A BUSY weekend is in prospect at Skipton Auction Mart, with one of the highlights on Saturday the second annual reduction sale of pedigree Beef Shorthorns from the Rt Hon Gerald Turton’s renowned Upsall herd near Thirsk.

The 47 head on offer comprise four cows with five calves - one with twins - three in-calf cows, the remainder of the females maiden heifers, plus a brace of stock bulls.

High profile show winners feature prominently in the breeding.

All the females are from recognised, well-proven lines and by top Upsall bulls, while the two sires to go under the hammer are the prolific King David of Upsall, a 2016-born son of Firefox, followed by a young up-and-coming March, 2021, bull, Regent of Upsall, by Mandalong of Upsall, he, too, a Firefox son.

Quality and heritage are long-recognised hallmarks of Britain’s oldest Beef Shorthorn herd – it was established well over a century ago and runs to four generations - which on the corresponding weekend last year staged its first reduction sale at Skipton before a packed ringside of customers from near and far, with solid trade the order of the day throughout.

As well as the two bulls, picked out as good examples of Upsall breeding would be Lot 35 Tessa X1637, a full sister to the 6,500gns Numero One, Lot 27 Clipper X1609 May, a solid breeding cow by Nelson of Upsall, and Lot 18, the Mandalong daughter Tessa X1578.

The Rt Hon Mr Turton commented: “It’s set to be a fantastic celebration of the bicentenary of 200 years of our breed. In particular, we would like to draw the attention of potential purchasers to the EBV figures for all the cattle in the sale.”

He also paid tribute to the continuing work of long-time Scottish stockman George McCulloch and his wife Maureen, who continue to manage the herd so successfully.

The sale is scheduled to start at 11am on Saturday, with a live online bidding facility also in place. Pre-sale viewing is available on Friday 5.30-7pm.

Also on the Saturday agenda is an inaugural show and sale of 122 Dorset and Dorset horn and poll sheep on behalf of the Northern Dorset Breeders Club, with show classes to be judged from 11am, followed by the sale at 1pm. The monthly collective livestock sale takes place the same morning.

The following day, Sunday, sees the welcome return of the Skipton branch of the North of England Mule Sheep Association (NEMSA) progeny showcase for Bluefaced Leicester rams and Mule progeny, with five show classes to be judged from 1.00pm, from which a champion and reserve will emerge. There are also sheep judging classes and a guess the weight competition.

Catalogues for all are posted online at www.ccmauctions.com