Texel Twilight sale closes out year

The Texel twilight sale will again be one of the last of the year, with 60 in-lamb ewes making their way to Cootehill on Saturday 29 December.

As well as attracting some top ewes, all participating Texel breeders have agreed to donate 2% of sales returns to the Irish Society of Autism

This year’s sale includes females with pedigrees from some of the top Irish and UK Texel bloodlines.

The Farrell’s Oberstown flock have two sisters to last year’s top-priced hoggets.

This line has bred female and male champions at Irish Texel Premier sales including the famous Oberstown Usain Bolt, which has bred sons selling to 52,000gns in the UK.

The sale also includes daughters and granddaughters of Hillcrest Top Shot, Champion Senior Ram in 2016.

Thornville Yogi Bear was the Supreme Champion at the Texel sale in Blessington 2016 and there are seven daughters of Yogi Bear in the Texel Twilight sale.

Matching these strong pedigrees, a number of top service sires were used such as Thornville Ace, Strathbogie Yes Sir, Auldhouseburn Bullitt, Knap Arthur Daley and Ardcath Winchester to name a few.

The Cootehill Twilight Sale will be unique in that €uro-Star values are published for all animals in the sale.

The sale kicks off at 1pm and all females are being sold guaranteed in-lamb.

White Diamonds set for Raphoe this Friday

This Friday 21 December the Donegal Pedigree Texel breeders host their annual white diamonds sale.

This year’s sale consists of 80 in-lamb shearling ewes again being held in Raphoe livestock mart.

An opportunity not to be missed, ewes from some of the top flocks in Ireland are on offer.

Included in this year’s sale are a full sister and two maternal sisters to the €17,000 Greenstar Alfie as well as ewes from the same family as €15,000 Silverhill Bushtucker, top price rams at Blessington premier sales 2017 and 2018 respectively.

These along with the rest of the ewes forward are selling in-lamb to top sires including Irish sire of the year Larahill Alphonsis, Worcester champion 2017 Sportsman Alabama, Balmoral Maze champion 2018 Mullan BFG, Blessington Premier sale reserve Champion 2017 Donnelly Alonso, and many more.

Adding to the occasion, the Myles family have put up an in-lamb shearling ewe by Derrylahan Victorious, to be auctioned for charity on the night. Show kick starts at 5.30pm with the sale following at 7pm.

5,000gns top call at Carlisle Beltex sale

The UK Beltex sheep society held their society sale in Carlisle over the weekend, which realised a top price of 5,000gns.

Leading the way was the pre-sale show champion Buckles Chloe, exhibited by the Buckle family.

The sale leader is a daughter of the 8,000gns Ardstewart Armani and Drumrash Naomi.

Scanned carrying twins, this one was knocked down by JM Hall, Skipton.

The Reserve Champion, a ewe lamb named Tywi Dam Girl You’re Hot ET from Ioan Jones, Maesybont, realised 2,800gns.

This third prize lamb from the Royal Welsh Show is by Woodies Bojangles and out of Woodies Barbie ET. She heads north with Miller Farms.

Achieving the second top price of 3,800gns was the star attraction from the dispersal of Robert Rennie’s Robex flock. Robex Booty, a 2016-born daughter of Skiddaw View Trapper, sold in a two-way split to T&A Taylor, Thankerton, Lanark, and G Harrison, Carnwath, Lanark.

6,000gns top Carlisle sheep sales

Achieving the top sheep price at Carlisle over the weekend was a gimmer from the aforementioned Robex flock.

The daughter of Teiglum Stifler came late in the sale and was knocked down to Gary Beacom, of Northern Ireland at 6,000gns.

Not stopping there Mr Beacom also secured the second top price ewe at 4,500gns.

This Brijon You Beauty daughter is out of a Stifler-sired dam and sold in-lamb to Duhonw You Belter.

In the Blue Texel Sapphire sale, a top price of 3,000gns was achieved twice by the Hackney flock of Paul Tippetts and Christine Williams.

The two top-priced ewes were two full-sisters sired by Joe Alvin and out of homebred dam Hackney Yessaintlaurent.