Gambles grab glory yet again at Skipton Christmas cull ewes fixture
Easingwold husband and wife, Ken and Hazel Gamble, gained further glory when sending out the cull ewe champions for an eighth consecutive year no less at Skipton Auction Mart’s festive show and sale. (Mon, Dec 14)
The Brickyard Farm couple achieved yet another Christmas coup with their usual annual entry of five pure home-bred Texels, which clearly impressed Halifax show judge, Lister Brown, as he paid the day’s top price of £169.50 each for his chosen title winners, comfortably exceeding last year’s selling price of £123.50 per head for the 2019 victors.
The Gambles also consigned the second prize same way bred pen, these selling away at £127.50, with the third prize pen from R Spencer & Son, of Rotherham, making £109.50. The same home was also responsible for the first prize Mules, which sold for £103.50, capping a good day for the South Yorkshire vendors when they also presented the third prize pair of Texel ewes, these each making £135.50.
Standing reserve champions were the first prize hill ewes, a nice pen of Cheviots from Grain Farms in Hebden Bridge, which sold at £114.50 per head, the breed averaging £100.
The first prize pair of Texel ewes from Pannal’s Anne Robinson doing sold at £153.50, the runners-up from Flasby Estates making £119.50. The red rosette-winning pen of horned ewes, Lonks from Steve and Val Morris, of Dutton, Preston, made £71.50.
All eight buyers ringside were present to compete for large numbers of ewes, for which trade was well up on the week to level at £84.72 overall. Out of a turnout of 337 head, 37 pens to include 80 ewes sold at £100-plus. Cast rams averaged £87.95.