A BRACE of Blue Faced Leicester gimmer hoggs secured principal honours for the Oddacres flock of Embsay’s John and Claire Mason at Skipton Auction Mart’s annual winter fixture for breed females - the first registered sheep breed show and sale of 2016.

The red rosette-winning Oddacres H46 sold for £350 to show judge Ian Lancaster, of Wiswell.

The runner-up, Oddacres H28, made £200 on joining M and K Farrar, of Healaugh, Tadcaster. They also sold a third gimmer lamb for £280 to M and G German, of Middleton-in-Lonsdale in the Lune Valley.

The Masons were breaking a stranglehold on the annual showcase held by the North Craven-based Booth family, of Old Hall Cottage, Feizor, who had been champions for previous four years in succession.

At the latest renewal, father and son David and Robin Booth had to settle for third prize with their gimmer hogg, Smearsett HO43, though they did clinch top price honours by a wide margin when Addingham’s Richard Mawson secured their charge for £1,000.

The eight BFL gimmer hoggs on parade averaged £457 per head overall, with the show forming part of Skipton’s second fortnightly Wednesday sheep sale of 2016, which attracted an entry of 1,149 head, among them 951 store and gimmer lambs and 190 in-lamb ewes.

Store sheep sold to a very fast trade, with strong hoggs in good demand and Michael and Elaine Dugdale, of Giggleswick, topping at £76.50 with a Beltex pen, while Andrew Fisher, of Pateley Bridge, also caught the eye with £72 per head Texel lambs and £71 Beltex. The overall average for store lambs was a shade above £49 per head, with gimmer lambs averaging £50.75.

A successful reduction sale of in-lamb ewes staged on behalf of Thomas Binns, from Downham, Clitheroe, saw his Mule shearlings carrying twins sell at £140, two and three crop sheep at £110 to £120 and correct sheep £95 to £98