then stepped up themselves with the first prize aged ewe and reserve champion, Rathbone Nessia.

It sold for 420gns to T Dunne, of Appleby-in-Westmorland, though it was the Davis’s third prize shearling ewe, Rathbone Take That, that achieved second top price in show when falling for 480gns to L Seymour, of Maulds Meaburn, Appleby-in-Westmorland.

Mr Currie also sold another shearling ewe at 400gns, while the Davis family sold a second aged ewe at 460gns, along with a pair of ewe lambs at 300gns each. All were prizewinners.

With a small, but select entry of eight, gimmer lambs averaged £315 compared with £277 last year), shearling gimmers £658 (£390) and aged ewes £462 (£383).

Also on the day’s agenda was the 22nd annual Northern Area Texel Sheep Breeders’ winter show and sale of pedigree in-lamb females , along with the annual sale of individual and small groups of Continental-sired commercial sheep, incorporating dispersal sales of Beltex and Texel females from John Wood, of Trawden, and Texel-cross-Beltex ewes from North Wales breeder David Williams, of Rhudllan.

With 52 in-lamb ewes forward, all classes proved easy to sell on, with a large ringside of buyers keen to purchase MV accredited commercial sheep, which are generally not easy to come by. Mr Wood was first into the ring and achieved a top price of £380 each for a trio of Beltex-cross-Texel two-crop ewes, closely followed at £360 with a pair of three-quarters bred Beltex two-crops.

David Williams’ sheep topped at £480 for a Beltex-cross-Texel shearling carrying twins and £420 for a same way bred two-crop, also carrying twins. The overall selling average was £240.38 per head.