Bluefaced Leicester to £16,000 at Hawes

Last week’s marathon Bluefaced Leicester sale at Hawes saw both pedigree and Mule breeders reinvesting in the best available crossing tups throughout the 15.5 hour selling stint.

Leading the prices was the pre-sale champion, a tup lamb from Jack Lawson, Hundith. This one is sired by the £9000 Asby Hall tup and out of a ewe by Y1 Midlock. Auctioneer Raymond Lund finally felling the hammer at £16,000, with the tup away to the Bull and Cave flock run by Mark Nelson.

Next best came from the Midlock pen of the Wight family. Their pen leader D41 Midlock, was an ET bred lamb out of a dam by B4 Tanhouse and by last year’s £9000 C2 Hewgill champion. He sold at £14,000 to Granville and Paul Fairburn, Marriforth.

Following that was a £10,000 sale for the best of the day from Messrs Lords’ Hewgill flock. This one is by B41 Hewgill and out of a ewe by Z14 Hewgill and was bought by George and Josh Shields, Skeughdale.

Then came a £9500 sale for D2 Middleton Hall from David Watson. He’s by £2100 sire C2 Bull and Cave and out of a dam by Y15 Hundith and sold to Ashley Caton, Otterburn Lodge.

A brace of lambs then sold at £8500, with the first coming early in the day from Michael James, Duhonw. This one was D3 Dunhonw, a son of A5 Hawkswell out of a dam by Y4 Tanhouse and was knocked down in a four way split to  Messrs Wight Midlock, Harry Gass, Nunscleugh, Messrs Hall, Firth and C Dick, Hamildean.

The other lamb at £8500 came late in the sale from Gordon Rosethorne’s Lunesdale pen. Sired by B1 Highberries and out of a dam by M1 Star Green, this one was also shared, with half going to Phillip Dawson, Kentmere and the other half taken by Neil Marston.

And at £8000 was the best of the aged tups a homebred son of £17,000 W2 Lunesdale from W A & A Booth. He’s out of a dam by M1 Star Green and has been used at home for several seasons.   He went to Messrs Hutchinson’s Kirkby Redgate flock. At the same money was a tup lamb from the same home which sold to R Hargreraves, Barley.

Averages; ram lambs £1401, shearling rams 843, aged rams £1448 (Hawes Farmers Mart).