Texels dominated proceedings at Kelso Ram Sales, achieving the top breed average, top individual price of £36,000 and most sold of any breed. Overall, 591 registered Texel shearling rams averaged £1653.54, while 58 registered Texel ram lambs levelled out at £737.07. A further 531 unregistered Texel shearlings averaged out at £959.40.
Commenting on the day’s trade, Lawrie and Symington auctioneer, Brian Ross, said: “Good sheep were easily sold, with commercial buyers willing to consistently go to four-figure prices. We had a sound commercial trade right through the sale.”
Topping the Texel trade and achieving the best price of all breeds on the day, was Teiglum Firefly, a shearling ram from Andrew Clark’s flock at Crossford, Lanark, which sold at £36,000. Following on from a successful sale at Lanark last month, selling a lamb at 65,000gns, Mr Clark’s topper this time was a son of Seaforde Egyptian Warrior, bought for 26,000gns at Ballymena two years ago with the Harestone and Allanfauld flocks.
A natural born triplet out of a ewe by Craighead Crusader, this stylish ram was knocked down to large-scale commercial sheep producer Paul Slater, Whiteley Hey, Cheshire, who also bought the pen number three, another by Egyptian Warrior, for £5000.
The next best price came later in the day when the Wight family sold the best from their Midlock consignment at £22,000. He is by Bradleys Executioner, which stood champion at the Scottish National Sale two years ago. Out of a ewe by Mullan Amigo, he sold in a two-way split to Alan Clark, Garngour, Lesmahagow, and Malcolm Coubrough, Hartside, Biggar.
From the same home, another Midlock shearling, a full brother to the £22,000 pen leader, sold at £12,000 to Gerwyn Jones, Graig Goch, Conwy.
The Procters pen, brought out by Jeff Aiken and family, proved popular, selling up to £16,000 for the third prize winner from the Royal Highland Show, which sold to Robin and Caroline Orr, Halbeath, Dunfermline.
The entire pen were sons of Coniston Elmo, which was champion stock ram in the North West Texel Breeders’ Club flock competition last year, with another selling at £6200, to Messrs Dean, Kirkhouse, Carlisle.
A further Elmo son sold at £6000 to Meikle Jackson, Wolfclyde and Tom Cockburn, Kingside, with another at £5500 to Messrs Buchan, Torrax.
Jonathan Watson, Bowsden Moor, Berwick upon Tweed, sold the best from his Brijon flock at £15,000, to Jim Gibb, Toftcombs, Biggar, and Iain Minto, Townhead, Dolphinton. He is by Harestone Emperor, bought as a lamb at Lanark, while the dam is a daughter of Pant Wolf.
The Laird family, Cambwell, Biggar, received £12,000 for their pen number one, a son of Blackadder De Boer, which sold to Angus Kennedy, Mitchellhill, Biggar and Ian Hunter, Dalchirla, Crieff. A second prize winner at the performance recorded show the evening prior to the sale, this one was out of a Wilodge-bred ewe by Whitehart Big Style.
Another at the same money came from Ken Hodge’s Greenarch flock, a son of Wolfclyde Dynamo, out of a homebred ewe, which sold to Jonathan Watson, Bowsden Moor, Berwick Upon Tweed.
Last at five figures came from the final pen of the day in Ring nine, Archie and John MacGregor’s Allanfauld consignment from Kilsyth. Their topper, by Seaforde Egyptian Warrior, out of a Teiglum-bred dam that had been bought at the Select Seven sale, sold at £10,000 to Billy Renwick, Blackhouse, Yarrow, shared with Steven Renwick’s Craig Douglas flock.
Donald MacGregor, Dyke, Milton of Campsie, sold to £9000, for a shearling by Ettrick Eastern Promise, out of a ewe by Campsie Claymore, which went to the Wights at Midlock.
Meanwhile, John Green, The Craggs, Lilliesleaf, sold a Knock Yardsman son, out of a ewe by Langside Stiffler at £7200 to the Procters flock.
Best for Jim Innes’ Strathbogie lot, brought out by Michael Leggat at Dunscroft, Huntly, was a £6400 bid for a shearling son of Canllefaes Bright Spark, out of a Broomknowes Comrade daughter, which sold to the Quick family, Loosebeare, Devon.
Peter and Lynn Gray sold to £6000 twice from their Scrogtonhead flock, for two sons of Cornmore Diamond, with the first selling to Messrs Davis, Cardigan, Wales and the other going to Loosebeare.
Also making £6000 was one from Iain Minto’s Townhead consignment, a son of Thinacres Etype, which went to Jim Gibb, Toftcombs, Biggar.
Leading the Quick family’s Loosebeare lot was one by a homebred sire, which made £6000 to the Watkins’ Corras flock.
Malcolm Coubrough received a top of £5800 for his Hartside shearlings, with this son of Knock Eastwood selling to Ted Fox, St John’s Kirk, Biggar.
The Ingrams’ Logie Durno consignment met a steady trade, up to £5500 for their champion at the pre-sale show in Ring five, a son of Granite Chieftain. That one sold to Winter Bros, Clickham Farm, Appleby-in-Westmorland.
Another at £5500 came from John Elliot, Roxburgh Mains, a Walston Clansman son which sold to Messrs Williams, Welshpool.
Top price in the ram lambs was £2000, paid for one from the MacGregors at Allanfauld, a son of Mossknowe Focus, which sold at £2000 to Messrs Hudson, while Jim Innes had another at the same money that sold to Messrs Cousins, Ireland.
Averages; 591 registered shearlings £1653.54, 58 registered ram lambs £737.07.
Leading Shearling Averages
Flock (no.) Top Average
Teiglum (5) £36,000 £9430
Midlock (10) £22,000 £4970
Procters (14) £16,000 £4379
Allanfauld (8) £10,000 £3425
Dyke (5) £9000 £3380
Cambwell (8) £12,000 £3100
Logie Durno (10) £5500 £3010
Strathbogie (4) £6400 £2850
Greenarch (8) £12,000 £2694
Greenall (11) £7200 £2255
Townhead (14) £6000 £2143
Haymount (16) £3900 £2119
Prime Star (6) £4800 £1967
Hartside (9) £5800 £1967
Ettrick (15) £3600 £1753
Garngour (6) £3800 £1733
Loosebeare (10) £6000 £1680
Knockem (7) £3900 £1657
Brijon (34) £15,000 £1604
Scrogtonhead (28) £6000 £1600
Roxburgh (29) £5500 £1536
Mitchellhill (3) £3000 £1533