Tup sells for £47,000 at Hawes Swaledale sale

Hawes two-day tup sale saw big trade for PaulHallam’s Derbyshire-based Arnfield flock, with 12 tups averaging an astonishing£17,525. 

The highest selling tup was a son of the £52,000champion Ewbank he bought out of Hawes two years ago, which was out of a ewe byAygill Upper Class. The hammer fell at £47,000 to Richard Harker, Grayrigg Halland Richard Hargreaves, Barley.

Averages were down on last year, but strongScottish attendance meant an additional 40 tups were sold to reach a clearancerate of 89%. But breeders were selective and while commercial trade was disappointing, bidders were happy to pay for quality.

Next up a son of a Artfield Patch, a retainedshearling out of one of the flocks top show ewes by Upper Class, which sold for£46,000 Geoff Marwood, Long Green landing his prime target.

Richard Harker sold his tup, which stood championpre-sale show, to Arthur Slack for £42,000. He was a son by a £30,000 bull andcave tup and out of a ewe by Seal Houses.

Mossdale Jaguara was the star of the pen for Patrick and Kirstin Sowerby. The shearling, which was by a homebred sire, sold in a three way split to W M Hutchinson, from Redgate, Jack Lawson, from Kirkland and Roger Hird, from Hunderthwaite for £36,000.

M W Skidmore, based in Weardale, sold to a flock record price of £30,000 to Bobby Blades, from Buttertubs and Tom Robinson, of Catlow.

While Robert Hutchinson, from Valley Farm, had a flying debut since going solo. Sired by a £7,000 Naby tup his tup sold for £28,000 to Raymond Dixon, Garnthwaite.

Averages: 683 tups sold to average £1,782