It fell to a second prize junior heifer from the Podehole herd in Thorney, Peterborough, run by Charles and Sally Horrell, and son Harry. Their March, 2020, Podehole Rothes Phoebe is by the Meonhill Charlie Chaplin son, Knockenjig Hercules, bred by David and Rosemary Dickie, and acquired by the Horrells after standing junior champion at the Royal Highland Show. He has bred bulls to 9,000gns for the family.

Out of the Fandango daughter, Podehole Rothes Kitty – a line going back to cows purchased from the late Christopher Marler’s Wavendon herd – the roan heifer equalled the centre record selling price set three years earlier by Stuart and Gail Currie’s Beautry herd in nearby Rathmell when joining past fixture purchasers A&C Farms in Langham, Oakham.

The Horrells, who established their multi award-winning herd in 1992 and currently calve some 60 females – Mrs Horrell is a past president of the Beef Shorthorn Society – made the long trip north with five entries, among which was also the reserve female and overall reserve supreme champion, a second prize junior heifer.

Podehole Rita Philomena is an April, 2020, red and little white daughter of Podehole Rock Legend, who is himself a semen-sired son of the renowned Australian bull, Royalla Rockstar. Bred from another Hercules daughter, this time Podehole Rita Liberty, the reserve champion maiden heifer made second top call of 7,400gns when joining Gerard te Lintelo, of Mayfield Beef Shorthorns in Wolsingham. Podehole sold two further maiden heifers at 2,500gns and 2,400gns

The supreme champion also came from the same 2020-born heifer show class as the reserve supreme. Clinching first the female championship, then the overall title were Dumfriesshire brothers Tom and David Bradley Farmer, who run the Meonside herd at Parkgate Farm, Parkgate.

They took top honours with their May, 2020, light roan Meonside Desiree Penelope, the first-ever daughter to be sold by Caramba Kinvara, acquired privately several years ago from well-known Irish breeder Tommy Staunton in Co. Galway. The dam is the Knockenjig Foremost daughter, Coldrochie Desiree, a 4,500gns dispersal sale acquisition three years ago.

The victor sold free of the bull and returned to her sire’s breeder Mr Staunton following a successful online bid of 5,200gns. Scottish show judge, Carey Coombes, who runs the Dunsyre pedigee herd in Lanarkshire, described his chosen champion as “a good, thick, but not too thick Beef Shorthorn, yet very feminine with a tremendous top line – like a table – and beautifully turned out.”

The adjudicator had high praise, too, for the overall quality, high standard and soundness of the cattle in every single show class. “It was as good a standard of heifers I have judged in a long time,” he noted.

Skipton is a happy hunting ground for Meonside, which was making only its second appearance at the breed highlight – their first two years earlier produced a top price of 6,000gns for a prize-winning junior heifer.

The Bradley Farmers first established their now third generation herd in 2007 in Hampshire, moving lock, stock and barrel to Scotland three years ago. They now have some 50 cows on the ground, plus three stock bulls, whose daughters were all represented at the Skipton highlight, the other two both picking up tickets.

They also stood third in the same heifer show class as their champion with another May-born entry, Meonside Shamrock Pocahontas, a roan by Meonside King Kong, a maternal brother to the family’s 27,000gns breed record price holder, Meonside Nidavellir, while the dam, Caramba Lovely Lovely, which goes back to the renowned Erin family, was another Irish buy at 4,000gns. Again sold empty she, too, did well at 5,000gns when also joining Mr Staunton.

In addition, the Bradley Farmers finished runners-up in the senior heifer show class with the December, 2019, Meonside Tessa Nativity, a light roan by Willingham Kensington, the sire of their 27,000gns breed record price holder, whose first sons sold at auction to average 20,000gns.

Out of Meonside Tessa Lilac and from the same family as the much admired 4,200gns Nebula, Nativity was sold in-calf to Caramba Kinvara, earning a further early Christmas bonus for the breeders when making 2,800gns and selling to another internet buyer from Northern Ireland, Gordon Snodgrass, of Strabane, Co. Kildare.

With buyers keen to source cattle in-calf, the heifers in this section peaked at 5,000gns for an entry from Peter Turnbull’s Oakleigh herd in Kildale, near Whitby, which sold Oakleigh Natasha, a 2019 roan heifer by the Chapelton Wildfire son, Castlemount Ross. She was bred from the Blelack Masterpiece cow, Oakleigh Gorgeous, and in-calf to Oakleigh Picasso.

Mr Turnbull also chipped in with a third prize junior heifer, Oakleigh Nellie, herself a July, 2019, roan daughter of Blelack Masterpiece, out of a home-bred dam by Gilven Ace of Spades, Again in-calf to Picasso, she sold at 3,600gns when going north of the border with Greenock’s John McIntire.

Another familiar face at the Skipton sale, The Rt Hon Gerald Turton, of the Upsall herd near Thirsk, this year arrived with a brace of in-calf heifers again in the hands of stockman George McCulloch. Doing best at 4,700gns was Jilt X1437 of Upsall, a 2019 Firefox of Upsall daughter bred from the Dingo of Upsall daughter, Jilt X1059. Backed by a good set of maternal trait EBVs and having run with New Line of Upsall, she found of new home in Cumbria with M Robinson, of Kendal. The second in-calf heifer, Clipper X1403 of Upsall, another 2019 Firefox daughter again due to New Line, made 3,500gns.

Back in show, from Calderdale, Mark and Tracy Severn, who run the Highlee herd in Barkisland, won the class for the youngest 2020 heifers with Highlee Duchess Penelope, a white June-born daughter of Coldrochie Leif (by Fearn Godfather), out of the Croxtonpark Ken daughter, Sandwick Duchess Zoe, bred by the Eden Valley Ivinsons and a Great Yorkshire Show female and reserve breed champion. Sold free of the bull, the lady Penelope earned a 3,200gns selling price when going up the A65 to GT&MA Wearmouth in Kirkby Lonsdale.

Second prize in the same show class fell to the North Craven Curries with another June-born entry, Beautry Tessa Persephone, by the Millerston Jester son, Highlee Milo, a first prize winner at the 2019 Great Yorkshire Show, out of a home-bred Poyntington Himself daughter, Beautry Tessa Mildred, also a second prize winner at the Great Yorkshire the same year, as well as standing first prize maiden heifer in the North of England Club Competition. She sold free of the bull for 3,600gns to DP&SM Day & Son, of Ingleby Greenhow in Hambleton. The Beautry herd sold further maiden heifers at 3,400gns and 2,600gns.

The third prize winner from Allan Jackson, who trades as Headlind Partners at Kirkfield Bank in South Lanarkshire, was Headlind Duchess Rowan, a red and little white daughter of Dunsyre Horatio born in January this year. Out of a home-bred Tofts Atlas dam, she, too, went Northern Ireland at 1,800gns with D&T Alexander, of Clough in Co Down.

Also catching the eye with a 3,600gns maiden heifer sale was the Thomson, Roddick & Laurie farming partnership’s Shawhill herd at Eaglesfield, near Lockerbie. Their Shawhill Dewdrop Phoenix, a June, 2020, daughter of the 20,000gns Fearn Godfather, out of a Glenisla Zetor-sired dam, joined Welsh buyer, EM Roberts, of Llithfaen on Gwynedd’s Llŷn Peninsula.

Another April, 2020, maiden heifer from Andrew Thompson’s Pikelowe herd in Higher Wheelton, Chorley, got away at 3,100gns. Pikelowe Blythesome Girl, by the home-bred Pikelowe Free Spirit, out of a Stonehills Fox Terrier-sired dam and scanned in-calf to the Broughton Park Thunder son, Pikelowe Masterpaln, became another John McIntyre purchase. Mr Thompson also sold several lots of Beef Shorthorn embryos to 225gns.

The senior heifer show class was won by first-time Skipton vendor Ian Tennant, who runs the Hyndford herd in Hyndford Bridge on the banks of the River Clyde south-east of Lanark. His Hyndford Nadia, a July, 2019, roan daughter of Coldrochie Keillan, out of a home-bred dam by Glenisla Banquo, was sold in-calf to Poyntington Himself and again joined the Day family for 3,700gns.

Another fixture debutant, dairy farmer Steve Swales, who first established his Bradhill herd in Cliviger, near Burnley, in 2015 – it now stands at over 80 head - was rewarded with a first prize success in another of the junior heifer show classes with his Bradhill Ali 3, a March, 2020, roan daughter of the Podehole Beefeater son, Wenmar Kentaro, and the first progeny to be sold by the sire, acquired as a young bull from breeder Martyn Moore. With bloodlines going back to the Clipper of Upsall line, the daughter of Catterall Ali H2 (by Rothesay Eildon) got away at 3,000gns when becoming a third McIntyre buy.

Third prize in the same show class fell to Caitrina Ward, who runs the Kimrina herd on the North York Moors at Glaisdale. Her February, 2020, roan heifer, Kimrina Pixie, by Craigfaddock Khan, out of a home-bred dam by Beautry Excalibur, sold free of the bull for 2,400gns and yet again to Mr McIntyre.

The champion male was Loxley Pedroe, an April, 2020, dark roan bull by the Glenisla Zetor son, Meonhill Jetstream, sold by Roger and Angela Hebden, of Bassett Hall, near Thirsk. Out of a Ballard Felix-sired dam, Pedroe fell for 1,900gns to RM&J Johnson, of Pengwern, which les on the Welsh border in Shropshire.

The fixture, which attracted a record entry of 86 head and again featured an online bidding facility, produced solid chief prices and selling averages as follows: Maiden heifers to 11,000gns (av £2,319), in-calf heifers to 5,000gns (av £2,541), cow & calf to 1,800gns (av £1,784). Show classes were co-sponsored by Morrisons and I’Ansons Feeds. Full fixture details are at www.ccmauctions.com

CCM’s general manager and auctioneer Jeremy Easton commented: “Buyers were plentiful for heifers which had run with the bull or were sold in-calf. A large entry of maiden heifers saw the usual strong demand for forward maidens destined for top draw pedigree herds, while buyers were selective on the runs of natural cattle. A run of 2021 well-bred heifer stirks with potential for either the show arena or the commercial producer were a particularly good trade.”

Clive Brown, Beef Shorthorn Operations Manager/Breed Secretary, said: “It was pleasing to see such high numbers forward and with plenty of interest, including a joint record price. It shows the continued demand for Beef Shorthorn breeding heifers from both established and new breeders.”