Carlisle – Blue Belles – Saturday 4th January 2025

Blue Belles sale.

With a new schedule seeing both the Traditional and Crossing types sold on the same day. The rejigged format worked well, with a big crowd for both the rings and a healthy trade throughout.

There was a bumper entry of the Blue Belles, with some great sheep on show with a cracking trade to match. The averages for the ewes on offer were up around £22 for 5 extra sold whilst the gimmer shearlings saw a massive bounce up, with 56 shearlings averaging £1250, up £450 on the year for 14 more sheep sold. The lambs were a bit easier, but still averaged a respectable £575 for the 13 forward.

One of the main reasons that the average looked so healthy was a superb pen of gimmers from the Kirkstead flock, maybe one of the best pens of sheep seen at the sale for quite some time, with each one a beauty in her own right, underlining the quality that the flock has. The pen leader was also the days champion, as judged by Jack Kay, Hartside Lammermuir. He picked out the star of the show early on and when she strode into the sale ring the bidding was strong from the off, with the hammer landing at 5000gns, with Kear Jones, Kittle, Swansea digging the deepest for her. She is by the £5000 N11 Bonvilston tup which has done well for the flock, both in the sale ring and show ring, where he was Res Interbreed Champion at the Highland in 2022, and her mother, L22 Kirkstead was twice the reserve champion at the Highland. She is carrying a single to the £12,000 Madrissa. Kirkstead saw a pair of twins level at 4200gns. They were by the P1 Blackett House tup and out of a ewe they bought at Builth from Aled Jones, Craig yr Orsedd P40. One was carrying twins to S1 Whinny Hall, the other a pair to the 23,000gns Espley R1. The pair proved to be inseparable, as they headed to the same home, with them both heading back to Callendar and Claish Farms. They saw a bid of 4000gns for the full sister to the Champion. This one had stood 3^rd in the show, and has real potential, full of cockiness and quality. She had been shown successfully last year too, taking 3^rd at the Highland as well as Reserve Champion at Penrith and First at Peebles. She was carrying a pair to T4 Wallholme and sold to Clarilaw Farming, Melrose, who also took home another Kirkstead gimmer home, shelling out a further 3500gns for a daughter of the N11 Bonvilston. This one was carrying 3 to the S1 Whinnyhall. Its full sister also made 3500gns, also carrying three to the Whinnyhall sire. This one was bought by the Kay’s from Lauder. Messrs McMillan, Newton Stewart, also had a full shopping trolley as the bought a pair from Kirkstead at 3000gns each. The first of these was a N11 Bonvilston daughter, twin to the Kelso Champion and reserve Male Champion at the Highland last year. She was carrying 3 to the R1 Espley. Their other purchase was by the Blackett House sire, also carrying 3 to the Whinnyhall. Thus ended the Kirkstead mega sale!

Outside of the Kirkstead pen, it was the completion of the Burndale flocks’ major reduction, and their headliner was a bid of 2500gns for a smart gimmer by the P2 Piel View. It goes back on its mothers’ side to the J2 Burndale used at Rossiebank and his mother which bred the R1 Burndale, which sold for 6200gns to Mossvale and the £3000 tup sold to Y-Ddol. This one sold to Messrs Hayton, Kendal.

Following the Kirkstead flock into the ring was going to be a hard follow, but Matthew Seed from the Auchry flock managed to keep the trade flowing, with a bid of 2200gns for the second prize gimmer shearling. This lovely gimmer was by the P2 Low Arkland and was carrying lambs by the S2 West Bolton. Taking this star home were Messrs Rees, Carmarthen.

Averages

13 Ewes                                £835.96

56 Shearling  Gimmers            £1250.06

13 Ewe Lambs                 £575.88