Skipton sheep dogs set new world record price
Records were smashed twice at Craven Cattle Marts summer fixture at Skipton where two dogs were each knocked down for 4900gns – £5145 to smash the previous world record price of 4100gns (£4305), also achieved at Skipton in 2004 for a two year old black and white bitch.
Taking top honours were Welshman Aled Owen, Denbighshire the reigning World Sheep Dog Trials Champion and Yorkshireman and handler John Bell, Selsby.
Mr Owen was first to set a new world record with his homebred 26-month-old black and white Border Collie Llangwm Rex. Rex is by Gwyn, who was a lead demonstration dog and is out of Eli who is a daughter of Bob, who gave Mr Owen the first of his two World Trials win in 2002. Rex was purchased by fellow Welshman Nigel Watkins, Carmarthenshire.
The second record breaker didn’t come until late in the day, with many potential buyers remaining in anticipation of Mr Bell’s 14-month-old tri-coloured dog Ron. Bred in Northumberland by Mike Northwood, Ron is by Chuter and out of Molly. He was purchased by an undisclosed buyer.
Success didn’t stop there for Mr Bell who also went on grasp the second top price of the day a bid of 3900gns for is tri-coloured bitch Floss. She was also sold to an undisclosed buyer.
Just short of this was the 23-month old red and white bitch Marchup-Natalie consigned by Red Rose handler Shaun Richards,
Then came first time success for Jaceque Brownlie, Alloa who on her first visit to Skipton achieved a price of 3300gns for her tri-coloured bitch Baledmund Zazoo who sold to Cumbrian buyer Arthur Temple, Whitehaven.
Zazoo was bred in
The Irish were also well presented at the sale with a black and white bitch forward from Seamus Gormley,
Southern Irish vendor Tony Kearins,
A member of the same family Ian Gregory then went of to purchase a 12-month old, black and white bitch from
A bid of 2700gns was next to secure the second Dot forward on the day – a three-year-old black and white bitch shown by Gareth Jones, Powys. She headed north across the Scottish border to first time Skipton buyer Colin Kennedy, Argyll.
John Kennedy, of Dunoon, Argyll, presented his 27-month-old tri-coloured dog Spot, who became another Nigel Watkins acquisition at 2600gns
Television cameras from the BBC’s ‘One Man and His Dog’ programme, along with presenters Kate Humble and Gus Dermody, were present at the sale to film Welshman Emrys Jones, of Gwynedd, as part of their film on how to buy and sell a dog, covering the sale of his 17-month-old black and white bitch Hiraethog Jess.
Jess found a new home on a Scottish hill farm near Moffat, Dumfriesshire, when joining Niel Manning for 2500gns.
A second dog to sell at 2,500gns was Isle of Arran-based Wullie Stephenson’s fully home-bred black and white bitch Arran Daisy, by Bill out of Nell, sister of Mr Stephenson’s 2005 Scottish Nursery champion Molly. She found a new home in Wales with John Roberts, of Betws-y-Coed, Conwy.
Averages 35 broken registered dogs £2345; unregistered broken dogs £1075, part-broken registered dogs £578; part-broken unregistered dogs £490; pups £137. (Craven Cattle Marts)