Smearsett flock takes BFL honours 4th year running

The first 2015 registered sheep breed show and sale at Skipton, the annual fixture for Blue Faced Leicester females, saw championship honours fall for an unprecedented fourth year in succession to the prolific Smearsett flock of WA and A Booth, North Craven on Wednesday (28 January).

Champion gimmer hogg

Father and son David and Robin Booth, of Old Hall Cottage, Feizor, again saw their first prize gimmer hogg progress to land the overall title, as judged by Thomas Walker, Appletreewick.

The home-bred Smearsett G54 is by one of their stock tups, Gragareth, acquired from fellow North Craven breeder David Lawson, Westhouse, Ingleton.

Their latest show victor sold for £500 to Scottish buyer, Hugh Montgomery, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire.

He also paid the day’s top price of £580 for the second prize hogg from the Oddacres flock of John and Claire Mason, Embsay. By F6 Forebrae, bred in Dumfriesshire by John Parkin, Oddacres G29 has solid breeding lines on the dam’s side that go back to the Booth family’s highly regarded Z7 Smearsett tup.

The Booths also presented the third prize winner in the in-lamb show class, a Smearsett shearling ewe by their own C1 Shafthill tup, who was also responsible for their 2014 Skipton champion. Scanned in-lamb to G2 Mereoak, she sold for £550 to NEMSA’s Skipton branch chairman Kevin Wilson, Blubberhouses.

Joe and Nancy Throup, and their son George, who run the Chelker Blue Faced Leicester flock, Draughton, pitched in with the first and second prize in-lamb ewes, with their four-shear red rosette winner, by a Y5 Hewgill ram from the Lord family in Kirkby Stephen, also judged reserve champion.

Scanned carrying a single lamb to Ilkley Moor F1 and bred by Ellis Bros, Addingham Moorside, she sold for £300 to Derbyshire breeder Matt Tomlinson, Muggington. He also paid the same price for the Throups’ second prize ewe, a three-shear by their own Z1 Chelker ram, scanned with a single lamb to Swathburn E12, from another Kirkby Stephen breeder Geoff Taylor.

Dick, Anne and Alan Burley, of Wath, stepped up with the remaining prizewinner, the third prize gimmer hogg, which fell for £230 to Frank and Jack Kitching, Threshfield.

Twelve of the 15-strong Blue Faced Leicester entry found new homes, with in-lamb ewes averaging £337.50 and gimmer hogs £332.50.

(CCM)