TOP dog on price by a country mile at £18,100 at Skipton Auction Mart’s March timed online-only sale of working sheepdogs was leading Welsh handler and triallist, Dewi Jenkins, of Tynygraig, Ceredigion.

Dewi, a frequent price topper at the North Yorkshire venue, both at live and online sales, far eclipsed his £7,000 top price at the previous online sale last December with his black and white dog, Gwyddil Ben, a 12-month-old son of Clwyd Bob, himself by the handler’s main stud dog Jock, the reigning 2022 International Supreme Champion, and with whom he also represented Wales at last year’s BBC One Man and His Dog final.

The 2016-born Clwyd Bob has exceptional bloodlines going back to multiple champions on both sides, among them on the grand dam’s side former International Supreme Champion Glencregg Silver. Ben’s own dam is Malta Jill, acquired by Dewi from Carlaine Thom, of Malta Border Collies, based in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

After being mated a home to Clwyd Bob, now increasingly proving an exceptional stud dog, Jill then sold in-pup to friend and fellow Welshman T Davies carrying both Ben and litter sister Bess. Ben returned at eight weeks old to Dewi, who reports that Bess is due to be sold at Skipton this May.

The top-notch nursery trials prospect joined Staffordshire buyer, Eamonn Vaughan, who farms beef and sheep and clearly thinks a great deal of Jenkins bloodlines as he paid a then new world record price of £27,100 in 2021 for Dewi’s Kim, which has since been bettered, though remains a world record for a dog under 12 months.

Mr Vaughan, who farms the Partridge Nest pedigree Texel sheep flock and also has a herd of pedigree Charolais, Limousin and Simmental cows, now has plans to put Ben to Kim next year, who he describes as a “phenomenal” bitch. “She is out every day and absolutely flying, a superb worker, so strong, a serious bitch,” he enthused. In fact, Kim has already bred a world beater for Mr Vaughan, when her 11-week-old Kim Jnr made £11,600, a new record price for an unbroken pup.

Back at Skipton, Welsh vendors were again responsible for the leading online prices. Next best with a £6,200 sale was James Jones, of Rhayadar in Powys, with his 22-month-old black and white bitch, Brondrefawr Misty, a daughter of fellow Welshman Kevin Evans’ trialling legend, Tanhill Glen, a dual European Nursery and Royal Welsh Champion who has had such a major impact on selling prices at Skipton in recent years.

Out of Cefneithin Jan - a £7,000 fully broken online purchase from Sion Jones, who runs Cefn Eithin Sheep Dogs in Corwen and is himself a familiar face at Skipton - Misty, who had been mated prior to the sale to Dewi Jenkins’ Jock, was closely followed online from the outset and successfully claimed at the close by a Japanese bidder, sheep farmer Shinjro Kigawa, of Deergrove Sheepdogs in Shizouka, a city on the south coast with views of Mount Fuji.

While sheep are not prevalent in Japan he runs a 70-strong mixed hybrid sheep flock, including Suffolk and Cheviot, and also trials, having competed in the 2017 World Sheepdog Trials in Gloucestershire.

Mr Kigawa commented: “In Japan, trials were not held for several years due to the influence of Covid, though they are about to be re-opened. Before I knew it, all my dogs were 10-years-old and it became urgent to raise the next generation of dogs. I'm very happy to have a deal with Mr. James Jones and am grateful for the opportunity to raise the next generation of dogs. I prefer to be able to feel the growth of dogs rather than competition. And I like to help people who are having trouble raising dogs.”

Third top call of £5,700 fell to south-east Wales and a fully home-bred rising two-year-old black and white bitch, Hilltop Lil, or Gwen, from Nataly (correct) Matthews, of Ebbw Vale in Gwent. By her own Vince out of Lil and already mother of a litter of six red pups the first dog in the online catalogue found a new home in North Devon with Bideford’s TJ Nicholls.

Three dogs, one unbroken, topped £4,000. The best of the trio at £4,400 came from local North Yorkshire vendor, Peter Simpson, of Dacre, Harrogate, whose 25-month-old black and white bitch, Heyshaw Sue, is a daughter of Moor Lodge Ben, Oakworth-based Carol Mellin’s accomplished trials dog which has long been used to marshal the sheep at live sales on the Skipton trials field. Out of Gillieglen Mist and already placed in nurseries Sue joined an unnamed buyer in Southern Ireland.

Well-known Northumberland shepherdess and triallist, Bellingham’s Michelle Anderson claimed £4,300 with her April, 2021, black, white and tan dog, Dunelle Billy, by her much-acclaimed Red, out of Dunelle Jess. The buyer was from South Yorkshire.

Heading the unbroken prices, again by a country mile at £4,100, was a near six-month-old tri-coloured bitch, Fynbos Juno, from Jeff King, of Hilperton in Wiltshire. By Telf Joff, out of Lloyd Loraine, a daughter of 2022 English National Champion Frank Richards’ Lola – he farms at Callington in the Cornwall’s Tamar Valley and has been named captain of the England sheepdog trial team at this year’s World Sheepdog Trials in Northern Ireland - Juno went to an unnamed purchaser in the Republic of Ireland.

Five more dogs made £3,000 and upwards, with top breeder and triallist Kevin Evans, of Llwynfedwen, Brecon, the best in this price category with a £3,800 sale of his July, 2020, tri-coloured bitch, Gyp, by DTA Williams’ Kemi Doc, out of EH Lloyd’s Gail. Mated last month to Kevin’s own Red Spot, a solid German import now doing well as a stud dog, Gyp himself found a German buyer in Ulrika Stromer, of Barum in Lower Saxony.

Together with the Japanese purchaser, plus other registered online bidders worldwide showing interest throughout the sale, including a number from America, this again demonstrated the power of the online selling system in being able to match dogs from handlers both in the UK and abroad with buyers right across the globe.

From Northern Ireland, Donegal’s Frank Mongan, claimed £3,700 with his tri-coloured September, 2021, trials-ready dog Tonduff Jack, followed by a brace of £3,500 sales. The first of them was Fly, an August, 2020, black and white bitch from Ceredigon’s WC Lewis, the second a February, 2021, part-broken black and white dog from Kirsty Marr, of Lauder in the Scottish Borders. Oakworth’s Philip Mellin also claimed £3,000 with his August, 2019, black and white bitch, Jess, who has won tickets in nursery trials.

An online turnout of 65 dogs comprised 33 fully broken, 17 part-broken and 15 unbroken, which achieved what was perceived as a very good clearance rate, with, aside from the higher prices, seven selling below £1,000, 11 at £1,000-£2,000 and six at £2,000-£3,000. This again offered plenty of choice for prospective buyers of dogs of varying ages and abilities and for multiple tastes and pockets.

“It was a good result given that trade for unbroken and part-broken dogs is traditionally slow as lambing time approaches and this sale bucked that trend,” said CCM’s general manager and auctioneer Jeremy Eaton.

Next up at Skipton on Friday, May 19, is the live field sale of working sheep dogs, followed by another online-only sale on Friday, June 13. Respective closing dates are May 3 and May 26.