This year’s Craven Champions Day – Skipton Auction Mart’s annual show and sale of commercial store cattle with future show potential – was one of the best on record, attracting an increased entry of 65 bullocks and heifers.

And all prize winners achieved four-figure selling prices at an overall average of £1,406.81 per head, a marked improvement on the previous year’s £1,240.

The Akrigg family, of Manor Farm, Cray, clinched both the male and female championship, with the latter, the first prize British Blue-sired heifer, progressing to land the supreme championship, their fourth Craven Champions Day title.

The victor sold for a show-topping £2,600, well exceeding the £1,750 top price achieved by the family with another British Blue-cross heifer at last year’s corresponding fixture.

The 2014 principal was knocked down to Richard Sandham, of Town End Farm, Carlton, Yeadon, buying on behalf of his 12-year-old daughter Holly who plans to parade her Skipton champion on the local show circuit.

The supreme champion became the first recipient of the Jack Walker Trophy, presented by son Jeff in memory of his late father, who died last Christmas. He was a familiar face at the mart and the Walker family, of Dunsop Bridge, are also four-times winners of the Craven Champions Day title.

They went close again this year when sending out the reserve supreme champion, the first prize winner in the young handlers show class, another top-notch British Blue-sired heifer shown by 19-year-old Rob Walker. She sold for £1,500 to the Turnbull farming family in Coxwold, near York.

Turning to the bovine boys, the Akriggs landed the male championship with their first prize British Blue-sired bullock, which found a new home with Clive Delamore, of Delamore Farms in Terrington St Clement, Norfolk, for £2,000.

The family picked up a third red rosette with the first prize any breed bullock, another British Blue-cross, sold for £1,120 to Lincolnshire buyers P&B Hodgson & Son. They also had the second prize British Blue-sired heifer, which became a £1,500 acquisition by M Keel, of Thirsk.

There were also further successes for the Walker family, who sent out the second prize British Blue-sired bullock, sold for £1,420, along with the third prize any breed heifer, again a British Blue-cross knocked down for £1,290.

The first prize Charolais-sired bullock was from Clapham’s Sheila Mason, the reigning breeding and store cattle champion in Craven Cattle Marts’ Farmer of the Year awards, who also sent out the third prize British Blue-sired heifer. Both sold to the same buyer, GD Nutt, of Thirtleby, Hull, at £1,660 and £1,340 respectively.

Stephen Fawcett, of Barden, achieved £2,000 with his second prize Limousin-sired heifer, bought locally by Skipton’s N Tiffin.

Stephen Eastwood, a regular buyer at Skipton, snapped up three further prize winners – the first prize any breed heifer, a British Blue-cross from John Butler, of Rochdale, at £1,180, the first prize any breed bullock, an Aberdeen Angus from J Walsh, of Bury, at £1,210, and the second prize winner in the young handlers show class, a British Blue-sired heifer from AM&E Hartley, of Roughlee, for £1,310.