A strong demand for quality rams ensured an average of £975.20 for 766 registered Texel shearlings at Kelso Ram Sale – an increase of £93 on the year and the best overall shearling average of all the breeds – while 164 lambs levelled out at £516.04.
Trade topped at £8500 twice, with John Green receiving that early on, for a shearling from his Greenall flock at The Craggs, Melrose. Sired by the home-bred Greenall Atticus and out of a ewe by Hightecs Ultimatum, Greenall Billy Whizz sold to Richard and Chris Thornton, Cornhills, Morpeth, sporting an index of 220.
At the same money and with an index of 260, John Elliot, Roxburgh Mains, Kelso, sold a shearling son of the £23,000 Midlock You’re The One, out of a ewe by Brackenridge Strongbow, to Ken Hodge’s Greenarch flock at Upper Huntlywood, Earlston.
Mr Elliot had a successful day, selling 34 shearlings to average £1757, with another by the Midlock sire making £6600, to J Winter, Clickem Farm, Appleby.
Ian Murray’s champion in the Ring 5 Border Texel Group show and winner in recorded show, Glenway Billy The Kid, sold at £8000 to Jeff Teward, New View, Darlington, boasting an index of 269. Sired by Glenway Ace of Diamonds and out of a ewe by Brackenridge Strongbow, he stood inter-breed champion at Glendale Show.
Collecting his best ever price of £7200 was Turriff-based Matthew Seed, who runs 100 ewes at Home Farm, Auchry. He sold a shearling son of Boghouse Atlanta, out of a ewe by Culter Allers Vulcan, to Esmor Evans, for his Maerdy flock in Wales.
Alex and Russell Gray, Langside, Lanark, sold to a top of £7000 for a son of the 23,000gns Peacehay Ya Belter, out of a ewe by Springhill Uppercut. He went to Gary Beacom, Lakeview, Co Tyrone, and William and Liz McAllister, Parkgate, Ballymena.
Also from Langside, another by the Peacehay tup, this time out of a Langside Vagabond daughter, sold at £6200 to Lilburn Estate, Wooler.
Malcolm Coubrough, Hartside, Biggar, also received a top of £7000, for Hartside Bronco, a Halbeath VIP son, out of a ewe by Sportsmans Unbeatable, which went to W Wearmouth and Son, Rosehill, Bishop Auckland.
Another from the same pen, Hartside Big Boy, made £4800, to R G and R Jones, Robleston Hall, Haverdfordwest.
Jonathan Watson, Bowsden Moor, Berwick Upon Tweed, sold to £7000, for one by the Builth purchase, Duhonw Yager Bomb, out of a ewe by Haymount Va Va Voom. Buyer was Jim Innes, for his Strathbogie flock at Dunscroft, Huntly.
Final £7000 seller was the best from the Quick family’s Loosebeare flock from Devon. Sired by the £5800 Kelso purchase, Brijon You’re The Boy, and out of a home-bred daughter of Lavenham Ronald, he sold to Josh Greasley, for his Kedleston flock in Derby.
Also from Loosebeare at £4800, a son of Whitehart Ultimate, out of a show ewe by Loosebeare Voomer, sold to Will Case, Plumpton Cottage, Ulverston.
Jack Arnott’s Haymount pen peaked at £6200 for one by Milnbank Awesome, out of a ewe by Forkins Viagra. A first prize winner at Kelso Show this summer, he sold to Stuart Barclay, Harestone.
Best for Peter and Lynn Gray’s Scrogton consignment was a £5800 bid for a Clinterty Yuga Khan son, out of a ewe by Springhill Upper Cut. He was knocked down to Messrs Davies’ Canllefaes flock in Cardigan.
Shearlings from Ken Hodge’s Greenarch flock, which are kept at Earlston, sold to £5600 for a son of Craig Farm Wizard, which sold to Tom Oates.
Not far behind, the Dunlops sold to £5500 from their Elmscleugh consignment from Dunbar, with a son of Plasucha All In One, out of a ewe by Milnbank Wisconsin, going to the Biggar-based Wolfclyde, Wester Walston, Kingside and Toftcombs flocks.
Ted Fox received a top of £5000 for shearlings from St John’s Kirk, Symington. His best, a son of a £2800 Builth purchase, Duhonw Yogi Bear, out of a home-bred College ewe, sold to Bob and Becca Rennie, Sydenham, Kelso, and Sir Robert Wilson, Edinburgh.
Also at £5000 was the best sale of the day from the Artnagullion flock from Brian and William McAllister. This was for a son of the £5000 Midlock Yohann purchased at Kelso in 2017 out of a dam by the £9500 Langside Stifler. Buying him were the Ingram family, for the Logie Durno flock.
Leading the Douganhill pen at £4800, was a Knock Yardsman son, out of a ewe by Langlands What A Topper, which sold to Floors Farming, Duns.
Heading up the lamb prices at £4800, was Garngour Captain from the Clarks at Garngour, Lesmahagow. A son of Teiglum Braveheart, out of a ewe by Knock Yardsman, which is a full sister to the 40,000gns Garngour Alabama, he sold to Angus Kennedy, Mitchellhill, Broughton.
The Clarks also sold Teiglum Cosmic, a son of Knock Bantastic, at £3400, to the Loosebeare and Whitehart flocks.
Bruce Renwick’s pen of lambs peaked at £4000, for a Teiglum Braveheart son, which sold to Charlie Boden, Sportsmans.
And, at £3400, Gordon and David Gray, Sunnycroft, Selkirk, sold a lamb from their Ettrick pen, to Donald Rankin, Isle of Skye. He’s a son of last year’s £29,000 seller, Garngour Awesome.
Averages; 766 shearling rams £975.20, 164 ram lambs £516.04.
Leading flock averages:
Loosebeare (9 sh) £2216.67
Procters (8 sh) £1850
Roxburgh (34 sh) £1757.35
Hartside (13 sh) £1563.85
Greenall (16 sh) £1484.38
Langside (25 sh) £1383.20
Greenarch (14 sh) £1375
Kedzlie (7 sh) £1335.71
Auchry (14 sh) £1257.14
Glenway (29 sh) £1219.66
Swarland (8 sh) £1218.75
Douganhill (11 sh) £1209.09
Brijon (32 sh) £1203.13
Castlecairn (5 la) £1790
Garngour (10 la) £1199
