A Pendle father and daughter delivered a family double when exhibiting both the champion and reserve champion pens of five Texel-cross prime lambs at Skipton Auction Mart’s February show.

Trawden’s Jimmy Baines saw his title winners sell for £103 per head, or 236.8p/kg, to Hartshead Meat Company in Mossley, Oldham, although these were just outperformed by his daughter Hayley’s reserve champion pen, which made £104, or 253.7p/kg when joining Vivers Scotlamb in Annan.

Hayley also presented the third prize Continental pen, again snapped up by Vivers at £94 each, along with the first prize pen of Mules, which fell for £77 per head to show judge Bobby Booth, of Edenfield.

Mr Booth acquired four further prize-winning pens, the second prize Mules from Brian Church, of Askwith, at £77 per head, the first and second prize Swaledales from Bernard Simpson, of Heathfield, Pateley Bridge, and Robert Crisp, of Calton, at £76.50 and £76 respectively, and the first prize Dalesbreds from Kevin Wilson, of Blubberhouses, at £66.

In addition, Mr Church presented the first prize Suffolk-cross pen, sold for £86 each to Woodhead Bros in Colne, who also acquired the third prize pen from Simon Barker, of Airton, at £83.50. The second prize pen from Threshfield’s’ Charles and Richard Kitching fell for £78.50 each to Riley Bros Butchers in Dunnockshaw.

Mr Crisp was also responsible for the third prize Swaledale pen, a £70 per head buy by Felliscliffe’s Andrew Atkinson, while James Huck, of Austwick, sold his third prize Mule pen at £77 to Gavin Boocock, of Driffield.

First prize in a show class for Lonks fell to Joey Drinkall, of Anglezarke, Chorley, his charges selling for £78 apiece to John Bowling, of Ashton-in-Makerfield, with the second prize pen from Chris Crowther, of Diggle, falling for £78.50 to Hellifield’s Paul Watson.

Sheep trade was similar to the previous week, with well-fleshed, but not over-fat lambs in good demand and some nice commercial export sheep selling generally around 190-210pkg again, with the very best end achieving 220-250pkg.

The day’s per head high of £109 fell to a Texel pen from Kevin Marshall, of Otley, with a by-weight top of 266.7p/kg for a Beltex pen from Paul Simpson, of Wigglesworth.

Hill-bred lambs again maintained the previous week’s decent trade. The overall selling average for the 2,705 old season lambs forward was £75.75 per head, or 182.5p/kg.

The 324 cast sheep entered saw cull ewes average £65.85 per head, compared to at £57.35 the previous week.

They sold to a high of £125.50 for a Texel pen from D Poulter, of Risplith.

And. at the prime cattle show, a home-bred British Blue-cross heifer from Bernard Simpson, of Spring House, Heathfield, Pateley Bridge, took the championship.

Out of a Limousin cow, the victor headed the day’s prices at £1,575, or 262.5p/kg, when becoming yet another championship-winning acquisition by Keelham Farm Shop in Thornton, Bradford, which also paid £1,354 for a second British Blue-cross heifer from Mr Simpson.

Keelham, which is due to open its second farm shop in Gargrave Road, Skipton, later this year, acquired five beef cattle in total, including, at £1,374 and second top price in show, the reserve champion, a home-bred Limousin-cross heifer from Simon Bennett, of Delph Farm, Silsden, who was making a welcome return to the prime cattle show arena at Skipton.

Their other acquisitions were the first prize Limousin-cross bullock from Jimmy Baines, of Trawden at £1,264, or 235.5p/kg, and a further heifer from David Bamforth, of Wainstalls, Halifax, at £1,176, or 228.5p/kg.

The monthly cast cattle show saw John and Gill Huck, of Hubberholme, land a championship and reserve championship double with their first and second prize beef-bred entries, both Limousins, knocked down at £934, or 134.5p/kg, and £915, or 131.5p/kg, respectively.] The top price beef animal at £989, or 134.5p/kg, was a Blonde-cross from local breeders Keith and Jeanette Marshall, of Niffany.