Cumbria provided the champion and a first-ever title win at CCM Skipton for Ulverston’s Fred

Saunders at the annual Spring store cattle with show potential fixture at Skipton Auction Mart.

(Wed, April 17).

Showing for only the second time at Skipton Auction Mart, Mr Saunders, who farms at

Maidenlands Tarn with his wife Carol and son Dean, secured victory with his first prize British

Blue-cross heifer, a 12-month-old home-bred by Bridgedean Dallas, acquired from Michele Wilde

in Soulbury, Leighton Buzzard, out of a pure British Blonde cow.

He saw his inaugural Skipton champion sell for a show-topping £1,340 to Matt and Ben

Townsend, of Laneshawbridge, regular buyers of cattle at the fixture and the mart in general. Mr

Saunders also sold three further British Blue-cross heifers at £1,230, £1,200 and £1,180.

The Towsends acquired all three prize winners in the British Blue-cross heifer show class, the

runner-up from David Broadbent, of Midgley, at £1,320, and the third prize entry from Stephen

Horsfield, of Mytholmroyd, at £1,230.

As in previous years, British Blue-sired entries again dominated the fixture, with 2012 champions

Richard and Wendy Maudsley, who run the Littlebank herd in Rathmell, again to the fore when

turning out the reserve champion, the first prize British Blue-cross bullock.

Shown by their 16-year-old daughter Beth, the runner-up, like last year’s victor by their homebred

bull Littlebank Ernie, made £1,240 when joining another regular Skipton buyer Jeff Burrows,

of Hanlith.

The Maudsleys also presented the third in class, which joined the same buyer for £1,200, while

the second prize winner from Messrs Mason & Gardner, of Chapel-le-Dale, became a further

acquisition by the Townsends at £1,180.

Richard and Valerie Brown, of Kirkby Malham, were responsible for the first prize Limousin-cross

heifer, which fell for £980 to Lincolnshire buyer Michael Read, of Horncastle, who also paid £870

for the second in class from Long Preston’s Peter Fawcett. The third prize winner from Jonathan

Townley, of Clapham, was knocked down for £995 to Ernie Wardle, of Monyash in Derbyshire.

In the remaining show class, the red rosette-winning any other breed heifer, a Blonde-cross also

from Stephen Horsfield, found a new home in Easingwold with Michael Thuey at £1,060. Judge

was Goole suckler cow breeder and arable farmer Ian Swales.