Tel: 01969 667207 Saturday 20th January 2018 Show & Sale of Registered Bluefaced Leicester Females for the Bluefaced Leicester Sheep Breeders’ Association. Followed by Show & Sale of Individual Crowned Swaledale Ewes, Gimmer Shearlings & Gimmer Lambs for the Swaledale Sheep Breeders’ Association. Followed by Show & Sale of Herdwick Ewes, Gimmer Shearlings & Gimmer Lambs in association with the Herdwick Sheep Breeders’ Association. Entries close 30th December 2017. Judging 10.00 am. Sale 11.00 am. For further information contact Auctioneers: Raymond Lund 015396 20895 or 07974 126397 Maurice Scott: 01833 622240 www.hawesmart.co.uk / Email: [email protected] www.blueleicester.co.uk To the 2017 edition of the Welcome Autumn Review Magazine Editorial Chairman’s Message Office News .......................................... 4-5 2017 Progeny Show Results .............. 6-17 Let Your Selection, Make Your Success 2017 Show Champions ..........................18 As I write this, we are all waiting for an Indian Summer, but let’s be real, an awful lot of us are still waiting for a Summer. Regional News ................................. 20-23 2017 Sale Top Prices ....................... 24-25 Autumn sales are now completed, and we have a new breed record of £1,000 Sale List ............................... 26-43 £37,000 set at the Hawes sale at the end of September. There has been demand again for top bloodlines with several joint purchases. I hope they all go on to do well for the new owners. Jim German Advertising This was all preceded by a very busy season of NSA events, progeny shows and many local S & D Abberley ......................................BC shows. A little manic at times and several thousand miles racked up by Helen with the display stand. Our network of motorways make it easier to get to events and BFL meetings etc, but Harrison & Hetherington ........................IFC roadworks, accidents and peak time travellers inevitably can make journeys long and tiring. Hawes Auction Mart ..............................IFC Hutchinson Photography ..........................9 Some members will have made their first purchase, but for the majority selling and buying is in their blood, with the next generation keen to contribute in all aspects of the sheep cycle. Whether Hutchinson W M & Sons ...........................9 it’s traditional or crossing type, it’s important to continually improve through careful selection at Marston N .............................................BC purchase and also at mating. I wish I had a pound for every time I’ve heard the phrase “this is the Seed M .................................................IFC one”. It’s up to you to be aware of mouths and general conformation. Association inspectors at the sales see sheep with faults, sometimes there are a few disputed decisions, but on the whole are a necessary process to help the purchaser, and maintain that quality sheep are presented for sale and this point is reiterated by the auction marts too. Congratulations to everyone at sales and shows, whether you are a prize winner or not, there is a very high level of stockmanship from local shows to the big ones, and these are the showcase for your animals and hopefully prospective buyers. Some sales have increased in number and some have dropped a little, larger ones draw lots of buyers and attract good prices for quality sheep. Any member can be involved in the Association, so come along to your area meetings in November and May, as it’s your opportunity to put forward suggestions, recommendations and ideas. Bring a fellow member or friend along with you and who knows your journey may start as mine did in 1972 with the purchase of a gimmer lamb. Now, many people met and regional meetings attended my time as a member is at a peak. It is a great honour to be elected National Chairman and I will do my best for the breed and the membership. This past two years we have seen numbers grow with over one hundred new members signing up, so hopefully I will get to meet some of you on my travels. My term of office started at the end of June, so progeny shows and the Great Yorkshire were my first outings. All have been well attended with allocations quickly filled especially at the Royal Highland and the Royal Welsh. Currently it is mid October and the UK is in negotiations over Brexit, and it will be some time before we have any details on policy or payments in agriculture. The media is obsessed with trying to be Front Cover - one step ahead of any negotiations or announcements thriving on negative views. K20 Midlock - £37,000, a new breed record On behalf of myself and the membership I sincerely thank Helen and Rachael for running the office and doing the show stands etc so brilliantly. There is a good number of members who give up time and go the extra mile helping, so thank you to those members. Whether it is a sale or a meeting, it is nice to chat to new faces as well as the old ones. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas. It’s soon the new year with new challenges and hopefully a successful lambing time. All the best for 2018. Association Contacts - Chairman - Jim German, Caw House Farm, Lancaster Tel: 01524 791463 Bluefaced Leicester Sheep Breeders’ Association Secretary - Helen Carr-Smith Riverside View, Warwick Road, Carlisle CA1 2BS Tel: 01228 598022 / Fax: 01228 598021 Email: [email protected] / Charity Number: 252714 3 www.blueleicester.co.uk From Helen Carr-Smith, Association Secretary News From The Office Royal Highland Interbreed Pair M R Thornborrow & Sons & J Pirie & A Campbell 2018 Subscriptions / Member’s Details display stands at all the NSA events. NSA Wales was held in the heart The annual subscription for the Association remains at £25.00. This is of the Brecon Beacons on the wettest day imaginable, followed by a normally collected by standing order on the first working day of the new visit to the Highlands of Scotland with the weather on it’s best behaviour year, but if you have opted to pay your membership by cheque, please for a change. This was followed by North Sheep, NSA Sheep South be aware reminders are not sent out. Southern Ireland members can West and the final NSA event of the year was the NSA Northern Ireland pay their annual subscription fee by Euro cheque, unfortunately, paying event held at Ballymena Mart on the 3rd July. I would like to extend my by standing order is not an option for Southern Ireland members. Please sincere thanks to everyone who has helped with these one day specialist be aware non paid up members are automatically excluded from our events again this year, providing sheep for the stands and helping out mailing list. If you would like to set up a standing order to make sure with building of the stands. Your help is invaluable. your payment is received on time, then please contact the office for an application form. If you move house and/or your contact details change, Shows 2017 please notify the office as soon as you can, so that we can keep our The Association were in attendance with their display stands at The database as up to date as possible. Balmoral Show, The Royal Highland Show, The Great Yorkshire Show and The Royal Welsh Show. All the shows provided excellent classes Registration Forms of Bluefaced Leicesters again this year. Many congratulations to all If you have not already returned your completed registration form to the winners and champions, and to all exhibitors for turning out their sheep office, then please do so by 31st December to make sure your pedigrees to such a high standard. Agri Expo was our final event of the year held are in the flock book. If you have lost your original copy of your form at Borderway Mart, Carlisle, and thanks must go to all members who and require another copy, then please contact the office. Members can provided sheep for stands at these events this year. Thank you on also register lambs on line on the Grassroots database. To access the behalf of the Association to all judges who took the time to attend these system, you will need your membership number (as a five digit number important shows and events in the Association’s calendar. – using leading zeros where necessary), passcode and a valid e-mail address. If you have forgotten your passcode, please contact the office Sales 2017 and we will be happy to send you a reminder. The female sales were held in January at Hawes and Carlisle. Champion and top price at Hawes was a gimmer shearling from the Booth family, Office News Page I have an office news page on the website, and this page will be a place Smearsett selling at £10,200. At the Carlisle sale, for the first time, the where I will post relevant information for members, regarding National judging was split into crossing type and traditional. The champion in the and regional events. If you would like any regional events advertised on crossing classes was a gimmer hogg from the Kirkby Redgate flock of the office news page, or any photographs from local shows and events, W M Hutchinson & Sons, selling at 6500 gns. Top price in that section please e-mail through the details to [email protected] was for another gimmer hogg this time from the Skeughdale flock of George Shields. In the traditional classes, the champion was awarded NSA Events 2017 to a gimmer shearling from Dewi Williams, Elian flock. The top price was It has been an extremely busy year promoting the breed around the 900 gns, and this was paid by Stuart Nelson, Medwyn for a homebred British Isles again this year, with thousands of miles on the clock, with ewe from the Espley flock of Mick and Nicky Gray.