FARMING brothers David and Stephen Hollings presented the prizewinning 10 to 12-month-old young feeding bull at a prize show and sale staged by Skipton Auction Mart as part of the latest fortnightly Wednesday store and breeding cattle fixture.

The Hollings brothers, of Spinks Hill Farm, Pecket Well, Hebden Bridge, picked up the red rosette with a home-bred youngster, which sold for £1,200 to Bordley’s John Stephenson.

However, it was the second prizewinner, another Blue-cross from Stephen and Tracey Fawcett, and their daughter Samantha, of Fold House, Drebley, that headed both the class and section prices at £1,260 on joining York farmer and butcher Anthony Swales.

Mr Swales also snapped up the first and second prize winners in the under 10-months show class, both from James Huck, of Church Farm, Hubberholme.

The victor, a home-bred Blue-cross bull fell for £1,180 and was bettered at £1,200 by the runner-up, another Blue-cross.

Third prize in the under 10-month class went to R Holroyd, of Wadsworth, with another Blue-cross knocked down at £1,060 to John Brown, of Sutton, Thirsk, while the top price pen of four Charolais-cross bulls from Blackburn’s David Pawson each made £1,070.

The 301 young feeding bulls on offer sold to an overall Continental-cross average of £925 per head, with a native average of £790.

Of the 473 store bullocks and heifers among the mix, the former achieved a four-figure Continental-cross average of £1,025 per head and a native average of £602. Heading the field on price was a pen of four Charolais-cross bullocks from B and LN Dibb, of Dob Park, Otley, which each made £1,200.

The heifer section produced the day’s leading prices, with top call of £1,440 falling to a Limousin-cross from John Hopkinson, of Cowling, bought by Clapham’s Jonathan Townley.

The top price pen of four Limousin-cross heifers from John Brewer, of Bleasdale, Chipping, each sold away at £1,130, with the section producing an overall Continental-cross average of £941 per head and a native average of £709.

The breeding cattle on offer sold to a high of £1,080 for an in-calf British Blue from Aimee Beresford, of Halton West, with grazing cows trading to £950 for a Blonde from Long Preston’s Peter Fawcett.

Skipton’s next fortnightly cattle fixture is the high profile Craven Champions double-header on Tuesday and Wednesday.