Congratulations to Mark Priestley, Limestone Flock who bred Limestone Online, the 2024 Sire of the Year!
Following this year’s sales, the Sire of the Year for 2024 is Limestone Online. Congratulations to Mark Priestley, the breeder of Limestone Online and to Iain and Judith Barbour (Solwaybank) and DP & RA Delves (Bridgeview) for their foresight in making the purchase that has paid dividends this season.
The three lots that took this year’s title were all sold at the Lanark Sale, Lot 53, £40,000 gns to the TR &C Boden (Sportsmans), Lot 51 going to The Poole family (Salopian) at 25,000gns, and Lot 55, genetics heading over to the MacCaulay flock in the USA at 6,500gns, giving a total for the three lots of 71,000gns and an average of 23,667gns.
Lot 53, a single ET lamb, FHT: 24:02520, sold for 40,000gns sired by Limestone Online and stood out as one of the family’s favourite lambs of the Solwaybank 2024 crop. It came from the same family as the 5,000gns Solwaybank Sapphire 2, who bred the 44,000gns Ballinatone Show Stopper.
Limestone Online, KPC: 23:02314, was a single ET lamb sired by Castleisle A Kingsman out of a home bred Ewe KPC19:01196 with a very impressive back pedigree littered with good breeding, and was purchased by Solwaybank when standing as reserve champion at the National sale in 2023, and purchased for 7,000gns.
Runner up this year was Castleisle Blackadder, DDX:23:01355, a naturally bred quad, sired by Kells T Rex and bred by Andrew Wilson from Donegal, South of Ireland, a regular consigner at the GB sales and is a three-way joint ownership ram. Ross Lawrence (Roundacre), Graeme Christie (Balquhain) and Lilia Hutchinson (Howgillfoot) made the investment in the ram at the Scottish Branch sale last year at Lanark for 28,000gns.
The Three lots making up the total at the 2024 sales were Lanark lot 45 consigned by Finn Christie (Maidenstone) and going to JC Innes (Strathbogie) at 15,000gns, Shrewsbury lot 133 entered by L Hutchinson (Howgillfoot) and being purchased by Harley Turner (Harley) at 5,200gns and lot 160 at Lanark again from Howgillfoot and purchased by Steven Cobbald (Lavenham) for 4,000gns. The total for three was 24,200gns and an average of 8,067gns.
