Once again the Richardson family of Ghyll House, Dufton, were the dominant force at this year's show and sale of show potential cattle at Penrith. Fast becoming the specialists in their field the Richardsons put forward both the champion and reserve in the pre-sale show and collected the top five prices in the sale.
Leading the money was their August-born Limousin cross heifer Double the Trouble at £9200.
Then at £7500 was the reserve champion from the pre-sale show, judged this year by Mark Hallam, a Charolais heifer Doodlebug, born in August last year.
And at £4000 was June-born Limousin cross heifer Bring it On. 
No news yet on the buyers of these, but I think it's safe to assume all the usual suspects were in action again........
well done MR R, makes a fool of most enterprises including the pedigree beef job.
Are all the lottery winners buying show cattle nowadays?! ;)
Indeed it does BGC, mind, you know as well as I do that there will be some hefty costs to get these calves to this stage. Wouldn't mind the cheque for the day's trading though!!
Hi JL. The 9200 sold to Emily Jones, Wales. The 8000 sold to Sellers team, same breeding as Dick Turpin WWF Champ last year. The 7500 sold to Neil Slack. The overall champ at 7000 sold to Julie Sedgewick and finally the 4000 sold to Cormacks, Yorkshire. If i was picking one to take to win smithfeild it would be the res champ charollais heifer, esp with who i hear is judging!!
Thanks TB, much appreciated, take it you had a day out on Sunday then - lambing all done is it?
Are the richardsons calves off Rossignol?
same old guns roll out again! Does make me laugh this spending money. not a lot of sense in job .., TC judging smithfield so theyi sai. mad rush for charo x's again and then hell go limi haha.
Well done to JR & family, hats off for doing a cracking job.
The judge at NBA Beef Expo is also judging Smithfield, or so I am reliably informed!
Blimey - not sure whether the pics aren't doing the cattle justice but looking at them I wouldn't pay over £2000 for any of them. Agree with The Bull Charo looks the sweetest - what the heck is the £9200 heifer going to look like by the time winter shows come round - it's got a set of legs on it that's for sure - utter bloody madness!
everyone knows the sale was a fix!! was down at penrith on sunday and the quality was bad! im quiet sure ya wont see any of these beast at the top come christmas!
Have to disagree with the quality, been at most of the cross bred sales this year, and if people think the quality at Penrith wasn't good! then at the other sales it must have been shocking!
Personally i thought the quality was great, and well done JR for having such a strong team!
I am stunned to read the comments from Red Bull and Blue Roan, looks as if you know nothing about cross bred cattle e.g. commercial cattle, the sort that keeps pedigree breeders in business, as commercial breeders need pedigree bulls to put onto suckler cows to breed these animals that usually make more than a pedigree! Do you also know how difficult it is to breed a show animal?? and as for quality, the photos do not do the cattle justice, I have been at many commercial shows and sales and have to say that the quality at Penrith was of the highest standard that I have seen. And as for not being seen at Christmas, there are other shows and events you know starting in May!! I would like Red Bull to tell me how he/she knows the sale was a fix, I am always keen to learn!! I would also like to know how many judging jobs they have carried out and how they know that a certain animal will not turn out - are you not aware that the whole of showing, pedigree and commercial is a gamble, and a hobby for lots of people who dont spend their hard earned cash on expensive holidays. Note I am not afraid to put my name to this comment.
Red Bull, I suggest you retract yourr comment about the sale being "a fix" unless you have evidence to back it up. The cattle were sold by public auction and as such we have to take the prices as being correct unless you can prove different.
The green eyed monsters have reared their heads again!! People get a grip!!! this blog is constantly filled with people throwing negative comments about people who have sucsess and about the animals they sell!! I`m all for debating the attributes of any animal, but to dig into a person or animal because of jealousy make`s you read extremely childish. It aint your money these people are spending!!
Cracking display of show animals credit to the breeders. As for the negativity towards the commercial cattle making so much money, if these were pedigree animals not a word have been said about the prices. Credit to the breeders on the prices they got,breeding and turning out commercial show beasts is no easy job and its good to see commercial cattle getting the deserved recognition.
Yes some may argue these prices are crazy and personally I wouldnt want to pay as much but it just shows the determination and effort commercial men and woman are putting into the fatstockers. Love the look of the champion. Richardsons red heifer is some animal but I always prefer a nice black.
OK, I retract the comment about the fixed sale,
TB, as usual you're just about spot on. Unfortunately there will always be those quick to scoff at the success of others and have a go. I tend to take the view that it is as well to publish the comments anyway and hope the debate evolves to the relevant points about the attributes of the stock
RB, thank you for rethinking your comments on it being a "fixed sale". You will note I've edited your comment as the second part implied once again that it was a fixed sale.
The Bull is spot on! you people who comment and make claims such as a sale at a very well respected and well run auction mart was a fix are just showing a down right lack of respect...to not even leave you name behind such an accusation is even more of laughing stock.
In the other issue the whole Richardson family work very hard to get these beast in the condition they are to the show, surely their labour spent and other overheads towards their breeding should be rewarded with prices to cover their cost of production...after all arent prices up across the board for cattle and sheep enterprises or am i imagining it?
lastly if individuals wish to purchase the beast at a public auction for their enjoyment of showing them and providing a shop window for their other stock then that is their perogative, not anyone elses, especially those to leave bitchy comments
Tim Sedgewick
i agree with red bull about the quality of these cattle!!!
The Bull has just stated everything that I think about the pathetic sad, spitful comments of those who always want to knock those who work hard and have success. If you want to come and view the Champion from Penrith in the flesh you are very welcome, red bull, blue roan and white man, would be good to meet up!!! I must say that it shows I am a bit sad as I could not wait to read the comments on Leyburn and Penrith sale, left by a few jealous human beings.
Just read all the comments about the prices etc. the main problem with this sale is that it portrays a false image to the general public. they read these prices and think we are all making this money from our cattle. no wonder they are starting to complain about the price of meat!! The prices paid just to win a piece of ribbon is getting out of hand. come on guys get back into the real world. red bull,if you think the sale is a fix track some of the tag no.s on bcms web site to find out which go back home for cows! funny how all the top prices were heifers.
Well said "Jules" what right has anyone to determine where and what someone spends their money on! I think the Welsh Sales just took the red ticket with the quality of the cattle on display but well done to J R and his team for how their progeny were put forward on Sunday and to all the other breeders all around the British Isles who spend so much time and money (ie £30K+)on bulls to breed these animals. What goes round comes around!!! Pigs ears silk purses etc.............
Is red bull a "Sussex" if so dont enter Christmas Shows stay at home and work the fat off...
the best answer to all this is to breed one better your self. JR and family deserve all the credit for there hard work from the day they are born to the day they are shown!!
See it's been getting rather personal on here.
People forget that everybody is entitled to an opinion wether you agree with it or not is another thing.
Jealousy it ain't. Various people on here cant handle there stuff being criticised, it's the nature of the beast, it would be happening anyway cept now it's in public view. get over it. if your willing to contribute then prepared to get stick sometimes.
OMG, I need to reply to you, yes everyone is entitled to an opinion and this blog is great for that. But when the comments get personal and accuse people of fixing sales, I think a reply is needed. I can take my "stuff" being slagged off, and another point to get personal, it should be their stuff, not there. Is that an immature enough comment for you! The one great thing about this is that it gets free publicity for the breeders such as JR and JSJ and it also makes visitors to the shows make a beeline for the top priced animals so that they can make their own decision on how good or bad they are, all helps to raise the profile of cattle, so in a way we arre all doing a good job for the farming industry.
for you jules, I made a mistake. But there we go.... hope it made you feel a bit better!
Any news from carlisle?
Look on the H & H website!
Wot i want to know is, if the prices arnt fixed, why are most of the big price hfrs for years gone by all live on a cumbrian holding. That is according to the BCMS website. I am sure they r just borrowed for the year and go back to breed
and I thought I had too much time on my hands cuz!
the cattle at penrith didnt compare to the cattle in wales, these are stupid prices for commercial cattle. i would love to see the red heifer in the flesh
Well it seems you've all had plenty to say on the prices and quality of cattle forward at show potential sales in the last few weeks. So, here's my view on it all. Firstly, congratulations are due to all the vendors who've sold at good money this spring, you've managed to turn out some great cattle and have, rightly or wrongly, been rewarded for your efforts. Now, on the price front, as many of you here will know I'm not a massive fan of some of the silly prices being spent in recent years on these show cattle. Fair enough pay a bit more than the average commercial price to secure the real top cattle, but some of the prices being paid now are just getting ridiculous and are impossible to justify, particularly for steers. With regard cattle going home after the show season, that's a matter between the breeder and the buyer, I doubt it will do anyone any favours in the long-run. And as for the claims that people making detrimental comments are jealous, somehow I doubt that, its more a case of them having an opinion on the cattle and the prices, something everyone is entitled to.
stupid prices id never pay that but i would if it was half decent. all these heifers will end up having calves bak with JR.
anyways, i prefer sheep. theyre much better money when you can have one make 231,000 that beats them all
just don't even go there with sheep prices - just open another can of worms!
what did you make of the YFC sale at Thainstone Miss Wales? I was impressed with what I saw but had too many other things on to be there when it counted!
I only caught last beast through sale, think it was a good sale by all accounts - anything fancy sold well, hfrs esp with further breeding potential - seems to be the case gone in thaisntone.
should have taken an early lunch ;-)
BGC - I did! still late tho!
better than me. I didn't make it at all!
well its was just another one of those storys that was going round!!!!
If people wish to spend their hard earned money on showcattle then let them i say,remember it usually takes two bidders to make a high priced animal.
Can anyone tell me who else showed good cattle at Penrith?
You make it sound as though JR was the only one there!