Hawes – 3rd October 2024

Hawes Show & Sale

Thursday 3rd October 2024

Kindly sponsored by I’Anson Bros Ltd & Farmers Guardian Newspaper

After the buzz of the mule gimmer lamb sales this year there was an expectant air around the Hawes tup sales which is noted for bringing out the best of the breed. This air of expectancy turned into a real buzz as the ring was packed from the moment the sale started until the hammer fell at the final lot, at 9pm, after 12 hours of selling for the auctioneering team at Hawes, who saw 527 sheep through the ring, with 12 lots hitting five figures and a further 32 at £5000 and above, giving a massive average for the sale of tup lambs of £2571, up £369 on the year for around  50 less lambs forward.

Raymond Lund, who retired from full time duties earlier this year and was presented an engraved glass from the Association to show their appreciation, started the sale off selling the shearlings and aged rams, but it was the new main man, Ian Atkinson, who was at the centre of the lamb trade, drawing out the bids from buyers who had descended on Hawes from all corners of the UK, aided more than ably by Kenton Foster, Hawe’s other resident auctioneer.

The judging stared early at 7.15, judged ably by Obie Sharp and Alan Rogerson, and in the tup lamb section the champion came from the Steel flock. The Steel had two lambs in the top 6 placings, they were full brothers out of one of the flocks best breeding lines and by the £25,000 Midlock Magic which has been casting his spell over both the Steel flock and the Carry House flock this last couple of years. Magic has excelled in the mule department for both flocks, siring 22 lambs out of 25 for both flocks at the first Hexham sale, where Carry House were first and Steel a close second. Such quality for the mules was bound to draw the buyers in and his tups proved to be up to the job too. Steels Champion lamb had seen him clinch both the breed and interbreed championships earlier in the season at Bellingham show before taking the coveted Red White and Blue ticket at Hawes. Despite being early in the ballot they set the tone for the day ahead when Ian took the first bid for the Champion at £5000, and saw him race away, with the hammer falling at £30,000, selling to Perth breeders J & M Forbes from the Moosblues flock, who regularly sell shearlings at Stirling. They loved his body and colour and were pleased to be able to take this cracker home. Trade wasn’t finished in the Steel consignment when their second lamb, which had taken 5^th in the show, fared even better and went on to sell for £45,000 after some frantic bidding. This long stretchy lamb with a great outlook headed back to Scotland with the Campbells of Happrew and Glenrath taking a share each in him. Another Magic son from the Steel flock went on to make £14,000. This was out of a daughter of Hewgill K26 and was full of power, with loads of bone and a full head on him. He sold in a three way split to the Midlock, Beeches and Marriforth flocks. With another Magic son making £9500 the Steel flock left the ring with an incredible average for their 9 lambs of £13,389, a great family achievement for Andy and Caroline Hunter and their children Lewis and Pippa, who wont be forgetting this day for quite some time!

With the Steel setting the trade off early doors, it was left to the Hewgill flock to hold the punters in the ring, coming in late in the sale. Their pen of tups was much admired, with viewers in all day, impressed with such a great batch of lambs, full of power and great crossing bloodlines. Their mule gimmer lambs had certainly done the business earlier this autumn, taking the Champions at both Hawes and Penrith, and buyers were looking to get their hands on these bloodlines from Hewgill which has been one of the most consistent and respected flocks within the breed for many years. It was their number five lamb which caught the eye of many breeders. Full of power, with a full head on him and full of old crossing blood. He is by the old Hewgill Z14, who was ahead of his time, producing pen after pen of top-quality mule gimmers, with 8 out of their top 10, which won Kirkby Stephen in 2009, by him, as well as countless tups by him which went on to do well. His mother is the full sister to the £30,000 N1 Hewgill and they are retaining a full brother to him for their own use. Bidding was brisk for him and it was Kirkby Stephen breeders, Richard Hutchinson, Kirkby Redgate and George Sheilds, Skeughdale teaming up once again to pay out £35,000 for his services. Their number one lamb certainly caught the eye too, full of style and eye-catching colour combined with smashing bloodlines again. This cocky lad was by a £3000 Sealhouses tup they bought last year, who was a son of the K1 Steel, and has done a great job for them. His mother is by the M39 Hewgill, which has sired some of their best mule gimmers of late, and she is one of the flocks best ewes. The ring fell quiet as he strode into the ring and the bids fair flew in and when Ian dropped the hammer, after coaxing the last few bids out of the under bidders, it was for £32,000, selling to a quartet of buyers, Robbie Hallam, High Birkwith, Shaun Procter, Spurigg, Midlock and Dawyck. The Hewgill flock levels at £11,800 for their 8 lambs.

In the show it was a Magic 1-2 as Martyn Archers number one lamb was also by Midlock Magic and went on to pick up the Reserve Champion ticket, pipped at the post by his good friend! This solid lamb is out of a daughter of the Carry House Ronaldo tup which has done so well for the flock. It caught the eye of the judges and they followed through their confidence in it by snapping him up with a bid of £20,000, taking him back to Newbigging Walls in the Scottish Borders. The reserve Champion went back to the full sister of Carry House Jackpot, K42 Carry House, and this was the mother to T38 Carry House, Martyn’s 6^th lamb into the ring. This was by the Ronaldo tup and sold for £18,000, selling to Andy Hunter, Steel and J Warnock, Coultermuir. Martyn’s pen of 10 lambs enjoyed a strong trade levelling at £7170 and sets him up well for the dispersal of the adult portion of his flock in late December this year, where no doubt some people will already be saving up for!

Midlock enjoyed a late turn through the ring, and as ever, they enjoyed a good trade for their pen of lambs, which were full of quality throughout. Their topper was the T16 Midlock, which came latish in the run. This was a son of the M1 Riddings, which has been consistently breeding well for the flock, and out of a strong ewe by the L27 Midlock, which again has done well for the flock after taking the Highland Championship way back in 2019. He sold for £18,000 to a trio of noted mule breeders, namely the Riddings, Gragareth and Shitlington flocks. Midlock’s first lamb into the ring, by the Breck House tup they bought last year and out of a M1 Riddings daughter, sold in a £10,000 deal to Breck House, buying back some of their own genetics, coupled with more breedy bloodlines from the Midlock family. Midlock also saw a bid of £9000 for a lamb by the homebred R26 out of a West Biggins ewe by the Highberries H2.

The Fourth prize lamb in the mornings show came from Marian and William Porter and their Skelgate flock. This smart lamb was by the S1 Brennand that Riddings bought last year out of Hawes for £12,000 and he was out of the £6000 Hewgill ewe that they bought and has proved to be a great breeding sheep for them. He sold for £16,000 to Jamie Pirie, Blarnavaid and they also sold his full brother for £5000, with a further pair of full brothers heading to Carlisle later this week.

There were a brace of lambs to hit the five figure mark in the sale, the first of these was a new top price for the Macqueston flock from Alec and Anders Brown, who had seen their previous best just tantalisingly short of the five figures at £9500 for quite a few years and they were as pleased as punch when they went one bid better to make £10,000 for their strapping lamb by the S6 Carry House, selling to J Carr, Camp Hill. The Macqueston flock also so another bid of £7500 for a son of their Farden S3, to complete a good day at the office for them.

Star of the show last year, Declan McKillop from the Giants Causeway flock, brought over another good pen of lambs and saw him start the day out well, picking up third prize with his Mistyburn Monty sired lamb. He was out of a Popeye daughter and was full brother to his £9000 lamb he sold last year. This was knocked down for £10,000, selling to Sandy Ainslie, Linkshead.

The atmosphere at the sale was electric all day and many old timers said that it was the biggest buzz at the sale for many a year. With so many tups finding new homes over the course of the sale, and with such a strong trade throughout for all tups, it bodes well for the future of the breed in its centrepiece sale at Hawes.