South-West Wales handler and triallist, Llion Harries, was top dog on price with a £9000 sale of his beautifully bred rising two-year-old black, white and mottled Jim at CCM Skipton Auction Mart's timed online Spring working sheepdog sale. (Wed, April 2)
Llion, from Crymych in Pembrokeshire, farms 500 South Country Cheviot sheep in the foothills of the Preseli mountains, a name he has adopted as his prefix, with his Skipton top price performer a May, 2023, son of Preseli Jock, who has twice represented the Welsh team and was last year’s Welsh Driving Champion.
His own sire, also Jock, won a host of prestigious titles in the hands of Lancastrian trialling legend Ricky Hutchinson, among them English Nursery, English National and International Supreme Championships. Preseli Jock’s dam was Llion’s faithful, never-to-be-sold Preseli Fly, now 11 and still in work, with whom he also twice represented the Welsh National team and won the 2022 International qualifier.
In addition, Fly, also responsible for many top-notch progeny Llion has sold across the UK, Europe and into America, is a litter sister to Preseli Ci, twice International Supreme Champion in the hands of fellow Welshman and leading triallist Kevin Evans.
Now 29, Llion first started training sheepdogs when he was just 11 and began competing in trials at 14, along the way winning the One Man and His Dog young handler competition aged 15.
Standout back breeding also includes multiple past National, International Supreme, even World Champions, and with such impressive credentials – the dam is Nel from fellow North Wales handler Alan Wyn Jones – Jim became the second highest price ever achieved by Llion, creating avid online interest before falling to a Canadian buyer, Campbell Forsyth, of Eriksdale, located in the Interlake Region of central Manitoba, some 118 km north of Winnipeg.
Second top call of £7500 fell to a part-broken dog – a heady price for one not fully trained – from the Hope Valley’s Emma Jane, of Crookhill Farm, Derwent, in the Derbyshire Peak District. Her Deepdale Glen, an October, 2023, black and white son of Lancastrian Ricky Hutchinson's Jonah, another multiple trials-winning stud dog, was acquired as an eight-week-old pup from Cumbrian breeder Joanne Brown, of Dent. Out of Dunelle Rua, Glen fell to A Cotswold buyer from Chipping Norton.
Second top in the part-broken section of £5100 went to a 12-month-old black and white bitch, Lin, from exactly the same home, namely Emma’s partner, David Wood, the 2025 English Nursery Final Champion, the second time he has won the title. Lin is also by Jonah, out of Bess, from Tom Ollerenshaw, now shepherding in Scotland. The buyer was Skipton regular John Atkinson, from Escrick, York.
Kevin Evans, of Llwynfedwen, Brecon, was himself represented by four dogs, two fully-broken, two part-broken, a dog and a bitch in each category, which together netted a combined total of £18800.
The five times ISDS International Supreme Champion, who last year added both the Welsh and Supreme Championships, then this year’s Four Nations Nursery Championship to his ever-growing tally on the trials field, had finished top dog on price at Skipton’s two previous sales this year, one online, the other a live field-run fixture.
Doing best of the quartet at £6700 was his Welsh Nursery Champion, Syfnny Sal, a fully-broken November, 2023, black and white daughter of Hendre Sam, line bred to dual European Nursery and Royal Welsh Champion Tanhill Glen, out of fellow Welsh breeder Dyfed Davies’ Maze.
Sal fell to a regular American buyer, Dr Karen Thompson, of New Kent County, Virginia, who has been importing steadily from Kevin since 2012. The retired theologian who has been working, training and breeding Border Collies for some 40 years, was herself a well-known triallist in the 1970s and 1980s, serving on the board of directors of the North American Sheepdogs, which later became The American International Sheepdog Society and now the American Border Collie Association.
Making £5400 and again falling to Dr Thompson was another fully-trained black and white dog, Kemi Moss, who turned two-years-old just a day after the sale. By County Donegal-based Irish handler Alistair Lyttle’s, the dam is Kevin’s own Kemi Nan, a daughter of his European Nursery Champion and dual Welsh and International Brace Champion, Derwen Doug, and granddaughter of Tanhill Glen, also a litter sister of 2024 Supreme Champion Kemi Jack.
Kemi Jack was also the sire of Kevin’s first part-broken entry, Hilltop Steel, a slate blue, tan and white dog again November, 2023-born, out of another well-known Welsh handler Natalie Matthews’ Astra Floss. The buyer at £3700 was Dutchman Martin Reitsma, of Lippenhuizen, a village in the municipality of Opsterland.
Kevin’s final and youngest entry was a fully home-bred 11-month-old part-broken black and white bitch, Kemi Cass, by Thornbury Max, a South Wales Nursery Champion and reserve All-Wales Nursery Champion, out of Kemi Joy, herself a £6000 Skipton sale. Cass made £3000 when heading to Newcastle-upon-Tyne with R&TN Postlethwaite.
Back with the broken entries, also catching the eye at £5000 and the top Scottish entry on price was Benji, a July, 2022, black and white dog from regular Skipton vendor and buyer, Neil Sutherland, who actually hails from Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands. By TA O’Sullivan’s Mac, out of F Mongan’s Jess, Benji, who represented North Scotland in the nursery final this winter having gained a first place and numerous placings throughout the season, fell to an unnamed Welsh purchaser.
From Cheshire, Macclesfield sheep farmer and triallist, Andrew Heathcote, hit £4100 with his January, 2023, black and white dog, Jaff, by S Cottrell’s Jim, out of SC Massey’s Fly. Still eligible for this season’s nurseries, Jaff goes north of the border to Aberdeenshire with Kenneth Brehmer, of Turriff,
A total of three broken dogs topped £3000, among them a brace at £3200. First at this price was Irish handler Eamonn Egan, of Ballynasloe in Co. Galway, with his November, 2022, black, white and tan dog, Sherlockstown Davy, by M O’Malley’s 2023 Irish National Champion, Bruce, followed at the same price by a Welsh-bred June, 2022, black and white bitch, Gwyddil Dot from Trystan Davies, of Newtown in Powys. She is a daughter of fellow Welshman Aled Owen’s Llangwm Bud, the 2022 Welsh National champion and Reserve Supreme Champion.
Local handler, Harrogate's Peter Simpson, made £3100 with his September, 2022, black and white dog, Roy, while a further three dogs topped £2000, with seven more selling at £1000-£2000.
There was also a four-figure top of £1200 among the unbroken dogs, this falling to Northern Ireland’s Nicola Lock, from Cullnaughton in Co Mayo, with her six-month-old black, white and tan bitch, Sue, by KG Gamble’s Ballyglass Dug, who is producing some quality young nursery types. The Irish buyer was County Donegal’s John McLoone.
In total there were 17 fully broken 19 part-broken and 16 unbroken entries of which 17 were from England, 15 from Ireland, 12 from Wales and eight from Scotland.
Average prices from the day were: Broken registered dogs from 2400gns to 9000gns (av £4422); broken registered bitches from 1000gns to 6700gns (av £3413).
Part-broken registered dogs from 700gns to 7500gns (av £2685); part-broken registered bitches from 550gns to 5100gns (av £2586).
Unbroken registered dogs from 450gns to 700gns (av £604); unbroken registered bitches from 600gns to 1200gns (av £840).