SIRES with previous winning form at Skipton were again on the mark at the mart’s annual spring show and sale of young feeding bulls,.

All prize winners were by British Blue bulls – and all but one of them fell to York farmer and butcher Anthony Swales.

In the under 10-months show class, James Huck, of Church Farm, Hubberholme, landed the top honour with a home-bred by their Welsh sire, Tanat Herbie, which sold for £1,180.

The Hucks also presented the runner-up at the latest renewal, again by Tanat Herbie, which made £1,120. Both prize winners were out of Limousin-cross-Blue cows.

Farming brothers David and Stephen Hollings, of Pecket Well, Hebden Bridge, won the 10 to 12-month-old young bull show class with a home-bred by Littlebank Harry, acquired at Skipton several years ago from Rathmell’s Richard Maudsley. It sold for £1,160.

Stephen Horsfield, of Mytholmroyd, was runner-up in the same class with an entry knocked down for £1,145, with John Fawcett, of Dale Head Farm, Barden, standing third. His charge sold away at £1,100.

All the above were purchased by Mr Swales.

Third in the under 10-month show class was Jeff Walker, from Brennand Farm, Dunsop Bridge, with a nine-month-old by the family’s renowned Cromwell Fendt. It sold for £1,020 to G Booth & Sons in Doncaster.

Of the 258 young feeding bulls on offer, farm-assured nine to 11-month-old Continental bulls continued to sell well.

The section average was £898 per head for Continental-cross, with native bulls averaging £725. Top call of £1,200 fell to a British Blue-cross from Alan Lodge, of Malham Moor, while the top price pen of three Limousin-cross bulls came from first time Skipton vendor Wilf Baines, of Hewthwaite Farm, Dent. Each made £1,035.

A more mixed show of 385 store cattle met a decent trade, with strong sorts maintaining prices from previous sales.

Store bullocks achieved a Continental-cross selling average of £937 per head, with a native average of £771. Ellis Bros, of Addingham Moorside, led the section with a £1,240 Limousin-cross.