The title fell to their first prize two-year-old bull, Oddacres Landlord, acquired at last year’s main Limousin breed highlight at Skipton from local breeders John and Claire Mason, who run the highly regarded Oddacres pedigree herd in Embsay.

Landlord is by the Masons’ reputable French-bred stock bull, Gallois, acquired several years ago, out of Oddacres April. Already with calves on the ground in the Prietec herd, the first time shown victor was paraded in the show ring by the Priestleys’ 18-year-old daughter, Mya.

Described as “a good well fleshed bull with a full back end” by show judge Andrew Fisher, of Pateley Bridge, the drinks were on Landlord when he sold for a price-topping 2,900gns, returning to North Craven with David White, of Low Birkwith Farm, Horton-In-Ribblesdale.

He will be put to use on Mr White’s 20-plus suckler herd of Limousin, British Blue and Simmental-cross cattle, and replaces another Mason-bred bull, Oddacres Bugatti, acquired in 2006, who now, aged 11, has served his time well.

With variety a keynote of the annual highlight, which brought down the curtain on the mart’s 2017 pedigree beef season, all three prizes in the bull show class fell to different breeds. Runner-up and reserve champion was a Simmental from show debutants, South Yorkshire’s Tony Hill and Ruby Wright, of the Scotland Hill pedigree herd in Wadworth, Doncaster.

Their home-bred December, 2015, Scotland Hill Godfrey 15 is a son of Burghbridge Duncan 12, and was acquired as a calf with his mother from his Suffolk breeders. He has already made his mark in the show arena as a yearling when becoming junior interbreed champion at both Newark and Lincoln.

The couple have been breeding Simmentals for eight years – they were also back-to-back winners with their cattle at the Great Yorkshire Show a few years ago - and currently have 50 cows in the herd. Out of Scotland Hill Nelda Cosmos, the reserve champion joined David Mattinson, of Bracewell in West Craven, for 1,800gns, and will be used on his dairy herd to produce strong beef calves.

Standing third was a 14-month-old Parthenais bull from the Walshaw herd of Brian Lund, based at Walshaw Farm, near Hebden Bridge. Walshaw Mokey Joe is among the last line of progeny to Willow Creek Frankie, a product of Peter Wesley’s Grimsby-based herd and well utilised by the Calderdale breeder. Out of Walshaw Diva, who remains in the herd and is again in-calf, the third prize winner sold for 1,900gns to R&E Pollard, of Colne

Mr Lund was also represented by a well thought-of 2016 maiden heifer, Walshaw Misty, again by Willow Creek Frankie, out of his Atomic daughter, Walshaw Gracie. Ripe for breeding, she sold for 2,500gns to a Yorkshire buyer who requested anonymity.

RW&HJ Lewis, who run the Redland pedigree Limousin herd in Hunsingore, near York, achieved 2,000gns with their April, 2011, cow, Redland Georgette, and her seven-month-old bull calf, Redland Mosaic, at foot. The duo – the dam has been run with Heron - joined Mick Harker in Wycoller.

Outside the show classes, a 2015 pedigree British Blue bull from W&M Seels, of Doncaster, sold well at 2,650gns to local buyer John Airey, of Elslack, while L Driver, of Oakenshaw, Bradford, also did well with pedigree Blue entries. He sold a 2010 bull for 2,000gns to G Edwards, of Preston, along with a cow with Blue bull calf at foot for 1,950gns to Silsden Moor’s Simon Bennett.

A good entry of cows with calves at foot followed the pedigree sale and trade was fast, peaking at £2,250 for a Blue-cross heifer with her Blonde-cross heifer calf from Jack Berry, of Silsden Moor, the outfit finding a new home in Nidderdale with the Middlesmoor-based Verity family. Also doing well at £2,150 was a Limousin-cross heifer with a same way bred heifer calf from James and Deborah Ogden in Austwick, which sold to Eldroth’s John Cowperthwaite.

The pedigree fixture formed part of the mart’s fortnightly Wednesday cattle sale, when a total of 731 bulls, stores and cows went under the hammer, with all successfully sold.

First up were 203 young feeding bulls, which attracted a larger attendance of buyers than of late. Willie Timm, of TWH Farming in Easingwold, sold a brace of British Blues at £1,480 and £1,410, while Robert Gornall, from Dentdale in Cumbria, sold two Limousin yearlings at £1,360 and £1,310.

Richard Harker, from Grayrigg in South Lakeland, had a run of Limousin bulls topping at £1,330, while nearer home Robert Wade, of Cononley, saw his Limousin run sell to a high of £1,320. The top price pen of three Limousin-cross bulls from the Baines family in Sedbergh each made £1,080, as feeding bulls recorded a solid overall average of £1,016 per head for all sold.

A total of 490 stores, a sizeable entry for the time of year, comprised a nice mix of both strong short keep and yearling cattle for grazing/growing, which met with a fast selling trade.

The top price bullock was a Beef Shorthorn at £1,280 from New York Farms in North Rigton, Harrogate, while Ian Hammond, from Glasshouses, saw a pair of home-bred 18-month-old Limousins each make £1,240.

The pick of the yearling bullocks at £1,190 was a 12-month-old Limousin-cross from G&R Bulmer, of Wakefield, closely followed at £1,155 for yearling Limousins from Simon Bennett, with Messrs Baldwin, of Wigan, selling 10-month-old Limousin-crosses to £1,140.

Janet Sheard, of Almondbury, Huddersfield, had the top price pen of four 16-month-old Limousin-cross bullocks, which sold at £1,100 each, and she also headed the heifer prices with a brace of 18-month-old Limousin-cross selling for £1,420 each.

Whitfield Dairies, of Oldham, sold Limousin heifers at £1,295 and £1,240, with John Brewer, from Bleasdale in the Forest of Bowland, selling a pen of three Limousin at £1,270 each. Robert Wade returned with the top price yearling, an 11-month-old Limousin-cross, which made £1,200.

A run of 10 to11-month-old Limousin-crosses from Messrs Baldwin, of Ashton, sold to a high of £1,190, a price matched by a yearling Blue-cross from Jack Wallbank, of Keasden, closely followed by a pair of 11-month-old Limousin from Richard Harker, which made £1,170 each. The top price pen of three Limousin-cross heifers from John Brewer again each made £1,270.

A similar entry of 38 beef feeding cows produced a leaner selection than of late, though these attracted a good ringside of bidders for genuine feeding types. Joint top price of £1,140 fell to a young Limousin cow from Simon Bennett and an eight-year-old Limousin-cross cow from Ned Simpson, of Pateley Bridge.

Driffield’s John and Tracey Lund sold a pair of seven-year-old Limousins at £1,070 each, with Richard Webster, of Cracoe, making £1,060 for a ten-year-old Simmental, and James Towler, from Grindleton, hitting £1,000 with a ten-year-old Limousin cow.