Skipton Jacob highlight produces near-double record breed price of 4,600gns for Pentrenant ram lamb
The breed record for a Jacob sheep was shattered not once, but twice, at a scintillating Jacob Sheep Society Northern Region 43rd annual show and sale at Skipton Auction Mart, on Saturday, September 1st.
On a quite exceptional day of trading, not only was the previous breed record price of 2,600gns, jointly set at Skipton and Worcester two years earlier, easily surpassed, but it was also not too far from being doubled by the new all-time high breed record price of 4,600gns for the day’s overall reserve champion, the first prize ram lamb and male champion from Jean Price’s Pentrenant flock from Churchstoke, Powys.
The January-born 4-horn ram lamb, Pentrenant Pimms, is by the Blackbrook Fire Balls son, Kinloch Franco, acquired two years ago from Scottish breeder Mike Munro, of Ladybank, Fife, and out of a ewe by Hope Flash Lad, who was bought as a lamb from fellow Welsh breeders Wyn and Siwan Harries.
The record price breaker was claimed by a Scottish consortium comprising Gordon Connor and Scott Dalrymple, of the Dun-Mor flock from Linlithgow, West Lothian, and Ewan McMillan, who runs the Luruha flock at Lurg Farm, Fintry, in Lanarkshire.
On a day when record prices were seen in both the male and female sections, a new breed record of 2,700gns had been set just an hour earlier for the first prize shearling ewe and supreme champion from Wyn and Siwan Harries’ Hope flock, based at Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire.
Their home-bred January-born 4-horner by Pike Field Braveheart, bred by Kevin Gaskell in Horwich and traded in a straight swap two years ago for a ram lamb from the Harries family - though the ram will soon be returning to the Hope flock - found a new home north of the border with Helen Baillie of Carluke in South Lanarkshire.
It was the first time the Hope flock had shown sheep at Skipton, though Wyn Harries has regularly been on duty there as an inspector. They, too, have enjoyed a successful year in the Jacob show arena, breeding the champion and reserve at the Royal Welsh Show, the reserve champion at the Royal Highland Show this year, standing reserve champion at the Scottish Region sale at St Boswells, and winning at the Welsh regional sale with a ram lamb.
Back with the ram lambs, the 2017 Skipton supreme championship winners, the Trumper family who run the Beiliau flock at Brynderi, Abergavenny, again made the long journey north worthwhile when achieving some solid prices.
Doing best at 850gns was a February-born 2-horn ewe lamb by Border Windrush, also responsible for siring the family’s 2017 victor, out of a Pard House dam, which sold locally to Betty Palmer’s Nettlebed flock in Grindleton.
The family also made 700gns with another Border Windrush-bred charge, their third prize lamb ram, Beiliau Defender, a January-born 2-horner which sold to Jamie Hardman. of Windermere, with the same combination of vendor and purchaser achieving 510gns for the third prize shearling ewe. This was again by Border Windrush, a ram bred by Clive Richardson in Cumbria and used jointly with fellow Welsh Jacob breeder Rhodri Jones, who has the Lower Argoed flock in Builth Wells, Powys.
Mrs Price’s husband Robert, who runs his own Pentre flock, again won tickets at Skipton, sending out the third prize ewe lamb, a January-born 4-horner by his own Overdale Robert Price, out of a Royal Three Counties Show first prize winning grand-daughter of Pentrenant Will.I.Am, which sold for 540gns to Ewan McMillan. Mr Price also stepped up with the second and third prize aged ewes, the latter making 160gns.
Mike Munro himself did well with two 500gns sales, among them the second prize ram lamb, the January-born 4-horner Kinloch Harry by Oakdean Dave, and another prize-winning ewe lamb from the same home. Both rosette winners were out of home-bred ewes by Blackbrook Fire Balls. The ram lamb joined Shirley Masterman and Roselyn Richards’ Ghyllcroft flock in Ripon, the gimmer lamb falling to Robert Newall, of Hexham.
Heading the aged ewe prices at 230gns was the first prize winner from the Ridout and Higginson family –Vera Ridout, her daughter Hayley Higginson and granddaughter Abbie, who run the Meadowland flock at Somerford Booths, near Congleton in Cheshire.
The sale attracted a 143-strong entry and produced the following averages: Ram lambs £736, shearling ewes £349, ewe lambs £197. shearling rams £112. Show judge was Lesley Partridge of Droitwich, Worcestershire, with Skipton-based JACS Trade & DIY again sponsoring.
Show and sale organiser Gavin Haworth, who runs the Hurrsdale flock in Skipton, said: “Once again Skipton Auction Mart proved the place to be for selling Jacob sheep. With a strong selection of both 2-horn and 4-horn sheep, we once again attracted a huge array of vendors and buyers from the length and breadth of the country, as well as Northern Ireland. Providing a quality environment to show, and then sell, we hope to keep growing the sale year on year and breaking more records in the future!”