Father and son, David and Robin Booth, saw their two first prize pens go on to be awarded leading honours in both show classes at the first major Mule lamb sale of the year, which remains one of the leading fixtures of its kind in the North of England.

Seven of title-winning pen of ten were by the Booths’ celebrated Bluefaced Leicester ram, D15 Smearsett, a former Kilnsey Show supreme champion, who was also responsible for half of their 2016 champion tens. One at the latest renewal was got by their home-bred G11 tup ‘Ted,” the other two by one of his ram lambs.

The victors sold for £230 per head, the day’s top price by some way, to 18-year-old Katie Haines, of Winslow in Buckinghamshire’s Aylesbury Vale, and will be used to start her first north country flock, while the family’s similarly bred pen of 20s fell for £155 each when joining co-judge Ross Sizmur, of Okehampton in Devon, who also bought the Booths’ champion tens pen last year.

The annual highlight attracted another robust turnout of 7,073 head, which sold to an overall average of £98.09 per head, an increase of £1.25 on last year’s corresponding fixture.

Craven Cattle Marts’ livestock sales manager Ted Ogden noted: “The sale ring was packed from start to finish with a large ringside of buyers and it is pleasing to report that trade was very sensible, with the overall average taking a small rise on the year, although some lambs were a shade smaller due to wet weather generally seen over the past couple of months.

“Most vendors’ runs showed a rise on the year, smart lambs with power and good skins being especially good to sell, and smarter runs maintaining their trade from last year.”

Multiple past champions Ashley and Rachael Caton, of Otterburn Lodge, also secured a notable double with the two reserve champion ten and 20s pens. Four of the former were by their home-bred ram lamb J12, fondly known at home as ‘Jack Robinson’ – and so named after the field in which he was active - two were got by a 2016 purchase, J1 Smearsett, also bred by the Booths, the remainder by home-bred stock tups.

The Catons’ tens sold for £185 per head, with their similarly bred 20s making a class-leading £180 each,.

Back with the tens, regular leading price performer Kevin Wilson, of Blubberhouses, was again to the fore when selling his fifth prize pen for £175 per head, while next best at £165 each was the sixth prize pen from Threshfield’s Charles and Richard Kitching, who also sold their third prize pen of 20s for £150, with their best-selling pen of tens hitting £180.

John and Claire Mason, who run the Oddacres flock in Embsay, also did well with £175 and £155 pens, with mother and son, Janet and James Huck, of Austwick, hitting £172, the Fawcett family from Barden £170, Ellis Bros, of Addingham Moorside £165 and the Walker family from Dunsop Bridge £150.

CCM Auctions again presented cash prizes for the day’s leading flock averages. Of the vendors consigning 100 or more lambs, it was Hucks in Austwick who led the way with a pen of 125 that averaged £123.86 per head, with the all-conquering Booth family second best with 128 lambs that averaged £122.92, followed by Otterburn Lodge with 177 at £113.77.

Flock averages for under 100 lambs peaked at £115.32 each for 62 from Calton’s Robert Crisp, with the Fawcetts - husband and wife Stephen and Tracey Fawcett, and their daughter Samantha – next best with 85 at £114,85, while Richard Hargreaves, of Barley, finished third with 80 averaging £110.13.

Title winners in both show classes received Ciba Geigy perpetual trophies, with the champion pen of tens, the other co-judge was Andrew Collett, of Banbury, also awarded the Chester Kneller Memorial Trophy. Co-judges in the 20s class were Stephen Bolland, of Bolton Abbey, and Richard Ogg, of Coleby.
Show sponsors – full results and prices are at www.ccmauctions.com - were Pearson Farm Supplies, Armstrong Watson Accountants & Financial Advisers, and Barclays Bank.

Attention now turns to Skipton’s second annual NEMSA gimmer lamb show and sale on Tuesday, September 19, when another huge turnout of up to 10,000 is anticipated.