Hawes – 28th September 2023

Hawes BFL sale

Thursday 28th September 2023

Kindly Sponsored by I’Anson Bros & Farmers Guardian Newspapers

Once again Bluefaced Leicester enthusiasts’ from all corners of the UK descended upon the market town of Hawes in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. Fresh from the exploits of Storm Agnes which made many journeys to Hawes interesting, shepherds gathered for a pre-sale social night at the local hostelries and there were some sore eyes, and possibly heads, when the judging started at 7.15 the following morning.

The main man of the day, out with Raymond Lund and his auctioneer team of Kenton Foster and debutant, Ian Atkinson, was Declan McKillop from the Giants Causeway flock, who was the judge for the tup lambs, but then went on to enjoy a cracking trade for his consignment of powerful tup lambs, taking the top two prices for the day, on only his second time at selling at Hawes. His pen was packed with progeny from the £34,000 Highberries Haaland bought out of Hawes last year and both his sale leaders were by him. His first tup into the ring is an embryo lamb out of a gimmer lamb by “Popeye” which has been successfully shown, both last year and this, taking first at Balmoral as a lamb and breed champion at Limavady this year. The tup lamb, a powerful well marked tup, shot away in the ring with the hammer landing at £32,000, selling in a two-way split to Paul Fairburn, Marriforth and Michael and Ella James, Duhonw, who were impressed with the sheer presence of this tup. The third tup into the ring, again by the Highberries, but this one out of a ewe by the Yore House Maverick and not just any ewe, this ewe was not only the 2020 online female covid Champion winner, she is also the grandmother to the first tup from the flock. This boy rattled up the bids quicker than a rat up a drainpipe, with the hammer falling at the sale topping figure of £35,000 selling back into Northern Ireland with Jake Hamilton, Ian Montgomery and Graham & Julie Loughery forking out the readies for him. Declan saw another bid of £9000 for a son of Mistyburn R11 and saw him level out at a massive £10,800 for his pen of 8 lambs.

The Dawyck flock have enjoyed some cracking sales over the past few years and once again they did not disappoint, with a much-admired pen, full of eye-catching lambs. Their pen leader was a natural born lamb by the £10,000 Hewgill R20, a son of the Marriforth P1 which is doing well at Hewgill, purchased out of Kirkby Stephen last year. His mother is the best ewe by the Smearsett M2, which is the flocks most consistent mule breeder, and goes back to the stalwart of the flock, H38 Dawyck, one of the flocks best breeding ewes. He sold in a 2-way split to Obie Sharp, Newbigging Walls and Campbells, Happrew for £28,000.

David Lawson from the Gargareth flock has enjoyed a good trade with his mule lambs this back end, taking several prizes along the way as well as a great run of lambs right through, which caught the eye of the mule breeders. Eyes were always going to be on his pen of tups and what a pen of lambs they were, combining style and quality with the best of bloodlines. His first lamb in was by the N1 West Biggins, a son of the Highberries H2 which has done so well for the West Biggins flock. The N1 has done well within the Gragareth flock, consistently producing show lambs, and helping fill the top pens of gimmers. Their star lamb was out a ewe by the M3 Asby Hall which has been the flock’s best mule breeder, so there is a lot of top-quality bloodlines though him. Bidding was fast and furious and finished at a cracking £19,000, the flock’s best sale to date. Taking home this really smart lamb were Shaun Procter, Spurrigg and W A Dinsdale & Son,  Harkerside. The rest of the pen from David & James sold well, averaging at £4500 for their seven lambs.

Another local breeder making a personal best was Alan Watson from Middleton Hall when he went through the ring late on in the sale. His lamb had been much admired throughout the day, but he was made up when the attention turned into bids, with a £16,000 bid securing this outstanding lamb, with the trio of Shitlington, Midlock and Dawyck combining to purchase him. He was by the homebred M22 Middleton Hall, a son of a Sealhouses, and has done well for the flock for the last few years, getting lambs in their top pens of mules as well as sons of his which have gone on to do well in other flocks. His mother is their best gimmer sheep and by an Old Hemley sire.

A brace of lambs made £14,000 during the sale. The first of these was from the noted Hundith flock, which has an excellent record of producing top quality sheep with great skins and a depth of crossing bloodlines. Their pen leader was by R1 Harkerside that they bought last year out of Hawes and out of a ewe by the £24,000 K1 Smearsett he sold to M/s Thornborrow with Hundith retaining a share in him too.

The other at £14,000 was the from the noted Carry House flock from Martyn Archer, who had an outstanding pen of lambs. The pen leader was the day’s reserve male champion and certainly caught the eye, combining sheep power with skin and colour along with a great pedigree. He is by the Steel Bruno and out of a full sister to the great breeding Carry House Jackpot, a son of the G34 Midlock, which has left his mark across the breed over the last few years. Taking this boy home was Paul Fairburn, Marriforth. Martyn saw a tremendous trade for his pen of exceptional lambs, including a bid of £12,000 for a son of P2 Spurrigg, the sire of Steel Bruno, this one off to Amy Campbell, Glenrath, and another bid of £10,000 for a son of the R15 Hewgill bought last year, selling to the Hodgsons, Rydal. Martyns’ pen levelled out at a very impressive £8011 for his 9 lambs.

A further trio of lambs made £12,000, with the first of these being another son of Steel Bruno from Andy and Caroline Hunter, Steel. This smart lamb was out of a ewe by the Carry House Flash and sold to Peter and Mary Heard, Devon.

The next at this same price was from the Walkers at Brennand Farm, who have enjoyed a great autumn with their mule gimmer lambs, taking two championships at the Skipton sales and also winning the Holy Grail of mule breeders, the coveted Hawes championship too. The sire of this classy boy was the homebred P10 Brennand, which is proving to be quite and exceptional mule breeder, and out of a ewe by the M20 Carry House. This one was bought by breed heavyweights Martyn Archer, Carry House and the Porters from Riddings.

The other at the £12,000 mark came from Andrew Campbell, Overburns Farm, with a son of the Marriforth P1, and full of Hewgill breeding on the mothers side, with its mother being out of a Hewgill ewe and by the Hewgill M1. This powerful lamb went back over the border to Colin Campbell, Happrew and Obie Sharp Newbigging Walls.

The champion of the day went to Jamie Pirie, Blarnavaid, who picked up his first championship at the Hawes sale. His lamb stood out in the showring, being the first picked out in the first batch of lambs through the show ring, then the first picked out in the final line up by the Judge Declan McKillop. The firsts weren’t finished there either as the champion, by the P1 Marriforth and out of a Midlock Knightrider daughter, was the first tup lamb into the ring too. That didn’t hamper his trade either, with the hammer settling at £11,000, setting off the trade and selling to C Grisedale, Cefngwyn Hall.

Trade was pickier than some years on the whole, but the lambs averaged at a very respectable £2207 for the 491 lambs forward with 34 tups above £5000 including 15 which went on to make five figures. Buyers were looking for tups from breeders with good back breeding and good runs of mule lambs. The long days show and sale, which started at 7.15 with the show and saw the final sheep through the ring at 10.45pm, was well worth it, with plenty of breeders going home happy and looking forwards to next years sale in a years time.