THE Yearsley herd of North Yorkshire husband and wife, Adrian and Penny Johnson, was responsible for the 2,600gns top price performer at The Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society’s second annual autumn show and sale of pedigree females at Skipton Auction Mart. (Wed, Nov 6)

It fell to Yearsley Royal Lady S257, an April, 2016, AI son of Carrington Park Time on B7, out of the Blelack Jury daughter, Wall Royal Lady H663, an 11,000gns acquisition by the Johnsons at the Shropshire-based Wall herd dispersal sale in 2011 and who arrived with her bull calf, since well sold into the Cogent breeding programme.

“She has done us really proud. The Royal Lady line, which originally came from Canada, has proved a really successful family,” said Mr Johnson, who established his now 35-strong Yearsley Angus herd in 1988. It is based at Clarence House Farm in the village of the same name near Brandsby in Hambleton.

The day’s leading price was sold with her second calf at foot, the February-born bull, Yearsley Royal Lord, by Rawburn Makka Pakka V341. Also served in June to Haymount Wilsner, the outfit joined the Robinson family in Bedale.

John Walsh, who runs the Buckhurst herd at Walmersley, near Bury, did well with several females, the pick of which on price at 2,000gns was Buckhurst Jury Erica S184, a February, 2016, daughter of Blelack Entertainer who was shown successfully as a heifer.

She sold with her third calf at foot, Buckhurst Judge Eric V245, this by the home-bred bull Buckhurst Endeavour, who himself goes back to Rawburn Boss Hogg, out of the 10,000gns Rawburn Ebony. The outfit found a new home in South Yorkshire with G Roper, of Thorne.

Mr Walsh, who made a clean sweep of the prizes in the heifer show class with 2018-born entries, all again by Blelack Entertainer, sold both the red rosette winner and runner-up at 1,600gns and 1,700gns respectively to the same local buyers, AA&IM Smith, from Ingleton. The third prize winner joined Brian Church in Askwith for 1,050gns.

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South Craven father and son, David and Josh Isherwood, who run the Airedale herd at Lane Bridge Farm, Kildwick – they also have a butcher’s shop in nearby Silsden where home-reared Angus beef is a speciality – staged their annual draft sale of cows.

Taking top call of 2,500gns was Airedale Eliza R359, a four-year-old daughter of Weeton Lord Horatio, out of Crook Rise Eliza M809. The mother of three calves was again sold in-calf to Lord Sinden T542 to G Clarke, of Northwich in Cheshire.

The Isherwoods also sold another four-year-old, Airedale Ellen Erica R418, bred the same way and to the same service sire, at 2,400gns, again to the Bedale-based Robinsons, with a third cow, the five-year-old Weeton Lady Heather R476, by Te Mania Berkley B1, also in-calf to Lord Sinden, making 2,350gns when joining Darlington’s Harry Hodgson.

The show was judged by Andrew Shufflebotham, of the Cheerbrook herd in Nantwich. Aberdeen-Angus cows and calves averaged £1,512 and in-calf cows £2,021, with heifers selling to 1,700gns at an average of £1,176.

South Devons top at 1,200gns

There was a third pedigree cattle sale of females the same day on behalf of the South Devon Herd Book Society, when top price of 1,200gns fell to fixture regular Ms Alex Welch, who runs the Galtres herd at Huby Grange, near York.

She achieved it with Galtres Trooper Aster 1, a two-year-old home-bred daughter of Brafferton Trooper scanned in-calf to Welland Valley Warrior, who did not have far to travel when joining Keith and Jeanette Marshall in Skipton. Ms Welsh also sold further entries at 1,150gns and 1,100gns.

Long-established husband and wife breeders and sale regulars, Paul and Pam Harrison, who themselves run the Brafferton herd in Tollerton, York, sold females to a top of 1,020gns for Brafferton Alice 9, rising 15-months-old by their own Welland Valley Warrior son, Brafferton Warrior 5. The up-and-coming youngster returned to near its place of origin when joining Moor Monkton’s J Greenwood. The Harrisons sold another brace at 1,000gns.