Brian and Judith Moorhouse, of Hesper Farm, Bell Busk, dominated the standalone show class for bulls with two classy ready for work entries. They led the way on price with their second prize bull, the home-bred Aireburn Saturn, a 12-month-old by the Genus sire, De-Su Navarro, out of Aireburn Fever Stephanie, who hails from three generations of cows rated Excellent. Saturn sold to Robert Metcalfe, of RD Metcalfe & Son, based at Grange Farm, Brearton, Otley, and will go to work on their commercial dairy herd.

While regularly among the prizes with their Skipton milkers, father and daughter, Edward and Georgie Fort, of the Silmoor pedigree herd, based at High Bracken Hill Farm on Silsden Moor, were winning their first-ever dairy title at the venue with their first prize newly calven heifer, Silmoor Medallion Susan, a December, 2014, home-bred by their own Medallion stock bull, himself a Picston Shottle son.

The dam is the Silmoor Moses Susan daughter, Silmoor Legend Susan, who gave more than 14.500 litres across two previous lactations and remains in the Fort’s 120-strong milk herd, being in-calf to the Cogent sire, DG Brody.

Mr Fort, who has been a club member since 1984 and judged Skipton’s inaugural Yorkshire Holstein Club show and sale last August, was naturally delighted to return to the follow-up fixture and present the overall champion. Calved for 21 days and giving 27 litres, the victor made £1,800 when claimed by regular buyers Alf and Andrew Townsend, of Southfield, Burnley.

The Moorhouses - Brian has just taken over as president of the Yorkshire Holstein Club – were also responsible for the first prize bull, Aireburn Sharpe, who turns one-year-old next month and is another home-bred by the Genus dairy bull, Cookiecutter Harper, himself a son of De-Su Balisto and from the Cookiecutter cow family in Hudson Falls, New York.

From the prolific and long established Aireburn Scilla family, the red rosette winner sold for £2,000 to David and Dee Holmes, of Castley, Otley, and will take his place on their 140-strong Holmedale Holstein Friesian pedigree herd.

All three pedigree dairy bulls entered sold away well to average £2,100, with the third prize winner, Dalesbrad Sterling Silver, by Seagull Bay Silver, from inaugural Yorkshire Holstein Club show champions Alan and Susan Throup, who run the Dalebrad pedigree herd at Higher House Farm, Silsden Moor, making £1,110 when joining Duncan Robinson in Eldroth.

Back with the ‘ladies,’ the Moorhouses were on the mark yet again with the second prize newly calven heifer and overall reserve champion, Aireburn Lineman Bowe, a March, 2015, daughter of the Semex sire, Comestar Lineman and the first of his Aireburn progeny to come to market.

She is by the Aireburn Blitz Bowe daughter, Aireburn Mammoth Bowe, who gave over 14,000 litres across two lactations. The Bowe line was first established in the Aireburn herd when the Moorhouses bought cows at Michael Hunter’s dispersal sale in Castley, Otley, quite a number of years ago.

The overall runner-up, 22 days calved and giving 29 litres, also topped the heifer section when selling for £1,950 to the Sowray brothers dairy farming family at Bowes Green Farm, Bishop Thornton.

Father and daughter, David and Suzy Lawson, of the Newbirks pedigree Holstein herd at Mill Farm, Arthington, had the third prize heifer, the November, 2014, Newbirks Heliotrope, who comes from a long established and milk-rich line, and is by the Genus sire, Matcrest Sham Charlie, out of the recently sold Heliotrope 346, whose own dam, Heliotrope 331, remains in the Newbirks herd. The 35 days-calved 31-litre heifer sold for £1,780 to Ribchester’s Brian Blezzard.

The Yorkshire Holstein Club sale helped produce a strong turnout of 42 head of dairy cattle, with buyers drawn from near and far, including one from Sussex.

Other notable prices achieved by club members included Alan and Susan Throup again with their home-bred Dalesbrad Pan Ash daughter, Dalesbrad Pan Ash Dawn 2, which made £1,850 and remained in the family when joining Mr Throup’s brother, Ken, who also farms on Silsden Moor at nearby Woofa Bank with his wife Lynne.

Andrew Jennings, who runs the Jennings Farmers pedigree Abbeyhouse herd in Fountains, Ripon, also caught the eye with his Monument Impression daughter, Abbeyhouse Imp Jen, which sold away at £1,800, again to the Sowrays.

Yorkshire Holstein Club secretary Rachel Coates said they were pleased with the growing success of the Skipton fixture, which had particular appeal to members looking to showcase cattle with better pedigrees. Keen to build further on the highlight, a second Yorkshire Holstein show and sale has been scheduled for Monday, September 4.

Back in the show arena, the first and third prize newly calven commercial heifers came from Mark Stapleton, of Addingham Moorside. Both became further Sowray brothers’ acquisitions at £1,550 and £1.480 respectively. The first prize newly calven cow from Bingley’s Keith Downs, sold for £1,350 to Nidderdale’s Fred and Mike Longster, from Fellbeck.

Gargrave’s John Beckwith made a welcome return to the Skipton dairy arena and took both first and second prizes in the in-calf heifer show class, both selling at £1,280, with the same price also achieved by entries from John Roberts, of Huddersfield, and Beamsley’s Duncan Holme.

Pedigree newly calven heifers averaged £1,706 and their commercial counterparts £1,431, with in-calf heifers averaging £1,112.50. Show classes were judged by William Oldfield, of the Whinhill pedigree Holstein Friesian herd in Newsholme, Joint sponsors were National Milk Records and the NFU’s Skipton branch.

A smaller Monday turnout of 30 rearing calves sold to a high of £380 for a British Blue-cross bull calf from Malcolm Fewster, of Cleckheaton, while heifers topped at £360 for another Blue-cross from Burton Leonard’s Fred Houseman. The Continental-cross average was £303 per head.

Native entries averaged £215,  Mr Houseman leading the way again with an Aberdeen Angus-cross heifer calf at £230 and Mr Fewster chipping in once more with the top price £200 Angus bull calf. A strong black and white trade produced a section average of £109.80 per head, with James Gooch, of Cononley, hitting top price of £165 with a bull calf.