SOUTH Craven father and son pedigree Aberdeen-Angus breeders and family butchers David and Josh Isherwood secured a championship and reserve championship double with a brace of home-bred 26-month-old bulls at Skipton Auction Mart’s third annual pedigree native cattle show and sale.

The Isherwoods, who run their fast-expanding Airedale Angus herd on 117 acres of meadow and pasture land at Lane Bridge Farm, Kildwick, retained the title they also claimed last year at the 2018 renewal, the second fixture of Skipton’s current pedigree cattle show season.

Their show victor was Airedale Exchequer, an embryo son of Rawburn Edge, bred in Kelso by John Elliott. The dam, Weeton Eulo, from well-known Lancashire breeder John Loftus, is by the highly regarded Australian Angus bull, Carrington Park Time On. However, Exchequer returned home and will no doubt find a further opportunity in the sale ring on another day.

Nidderdale show judge Andrew Fisher, of Pateley Bridge, awarded the reserve championship to the Isherwoods’ second entry, Airedale Kirston, another product of Elliott family breeding, being by Rawburn Boss Hogg, out of the Chapeltown Eventer daughter, The Moss Kirsi.

From a strong cow line, the dam is one of the Airedale herd’s flushing cows. “We got 11 embryos from her and the reserve champion is the second animal to come out of our embryo programme, from which we have also retained two daughters for breeding,” explained Mr Isherwood Snr.

The overall runner-up sold for the day’s top call of 2,100gns (£2,205) to brothers Keith, Graham and Andrew Furniss, of Deering House, Dacre, and will be put to work on their commercial dairy herd with a view to producing some first-rate calves.

The Isherwoods established their Airedale herd five years ago to give added prestige and stature to the combined farming and butchery operation, and it has since grown rapidly to currently stand at 172 head, with 72 due to calve this season. Meat from the herd is also in big demand at the family-run Isherwoods Butchers in Kirkgate, Silsden, founded in 1987 by Mr Isherwood and now run by his son, Josh, allowing his father to concentrate on the pedigree herd, though he still remains a familiar face in the shop.

The show classes formed part of the annual Craven Native Day sale of 88 head of store and breeding cattle, the majority either Beef Shorthorn or Angus-sired.

The Shorthorn classes were sponsored by Morrisons plc and taking the prize for the best pair of stores was The Hon Gerald Turton, whose Upsall pedigree herd, Britain’s oldest, is based near Thirsk. The duo made £1,035 when sold to regular Kirklees buyer Stephen Eastwood, of Emley.

Overall native averages were £940 per head for young bulls, £733 for store heifers and £719 for store bullocks. Beef breeding cattle sold to a top of £860.