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THREE days of Swaledale Sheep Breeders Association ‘C' District ram sales at Kirkby Stephen peaked at £60,000 giving Paul and Sue Hallam, Horton in Ribblesdale, their highest ever price for their second prize shearling, High Birkwith Hellboy 1.
The son of a home-bred ram out of a dam by the £18,000 Summers Lodge, sold to John Tully, Burncroft, John White, Lunedale, and Alice Amsden, Hawes.
The champion from the Wednesday, a shearling by a £30,000 Clive Dent from Mark and Fee Ewbank, Middlesmoor, sold for £45,000 to David Allison and Messrs Iceton and Sons, both Baldersdale.
Naby Unbeatable, the fourth prize winning Large Breeders ram by a £5,000 Grayrigg ram, from Clive Dent, Barnard Castle, sold for £38,000 in a three-way split to Richard Harker, Grayrigg Hall, Kendal, his brother, David Harker, Overthwaite, and Richard Hargraves, Meadow Bank.
The Grayrigg Hall consignment from Richard and Gail Harker, topped at £32,000 for a ram bought from Irish breeder, Martin Conway, which sold to Robert Wear, Howe Green, with the Harkers retaining a half share. They also sold two rams for £25,000 apiece, including Friday's champion, by a Bull and Cave ram which went to Messrs Raine, Stanhope Gate. The other, by a John Thorpe sire went to Bobby Blades, Muker, Messrs Robinson, Catlow, and Messrs Brogden, Helbeck.
Making £30,000 was a ram by a Brogden ram from John Bland, Thwaite Bridge, which was knocked down to Mark Nelson, Bull and Cave and Robert Booth, Feizor.
A brace of shearlings made £28,000 apiece. The first from the Nelsons was Bull and Cave Lionheart, by a ram bought from Bentley. It sold, in a three-way split to Christine Whitehead, Kisdon, Graham Scarr, Sedbergh and Thomas Iveson, Low Blackburn. They also sold another by the same sire for £25,000 to Trevor Blades, Brown Moor, John Bland, Thwaite Bridge, and retained a share.
The other to hit £28,000 from Robert Hutchinson, Bowes, was Valley Jazzman by a £19,000 Kisdon
ram which went to Mark Ewbank, Harrogate, Paul Ewbank, Pateley Bridge, and Rob Tennant, Hemplands.
Helbeck Unique 4 from Stanley and Pat Brodgen, Brough, sold for £25,000 to Stephen Clarkson, Low Whita, and Tom Metcalfe, Usha Gap. At the same money was a shearling from Messrs Wear, Hartsop, which was knocked down to Messrs Bland, Cote Gill, Messrs White and Messrs Wilson, Lunedale.
The first day of the sale peaked at £4,500 for a five-shear ram from Messrs Walker, Clitheroe, which sold to Messrs Pedley, Sedbergh, and Messrs Pedley, Waitby, with a four-shear ram from Messrs Beckwith, Messrs Wearmouth, Barnard Castle, making £4,000 selling back to its breeders, Messrs Beckwith, Barras.
Ram lambs peaked at £4,000 for Messrs Marwood, Newsham, selling to Messrs Brennand, Chapel le Dale.
Averages - aged rams, £826.97; ram lambs, £763.61; shearlings (day one) - 305 rams, £2,323.98 ( - 29.67 on 2020); shearlings day two - 333 rams, £3,084.98 (+451.62); overall 641 shearling rams, £2,709.20 (+223.16).
Auctioneers: Harrison and Hetherington.
