Kelso Ram Sales – Dawyck sells BFL for £18,000 centre record

With Scotch Mule and Cheviot Mule ewe lamb prices up at least £40 per head on the year and gimmers even more, demand for the top end of rams of both types was always going to be stronger than in previous years. However, with the Ring 15 average higher than that of Ring 17, crossing-type rams were particularly sought after.

“We sold 178 of the 189 shearlings forward in Ring 15 to average £1648.31, which is up £162 on the year,” Archie Hamilton, auctioneer at Lawrie and Symington, told The Scottish Farmer. “The best, top end sheep were dearer than last year, but there wasn’t that much difference in the more commercial rams.”

It was a crossing-type ram that led the trade at £18,000 too when the pen leader from Malcolm Thornborrow, son Gary and his fiancee Marian Porter’s 50-strong Dawyck flock sold to Martin Allan, of the Greenhow flock from Knockhall, Appleby.

Backed by the best of genetics from Marian’s family’s Riddings flock from Richmond, this big lad is sired by the breed’s £65,000 record holder, a P1 Riddings sold at Hawes in 2021 to four Scottish flocks – Dawyck, Newbigging Walls, Easter Happrew, and Glenrath. The dam is by an L1 Riddings.

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Obie Sharp's Newbigging Walls ram made £9000 Used as a lamb on home-bred Blackface ewes, the sale leader was also the sire of six of Dawyck’s £235 Scotch Mule ewe lambs sold at St Boswells.

With another three big prices at £4500, £4200 and £3400, Dawyck also produced the lead flock average of £3135.71 for 14.

Their No 4, by an R5 Steel ram that sold for £8000, out of an N69 Dawyck ewe, made £4500, selling to Andy Paton and sons, Craig, Straiton.

Making £4200 when selling jointly to Alex Steedman, Kippen and W and J Montgomerie, Invernoaden, Strachur, Argyll, was another equally well-bred shearling – a son of the £10,000 R20 Hewgill, bred from the L45 Dawyck ewe that has produced lambs to £16,000 and £17,000 at Hawes.

Traditional-type Blues sold to £12,000 and £10,000, with the dearest consigned by Lanarkshire breeder, Derek (Bo) Brown, who runs just 12 breeding ewes established for his ‘kids’ Dax, Broc and Aura’s Madrissa flock from Chesterhall Park, Weston.

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Peter Forster's Lowes Fell shearling sold for £10,000 The family who have been selling here for just three years, surpassed their previous best of £1000, selling a shearling son of the R19 Kirkstead, a lamb bought at Carlisle in 2022 for £1000. The dam, an L30 Kirkstead ewe by the former Mendick Royal Highland Show champion, was bought at the Blue Belles sale at Carlisle as a foundation female some years ago. Buying back some of his own genetics, the tup sold to Alan McClymont and sons Sam and Oli, Kirkstead, Yarrow and Lisa Fleming of the Falnash flock from Hawick.

Although staged on Friday 13th, the sale proved anything but unlucky for Peter Forster, Lowes Fell, Low Gate, Hexham, who was not only celebrating his 11th wedding anniversary to his wife Rachel, but also a new flock high of £10,000.

Champion at Roman Wall Show earlier in the year and 2023, his big traditional-type Blue is by an N13 Lowes Fell that is a son of an M2 Lowes Fell, while the dam is by a £2800 Whinnyhall. He sold to Hazel Brown, buying for the Leadburnlea flock based at Toxside, Gorebridge.

Lowes Fell also took £4000 for their No 3 from Aberdeenshire breeder, Rodney Blackhall who owns 40-strong Sheeoch from Banchory. This was a son of the K1 Whinnyhall, bred from the home-bred ewe by a Lowes Fell ram.

More than financing that transaction, Mr Blackhall, had much to celebrate after taking £6000 for his maiden visit as a consignor. His pen leader by a £1600 Whinfield ram was reserve male champion at breed’s progeny show at Turriff and first in his class at Banchory and Keith Shows. Bred from a ewe by a Blackcraig ram, he goes out to work in Frank Johnson’s Ashes flock based at West Shipley, Bishop Auckland.

Top price amongst the tradtional Blues was £12,000 paid for Bo Brown's Madrissa shearling Just behind, on £5500, Alan McClymont, Kirkstead, sold a son of the N11 Bonvilston – a tup that stood reserve inter-breed at the Royal Highland in 2022 and has bred sons to £13,500 at Builth – to Ian Smith, West Bolton, Hexham. The dam, an N43Kirkstead ewe is sired by the L11 Ashes tup bought at Carlisle for £3000.

Back amongst the crossing-type rams and Obie Sharp’s Newbigging Walls flock from Lauder, sold to £9000, £4800 and £4000.

Dearest was the No 5, a son of the £65,000 P1 Riddings, bred from a ewe by the £16,000 L37 Midlock. Brought out by Alan Rogerson, James Brady and Peter Lothian, this tup was used at Tollishill and bred Scotch Mule ewe lambs to £205. He sold jointly to Richard and John Wood, Kinglesdores, Tweedsmuir and James Herdman, Edlingham Newtown, Alnwick.

Mrs Sharp’s pen leader, another by the record priced Riddings ram but out of a ewe by the H2 Carry House, made £4800 selling to Sam McClymont and sons William and Scott of the Auld Tinnis flock from Tinnis, Yarrow.

Making £4000 to RW and K Telford, Low Barton, Whittington, Alnwick, was a son of a £13,000 R1 Gragareth, purchased in 2022 at Hawes. Mrs Sharp sold 10 to average £2870.00. The Wights from Midlock, Crawford, also enjoyed a good day with shearling rams to £6800 for their No 2, brought out by Allan and son Ben. The sire of Scotch Mule ewe lambs sold at Stirling at £220, their tup is by a son of the R26 Midlock that last year bred sons to 10,000gns at Carlisle. The dam is a N53 Highberries ewe hogg bought for £8000. The buyer was J Carr, Camphill, Barrasford, Hexham.

Later in the day, John and Callum Park, Dalpeddar, Sanquhar, sold sons of the 5000gns P3 Alwinton bought at Carlisle in 2021, at £5800 and £4000.

The former and pen leader, bred from a ewe by a Drimsynie M5, was knocked down to James Herdman, Edlingham Newtown.

The No 2, purchased by Gaich Farms, Dulnain Bridge, Grantown on Spey, is out of a ewe by a P1 Carry House.

Top price for Jack Warnock’s Coultermuir flock from Eastfield of Coulter, Biggar, was £5000 paid for a son of a M1 Riddings ram, out of a Midlock-bred dam. The buyer was Alec Kirkpatrick, Barr, Sanquhar.

Two shearlings sold for £4200, with the first being the pre-sale champion from Colin Campbell and daughter Emma, Easter Happrew, Peebles. Previously unshown, he is by the £7000 P7 Midlock that also sired last year’s champion from the flock, and out of a Carry House-bred ewe. The buyers were Jack and Sheila Kay, Hartside, Oxton, Lauder.

Robert McKie, Finniness, Balmaghie, Castle Douglas, also took £4200 for his pen leader from RM Dunlop and Son, Pinvalley, Barr, Girvan. The pedigree behind this big tup includes a home-bred son of an M3 Barnshangan, and a ewe by another Finniness sire.

Earlier in the day, Sam McClymont’s Auld Tinnis flock reached £4000 for a son of a Hamildean tup bought here as a lamb in 2015. Bred from a ewe by an £8000 L4 Edlingham, he was knocked down to Jim and Colin Dick, Hamildean, Peebles.

Averages: 340 shearling rams, £1557.65 (+£309.37 for 27 fewer); 15 ram lambs, £813.33 (-£200.96 for one more); seven unregistered shearlings, £814.29.