THERE was more festive show success for the outstanding Keasden Head herd at Craven Cattle Marts’ Skipton Christmas store cattle highlight which enjoyed some healthy bidding from vendors.

North Craven’s Sheila Mason secured yet another championship, also picking up the reserve championship for good measure, at the annual Christmas store cattle fixture at Skipton Auction Mart.

Sheila’s victory came hard on the bovine heels of her success the previous day when also standing champion at the Christmas cast cattle show.

This was followed up with a notable double with a brace of home-bred Limousin-cross heifers, aged 13 months and 12 months.

They were tapped out by Scottish show judge Ian Wainwright, of Fife.

Mr Wainwright later backed his judgment in the sale ring when acquiring the principals for his Todd Hall herd at £1,100 and £1,000 respectively.

The quality of cattle from North Craven was further evident with the show’s first prize bullock hailing from Clapham.

The 10-month-old British Blue-cross was consigned by Jonathan Townley, of Nutter Green.

The hammer came down on him for the tidy sum of £1,180.

But his price tag was slightly bettered at £1,220 by the second prize winner from Fox Farms, of Withgill, Clitheroe, champion and reserve at last year’s corresponding fixture.

The same home was also responsible for the day’s top price steer, a £1,350 Charolais.

He was claimed by Andrew Atkinson Livestock of Felliscliffe, Harrogate.

Mr Townley also finished third in the bullock show class with a 14-month-old Limousin-cross sold for £990.

The Walker family, from Dunsop Bridge, took third prize in the heifers with another 14-month-old Limousin-cross.

She realised £1,055 under the hammer.

The show classes were sponsored by Cheshire-based fertiliser firm TES Agri.

They formed part of Skipton’s fortnightly Wednesday cattle sale, which attracted another solid turnout of 490 head, the majority of which were feeders.

Despite a lot of gavel-striking, more cattle could have been sold, with buyers offloading fat cattle for the Christmas trade and looking to replenish stock numbers.

Suckler-bred cattle were the most expensive they have been for a while.

The turnout of 312 bullocks and heifers seeing the strongest end selling better on the fortnight.

Younger 14 month-plus cattle also got away well, with buyers seeking frame and size to finish.

The section produced overall averages of £947 for steers and £870 for heifers.

They sold to a high of £1,200 for a British Blue-cross from Austwick’s James and Deborah Ogden, who also stepped up with the top price £1,160 Limousin-cross heifer.

A cracking across-the-board trade for a large entry of 73 beef-bred feeding cows saw Continental and Aberdeen-Angus entries perform best on price.

They peaked at £1,160 for a Limousin from Tim and Lisa Metcalfe, from Clayton, Bradford, sold to JB Eastwood & Son, of Emley, Huddersfield.

This was closely followed by a £1,150 Angus from Blackburn’s David Pawson.

The Angus selling average was £943. A pure Charolais cow from Mandy Rogers, of Halton East, also caught the eye at £1,040, this section averaging £1,010.

Also penned for sale were 21 breeding cattle.

These were sold to a top price of £1,320 for a pedigree Simmental heifer with her same way bred calf from David Lofthouse, of Singleton, on Lancashire’s Fylde.

British Blue cows and calves sold to a top of £1,140 for a tidy outfit from the Blakey family in Greenhow.

Eighty one young feeding bulls were also a nice trade, with most of the spring-born calves knocking on the door at £800 and occasionally more.

Autumn-born cattle remained a good trade, with the strong end making £900 to £1,075.

Older bulls made up to £1,000.

Over 12 month entries peaked at £1,190 for Limousin-cross from John Lambert, of Horton-in-Ribblesdale, with under 10-month bulls selling to £1,175 for one from R Gumley, of Littleborough

Another sold to £1,075 for 11 to12 month-olds, this from G&JSM Hartley in Wennington.

The final fortnightly cattle sale of the year is on Wednesday, December 18, returning in 2020 with the Great New Year opener on Wednesday, January 8.