Carlisle & Northern Counties of England Branch Show & Sale 2024

From Cornwall to Shetland and just about everywhere in between the buyers flocked to the Northern Counties Branch sale held at Borderway mart, Carlisle under Auctioneers Harrison and Hetherington.

An excellent show and sale of quality pedigree stock saw keen demand on all fronts, with a total clearance rate of 86.16% of all stock forward.

Shearling gimmers the judge’s decision on the female champion was backed by the Gavel with the Show champion gimmer taking the highest price at the sale. Lot 813 from Clare Whitticase, Glanmartin flock reaching 1600gns at the fall of the hammer and heading back to Powis to join the Delves Bridgeview flock. A twin lamb by Strathbogie Top notch and a dam from the Lavenham flock. Gimmers were back on the year, with less sold at a lower price but an 82% clearance on the year averaging £638.89.

Ewe lambs saw 100% clearance with an average of £669.38 up £138.38 on the numbers last year. Topping the sale was lot 820 seeing a return of 1200gns the lamb was reserve female champion at the show, a triplet by Redbrae Russo from the Buckleys Sitlow flock heads home with RG Findlay, Westerdale flock from Whitby.

Shearling rams saw a bigger entry than last year with 17 being sold at the sale substantially higher than 9 the previous year. An average price at sale of £1210.59 was back a bit on last year but almost twice as many finding new postcodes. Topping the Sale was the entry from Anthony Glaves Brompton flock lot no 833 which was second in his class at the show. The ram sired by Richill Real McCoy went on to make 5500gns at the sale was one of Anthony’s favourites out of his New Zealand line, a modern type with a great carcass and coming from a butcher it was there to see. The ram headed off with JM Robinson & Son Ltd to stay close to the sea air at the Crusoe flock Grimsby in Lincolnshire.

Ram lambs could perhaps be loosely described as the main event at the Society sales with an average price of £1000.66 which was up on the year by £45.04 and taking the average to 4 figures a great benchmark! More lambs sold than last year seeing a clearance of 85%.

Top Price Lot 965 Cairness sold for 6,500gns to G Troup

Jimmy Douglas Cairness flock taking the top price at the sale for his lot number 965 A single lamb out of his home bred Cairness Liam a top breeding ram who has sired lambs to 90,000gns from a home bred 2020 ewe changing hands at 6500gns in the ring heading back up from whence it came to join the Whitestone flock of G Throup in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire.

Lot 985 from H Martindale, Landale flock

Towards the latter end of the sale Hazel Martindale (Landale) presented lot number 985 making 2800gns and heading further north to the Kingston flock with Thomas A. Sands from Abernyte, Perth. A twin lamb by Cadgerford Artful Dodger with maternal grandsire Dol-Llys Rebel and paternal Forkins Dizzy Rascal really appealing to the Carlisle crowd. Hazel’s pen of 4 ram lambs went on to make an average of 1675gns with the breeding to the liking of the Carlisle audience.

JT Cannons Redbrae consignment lot no 899, was shown in the pairs at the show and went on to become reserve male and reserve overall champion of the show. The single ET lamb by Forkins Samson out of a home bred 2020 ewe has a maternal and paternal grand dam and grandsire list including Mullaghboy, Forkins and Limestone the breeding appealing to G Riley from Carnforth, Lancashire and joins the Bodeltone flock.

Two further lots breached the 2000gns mark at 2200gns first up was lot 906 from James Wallace Claycrop flock adding male and overall champion to the Claycrop honours list for 2024. A single ET lamb By Ballynacannon Iron Mike and having Lakeview Fury and Castleisle Cobra in his back pedigree he had some appeal. The lamb heads north to Aberdeenshire with James Young to join the Muirton Flock.

John Gibb’s entry from the Cairnton flock lot no 945 also attained the 2200gns price at the fall of the gavel his first lot through of the pen a twin lamb by the homebred Cairness Cooper out of a Cairnton dam that was the full sister of the 75000gns Cairnton Chaos. This took the fancy of fellow Aberdeenshire breeder and NextGen member Finlay Hunters Sunset flock.

Ram lamb averages were £1000.66 with an 85% clearance rate.

Top 10 ram lamb prices

Lot No	Flock	Price Gns	Purchaser
965	Cairness	6,500	G Troup
933	Brompton	5,500	JM Robinson & Son
985	Landale	2,800	T A Sands
899	Redbrae	2,500	G Riley
906	Claycrop	2,200	J Young
945	Cairnton	2,200	WS & M Hunter
838	Westcarse	2,000	R N Kirby
907	Claycrop	2,000	L Monk
949	Harpercroft	2,000	JM Christie
950	Harpercroft	2,000	J & J Farming

Top 3 price pens:

VENDOR	Top 3 prices from ram lamb pen			TOTAL
Cairness	Lot 965	Lot 966	Lot 968
Cairness	6,500	1,200	900	8,600
Claycrop	Lot 906	Lot 907	Lot 908
Claycrop	2,200	2,000	1,700	5,900
Landale	Lot 985	Lot 168	Lot 166
Landale	2,800	1,600	1,200	5,600

Young handlers at Carlisle show and sale 2024 Lucy & Keira Greaney and Ted Darlington, Teddys Flock, the youngest handler at the show who stuck on to his lamb whatever it threw at him!