July Jewels at Longtown

C & D Auction Marts Ltd held their annual July Jewels sale of Texel and Suffolk breeding sheep at Longtown on Monday 24th July 2023. There was a good ringside of bidders from a wide area allied to strong online interest from home and abroad.

A marvellous draft of pedigree Suffolk females from Judith and Iain Barbour`s Annan based Solwaybank flock sold really well with a total clearance effected.  Their strong pen of Suffolk ewes held the top price of the sale – 1,900gns. for Solwaybank FHT:21, a 2020 born Crewelands Champion daughter out of a Strathbogie Stradivarius dam.  She was purchased by Tiago Graca, Neves, Alentejo, Portugal.  An older ewe, born 2017, by Strathbogie Sirius from a Rhaeadr Rastafari ewe drew 1,600gns from Netherlands buyer, J.D. Ter Maaten, Harskamp. This ewe is closely related to the 26,000gns Solwaybank Rock Solid who featured in many of the sale pedigrees. Two ewes sold for 950gns, to Elaine Wilkie, Berryscaur, Lockerbie and to Tiago Graca. The five ewes in the sale averaged £1,276.

The Solwaybank Suffolk gimmers averaged £889 for fourteen head. Tiago Graca took the top three, giving 1,400gns. for Solwaybank FHT:22 by the Solwaybank Rock Solid son, Crewelands Apollo from a Strathbogie Sirius daughter. 1,200gns was the price paid for a Salopian Mr Chairman gimmer with another, by Salopian Stradale, at 950gns. Jan Wiersman from Friesland, Netherlands took others at 900gns and 850gns. 850gns. sales went to Tiago Graca, and to William Mather & Sons, Brechin.  A pair of Suffolk ram lambs sold at 650gns. and 600gns.

Pedigree Texel gimmers sold well at all levels to average £586 for thirty eight.  James Hair, Drumbreddan, Stranraer took top-honours with sales at 1,150gns and 1,100gns.  The former, by Teiglum Eisenhower from a Claddagh Dynamite dam went to Messrs Westby, Craigequarroch, Stranraer; the latter, again by Teiglum Eisenhower, was bought by R. Howe, Meadehope, Longtown. Others from Drumbreddan sold to 950gns with an overall pen average of  £932.   1,000gns. was the price for a New View Electrifying gimmer from Robert Cockburn`s Knap flock from Errol, Crieff.  She went north to C & I Angus, Oldfield Farm Thurso. The same 1,000gns price was paid by R Howe, Longtown to Gordon Gray`s Ettrick flock for a well-bred daughter of Holtridge El Primo.  The Ettrick pen average was £727 with Knap averaging £691.