Another excellent sale of Swaledale Rams at Skipton as this sale continues to perform well with its large choice of aged rams and strong commercial shearling rams attracting buyers from a wide area looking for that stamp of sheep, to produce an average of £505 for Aged Rams and £470 for Shearling Rams, and probably most impressive was a 94.4% clearance rate with only 4 rams failing to change hands.
Messrs R&E Cowperthwaite, Stockdale Farm, Settle led the days trade at £1400 with the Champion Shearling Ram. Sired by a Lightfoot ram out of a Ghyll House got ewe, it sold to Messrs Shirt of Edale.
Three other shearlings achieved four figure prices, Wilf and Stuart Buckle of Bleathgill, Kirkby Stephen made £1100 of one by a Hargreaves sire, Robert Tennant of Hemplands Coniston also made £1100 of the last sheep on the night with a shearling by a Brian Thornborrow, whilst John Tennant of Bucker House, Bordley got away at £1000 with a son of a West Briscoe.
Messrs JR Addison & Son of West Stoneykeld on Bowes Moor took home £1000 for their first prize Aged Ram. It was WP&B Walker & Son of Fold Farm, Appletrewick who topped the aged section at £1300 with a 5 shear that came from Messrs Rukin Park Lodge as a shearling. W Mason & Son of Low Hall, Appletreewick made £1000 of a Brian Thornborrow bred 5 shear. Overall a very pleasing sale, and we extend our thanks to our judges for the evening, Mr Bill Cowperthwaite and Mr Finlay Macaskill.
Aged rams averaged £505 and Shearling rams averaged £470.



Class 1 – Aged Rams
1st JR Addinson Lot 1063 sold for £1000
2nd F Hogg Lot 1068 sold for £400
3rd WP&B Walker & Son Lot 1047 sold for £1300
Class 2 – Shearling Rams
1st R&E Cowperthwaite Lot 1030 sold for £1400
2nd JW&M Buckle Lot 1057 sold for £1100
3rd ASE Crisp & Son Lot 1009 sold for £400
Class 3 - Best Conformation
1st J Shirt Lot 1009 sold for £500

Champion - R&E Cowperthwaite Reserve – JR Addison

Averages & Principle Prices;

Aged – Av £505
£1300 WP&B Walker; £1000 W Mason & Son; £1000 JR Addison; £750 EW&JR Parkinson; £700 S&D Robinson; £700 Fair Place Farm; £650 J Verity & Sons; £650 P Addyman & Son;

Shearlings – Av £470
£1400 £700 R&E Cowperthwaite; £1100 £650 JW&M Buckle; £1100 R Tennant; £1000 £900 JM&S Tennant; £900 AJ Mason; £750 G Huck & Son;