The same sire was also responsible for the reserve champion on Craven Champions Day at Skipton in February, when the Walkers won all but one of the main championship classes, including supreme honours. Their latest victor also secured top price in show when selling for £1,580 to David Hall, of Rillington, Malton.

Show judge Paul Baines, of Trawden, remained in the same class for his reserve champion, the second prize British Blue-cross heifer from father and son, Keith and Simon Wilkinson, of Northdene Farm, Out Rawcliffe, Preston, who were showing heifers for the first time ever at Skipton,

The runner-up, by one of the Wilkinson family’s stock bulls, out of a Limousin-cross-Blue cow, was knocked down for £1,390, second top price, to regular Kirklees buyer Stephen Eastwood, of Emley.

The third prize Blue-cross heifer from Richard Maudsley, of Giggleswick, also hit four figures when selling for £1,180 to Hanlith’s Jeff Burrows.

Husband and wife John and Gill Huck, and their son James, of Church Farm, Hubberholme, picked up two red rosettes in the heifer show classes. Their first prize any other breed winner, a Blonde d’Aquitaine, performed best when sold for £1,250, again to Mr Burrows, while their first prize Limousin-cross heifer made £960 on joining John Matten in Thirsk.

All prize winners in the show section for bullocks sold at four-figure prices. The red rosette British Blue-cross from Ian Moorhouse, of Dacre, made £1,120 when again knocked down to Mr Eastwood, though the runner-up from Clapham’s Jonathan Townley performed better when sold for £1,230 to Thompson Bros in Pickering.

First and second prizes in the Limousin bullocks show both fell to RM Gray, of Langbar, selling away at £1,160 and £1,120 respectively to Janet Sheard, of Almondbury, Huddersfield, and Thompson Bros again.

The show, sponsored by Armstrong Watson Accountants and Financial Advisers, formed part of Skipton’s fortnightly cattle sale, which attracted an entry of 476 head. Trade was said to be every bit as good as the previous sale, with grazing cattle finding a keen enquiry and yearling bullocks once again in very strong demand.

The 129 young feeding bulls sold to a Continental-cross average of £963.48 per head, with a native average of £843.10. The reserve championship-winning Wilkinson family were again to the fore when heading the section prices at £1,300 with another British Blue-cross, while also being responsible for the top price pen of three same-way bred bulls, each sold for £1,110.

A total of 337 bullocks and heifers were also forward, the former averaging £1,013.49 per head for Continental-cross and £802.80 for native entries. James and Deborah Ogden, of Austwick, led the way with a brace of Limousin-cross bullocks both sold for £1,290, while the top price pen of three bullocks, also Limousin-cross from Ivan Thomas, of Sutton-in-Craven, each made £1,190.

Store heifers sold to a Continental-cross average of £968.67 each, with a native average of £880.53. The Ogdens were again to the fore with the two top price pens of Limousin-cross heifers, their trio of frontrunners each selling at £1,180.

Breeding cattle sold to a high of £1,750 for a Limousin cow with Limousin calf at foot from Georgina Lawson, of Ben Rhydding.

The next fortnightly cattle sale, on Wednesday, April 29, also features the annual show and sale of pedigree British Blue bulls and females, the traditional pipe-opener to Skipton’s 2015 pedigree beef season.