It was Longhouse Hyacinth from Rosemary Hamilton and Iain Lammie from Cumnock, Ayrshire, that bloomed in the pre-sale show at Carlisle on Friday 6 December 2024. They claimed the overall championship honours with Longhouse Hyacinth ET, a March-2023 in lamb shearling which was full of Dutch breeding on the dam sire, while sired by Beili Blues Euphoric who has sired Great Yorkshire Show prize winners. She was tapped out by the judge Jennifer Aiken, who runs the Coniston flock, Wennington, Lancaster, and sold for 1600gns to Messrs Graham, Annan, Dumfriesshire.
Heading to the same postcode were a further four gimmers which topped at 1000gns for David and Clare Gray’s Ettrick Honey B (ET). The shearling ewe from the Border breeders based at Lindean, Selkirk, was the only female to be sold in lamb to the 10,000gns Ettrick Jackpot, who was male champion at the National Breed Show at Stirling. Her dam Ettrick Epatante was first prize shearling gimmer at the Great Yorkshire show and a full ET brother to Honey B, sold previously to 2800gns. Messrs Graham also secured the top price ewe lamb on the day for 500gns, from K Watret, Annan Dumfriesshire. Solway View Jessica (ET) sired by the 7000gns Caryl’s Blues Hulk (ET) was bred from Solway View Elegance (ET).
The reserve overall show champion also came from the Solway View flock, in the form of second prize Solway View Hakky. This shearling ewe whose pedigree features Sunnybank Exchange Rate (ET) out of a homebred ewe Solway View Candy by Solway Badger was sold in lamb to Solway View Jagerbomb for 1200gns to Welsh buyers Messrs Jones, Ffairfach, Llandeilo.
The top call in the sale ring was claimed by Northern Ireland breeders Messrs S Allen and A Shortt, Strabane, Castlederg with their full sister to this year’s RUAS Balmoral champion, Knockmult Holly, bred from Derg Fantasy (ET) and sired by Drumard Ed who has sold progeny to 20,000gns, this unplaced gimmer sold in lamb to Derg Jackpot, to Messrs Wright, Hartington, Derbyshire for 4000gns.
They also sold a Matt’s Firetrap (ET) daughter, Derg Heavenly (ET), AI’d and scanned once to the 20,000gns Beili Blue Hulk to Messrs Jones, Pencader, Carmarthenshire for 2200gns and Messrs Philip, Culloden Moor, Inverness had to go to 1600gns to close the deal on Derg Hula (ET) also sired by Matt’s Firetrap (ET) this time out of Derg Extra Special (ET), AI’d to Derg Jackpot.
Matching the reserve champion value, a further five shearling ewes traded at 1200gns. Henry Jewitt, Barnard Castle, County Durham, sold Sunnybank Haggis (ET) who had been running with Saltire Blue Gentle Giant (ET) and bred from the £6000 ewe, Drumard Flaming Hot to Messrs Flynn, Bathgate, West Lothian.
Meanwhile, David Alexander, Galston, Ayrshire, sold two at the same money 1200gns to Messrs Horn, Penrith, Cumbria. The first was Millside DJA/23/02663, by Towerview Grand Prix (ET) who was AI’d on 24 September to Dragon Fab, while the Walston Fireball daughter, Millside DJA/23/02681, was purchased after being scanned in lamb to Eninteer Blues Hocus Pocus. Stephanie Dick, Westerton Farm, Stirling also sold two at 1200gns, the Dean Partnership, Acaster, Selby, took a fancy for Stephick Heartbreaker sired by Cynllwyn Golden Boy (ET) while Scottish breeders the Bett’s from Kippen, Stirling, backed her next lot Stephick Hidden Treasure by the same sire bred from Derg Dior.
Hodge dispersal
The sale also hosted the dispersal of the adult portion of the Hodge flock on behalf of J Hodge, Auchinleck, Cumnock. The flock primarily aimed at producing stock for the commercial market had also enjoyed great success in the show ring and most notably with Hodges Gold Dust who was successfully shown as a gimmer and one-crop ewe and remained unbeaten on the show circuit in 2024.
It came as no surprise then that she also struck gold in the sale ring. A daughter of Pistyll Empire and bred from the Carlisle purchase, Grahams Essexgirl, she had won three interbreed titles, two reserve interbreed sashes and the coveted overall champion of champions at Cumnock show, all while rearing her natural twins. Messrs Lee fancied sprinkling a little gold dust on his own flock based at Kidwelly Carmarthenshire, and topped the Hodges trade at 3500gns.
He also took a liking to the Pistyll Dynamo (ET) sired, Ranachan Flora at 2000gns and paid 1000gns for Shawtonhill Edgar, a Hackney Your Joking (ET) stock ewe, that has produced shearlings to 6500gns and ram lambs to 3000gns with four of her sons averaging 3075gns at the premier sale this year.
Gold Dust’s full sister, Hodges Goddess (ET) served by Cairnrock Jagerbomb, fetched the overall sales’ joint third top price at 2500gns to Messrs Morrison, Girvan, Ayrshire and at the same money, her dam the foundation female of the Hodges flock, Grahams Essexgirl (ET) sired by Joe’s Alvin (ET), a breed champion in her own right at Ayr Show, was snapped up by Messrs Graham, Mains of Burnbank, Stirling. Finally, a maternal sister to Gold Dust and Goddess, Hodges Havana, Blue Texel champion at Craigie show as a ewe lamb and again as gimmer, was exchanged at 1800gns to Messrs Francis, Abergorlech, Dyfed.
SHOW RESULTS
Judge – Jennifer Aiken, Coniston flock
Overall champion – Lot 180, R Hamilton and I Lammie, Longhouse Hyacinth
Reserve overall champion – Lot 137, K Watret, Solway View Jessica ET
Shearling Ewe
1st – Lot 180, R Hamilton and I Lammie, Longhouse Hyacinth
2nd – Lot 137, K Watret, Solway View Hakky
3rd – Lot 127, D and C Gray, Ettrick Hotti Totti ET
4th – Lot 118, R and J Jerman, Titanium Honeycomb ET
5th – Lot 130, D and C Gray, Ettrick Helga
6th – Lot 145, S Allen and A Shortt, Derg Heavenly ET
Ewe Lamb
1st – Lot 197, K Watret, Solway View Jessica ET
2nd – Lot 192, A Brisbane, Auchmantle Jynx ET
3rd – Lot 196, K Watret, Solway View Jade ET
Averages: 4 in-lamb ewes £538.13; 56 in-lamb shearling ewes £848.36; 3 ewe lambs £455.06
Dispersal: 10 in-lamb ewes £1512; 8 in-lamb shearling ewes £1239 (Harrison and Hetherington).
