ONE of the biggest attendances of the year so far saw nearly 3,000 breeding sheep on parade at Skipton Auction Mart’s annual May Day bank holiday sale.

The sale started with the annual show of geld gimmer hoggs, which comprised the largest entry seen for several years, and while some buyers were selective, there was still a good clearance rate.

It was a good day for Donald Sunderland, of Halton East, with his pen of ten Mule gimmers – all from stock bought at Skipton Auction Mart – chosen by judge Darrell Shinwell, from the Derbyshire Peak District. He later snapped them up in the sales ring for £125 per head,

Mr Shinwell also picked out a fine pen of ten Continental geld gimmer hoggs from Messrs Atkinson, of Beckhill Farms in Scorton, Richmond, for a red rosette. The hoggs were all home-bred and born at the beginning of April. They sold to £142 to C Buckley, of Golcar, Huddersfield.

Beckhill Farms also took third prize in the geld Mule gimmer hoggs category, with their charges selling at £120 each

John Lancaster, of Bordley, claimed second prize with his ten Mule gimmer hoggs, which sold for £110 per head.

In the annual show of hoggs with lambs at foot, anything with power and style was easily sold, with some great runs of Mule and Continental hoggs trading in the £200 to £230 region, and the very best making more, while nice sorts made from £160 to £180.

Robert, Raymond and Gemma Johnson, of Kettlesing, saw two quality pens of five Mules take first and third places. They were picked out by judges, the Towler brothers, David and James, of Grindleton. Shown with three-week-old lambs at foot, they sold to a top of £245 per outfit.

David Coates, of Coniston Cold, took second prize with his pen of five Mule hoggs with Texel lambs, selling his charges at £210.

The production sale of 150 hoggs with lambs at foot from Beckhill Farms enjoyed the best prices for Beltex hoggs with singles, which sold to £320, with their Texel-cross with single lambs trading to £270 and Charollais hoggs with singles to £265.

Richard and Andrew Spink, of Masham, judged the five Continental hoggs with lambs at foot show class, choosing a pen of Beltex crosses from Steve Buckley, of Dove Holes in Buxton, as first prize winners. They sold at £225 per outfit to Geoff and Margaret Booth, of Lothersdale.

John Stapleton, of Skipton, took second and third prizes with Texel-cross entries with twin lambs, which sold to £245 per outfit. The quality of Mr Stapleton’s run of 90 hoggs with lambs was backed up by the sale figures, showing only one pen under £200 per outfit.

In all, there were 2,987 breeding sheep to the fore, comprising 713 geld gimmer hoggs and 1,031 hoggs, shearlings and ewes with 1,243 lambs at foot.