NORTH Yorkshire’s John Bell rung up yet another top price success at Skipton Auction Mart’s opening 2015 working sheep dogs sale with an outstanding young black and white bitch that sold for 4,500gns (£4,725).

It was late afternoon when Mr Bell, of Parks Farm, Howden, strode out with his 12-month-old Park Farm Jess.

The successful bidder was Seamus Gormley, of Kilcreen Sheep Dog Centre in Claudy, Co Derry. The noted sheep dog trainer, handler and trialist, who has competed at the top level for his country, said he would be using Jess for both work and trials.

Mr Bell, who was further enhancing his record of having achieved the most top price successes of any individual vendor at Skipton, also sold two further dogs. Among them was Jill, a litter sister of his latest top price performer, who found a new home in the Scottish Highlands when falling for 2,800gns (£2,940).

Earlier in the day, Mr Bell also made 2,500gns (£2,625) for another promising 12-month-old red and white dog, Pen-y-Borough Vic.

Leading the prices for much of the day at 4,300gns (£4,515) was Tom Huddlestone, of Brookhouse, with his very well-bred December, 2011, black and white bitch, Udale Deni.

A retired community nurse, Mr Huddleston has been breeding and training dogs for a quarter of a century and has been a successful trialist for 20 years, following in the footsteps of his late father Harry, an English National winner.

Udale Deni fell to another familiar face at Skipton, Jock Sutherland, who had again travelled down from the Scottish Highlands.

He will use his new acquisition as a work dog on North Country Cheviots and also has high hopes for her on the trials field.

It was the first sale to be staged on Skipton’s new-look trials field, the continuation of a project to create a purpose-built facility at the auction mart to reflect growing worldwide interest among both sheep dog buyers and handlers.

Craven Cattle Marts’ general manager Jeremy Eaton said: “In making the changes, we listened to comments from a number of regular vendors and refined the ideas with assistance from a number of experienced sheepdog trialists.

“A total of 70 dogs were forward, 39 of which were put through their paces on the new trials field. I felt good dogs showed themselves off more effectively and my initial concern that the new layout might flatter some dogs’ work proved ill-founded.”

Shaun Richards, who sent out the top-priced dogs at all but one of Skipton’s sales last year, was among the frontrunners again, securing the day’s third highest price of 3,400gns (£3,570), with his August, 2012 black and white bitch, Calderdale Pat.

Mr Richards also achieved 2,200gns (£2,310) for a younger black and white dog, the December, 2013-born Pen-y-Borough Rob. The buyer was Nigel Barker, of Carnforth, who will use Rob purely as a work dog.

David Lyttle, of Pettigo in County Donegal, was also to the fore, selling his two-year-old black and white bitch Nell for 3,200gns (£3,360) to another Skipton regular, John Atkinson, of White Rose Sheep Dogs in Escrick, York.

First-time vendor Nicolas Annaloro, from Cassel in northern France, successfully sold two home-bred nursery dogs.

First up was the tri-coloured May, 2013, Taff, who sold locally to well-known sheep dog enthusiast John Palmer in Twiston, Clitheroe, for 2,700gns (£2,835). The second dog, the tri-coloured November, 2013, Faenor Ridge, also sold well at 2,500gns (£2,625) to Neil Sutherland, a cattle and sheep farmer from Strathnaver in Sutherland.

Monsieur Annaloro, who farms 50 Scottish Blackface sheep, said: “I had heard a lot about dog sales at Skipton, so decided to come over. I have really enjoyed it - it is a very nice place with very nice people. I will definitely come back."

Skipton regular Emrys Jones, of Tal y Bont, Gwynedd, sold his August, 2013, tri-coloured bitch, Cwmmadoc Beca, for 2,400gns (£2,520), while fellow Welshman, AL Jones, of Bala, made 2,050gns (£2,152) with his June, 2013, black, white and mottled bitch Penrhiw Mali.

Dean Aitken, a sheep farmer at Uppercleuch Farm, Lockerbie, who sold his first dog at Skipton last year, returned with a 14-month-old black and white dog, Tweeddale Nap, which found a new home in the Scottish Highlands at 2,300gns (£2,415).

Broken registered dogs proved popular on the day, selling to the 4,500gns high, with an overall average of £2,203. Part-broken registered dogs sold to 950gns at an average of £518.

Further Skipton working sheep dog sales in 2015, all staged on Fridays, are scheduled for May 15, July 3 and October 23.