Evans on a high at CCM Skipton online working sheepdog winter sale

 The prolific trials winner – he has five ISDS International Supreme Championships to his name - has often topped both live and online Skipton sales and did so again when his fully-trained 17-month-old brown, white and tan bitch, Tilly, went under the online hammer at fixture’s only five-figure selling price. She is daughter of Evans’ Swedish-bred stud dog Middery Frank, an Open Trials winner whose progeny often claim high prices, out of fellow Welsh breeder Natalie Matthews’ Martini Sky.

The Scottish buyer was Kenny Donald, of Dalrymple, in East Ayrshire’s Doon Valley, now retired from farming, but retaining some 100 head of sheep on which to work his dogs as a hobby – he also paid 10,000gns at Skipton in July, 2021, for a 15-month-old bitch by Evans’ dual European Nursery and Royal Welsh Champion Tanhill Glen. Also an accomplished triallist, Kenny has won Opens and has also represented the Scottish National team, with an eighth place finish in 2017. Tilly will be prepared for Open Trials next summer.

Other dogs with Evans breeding made a major impact on the sale, one from local handler and triallist Carol Mellin, of Moor Lodge Farm, Oakworth, taking second top call of £8,500.

Her February, 2021, black and white bitch, Pentre Bet, is another well-bred daughter of Tanhill Glen, out of Iwan Rees’ Nell and was acquired from Iwan two years ago.

In the interim, Bet has more than proved her own worth on the trials field. Placed second overall out of 70-plus dogs in the 22/2023 nursery season, she has now amassed 120 National points, her wins including the Old Snap Pennine Hill Trial, The Yorkshire Annual Open Trial, together with the championship, and the 2024 Hebridean Circuit Trials championship. She also ran in and finished runner-up in the BBC’s ‘One Man and His Dog’ in 2023.

Bet, who has bred one litter, two of which have been retained by the well-known West Yorkshire handler, fell to one of Skipton's most prolific dog buyers, Jock Sutherland, of Sangomore, Durness, in the north-west Highlands, and will be utilised as both a work and trial dog. He is a multiple Open Trials winner and has represented the Scottish National team.

Back in the Evans camp, making £7,000 was a second fully-broken dog, the tri-coloured Scottish-bred Storybrooke Guy, acquired from Sandy McCulloch. He is a January, 2022, son of Avon Roy, who has won trials in the hands of Northern Ireland’s Michael Gallagher, the Armoy handler himself a past International Supreme Champion. The dam is Lynn, bred by Sweden’s Caroline Joelsson, a past National Young Handler Champion in her own country.

Guy goes to Germany after being claimed by Lara Sander, who runs a small farm with horses, sheep and a few dogs in Bergheim, between Düsseldorf and Cologne. It’s also the second Evans dog she has purchased online at Skipton, following up on her first acquisition in June last year of an unbroken 15-week-old red, tan and white bitch, Kemi Joy, at £2,100.

Lara explained: “I lost one of my best main farm and promising young nursery and open class trial dogs because of cancer, so I bought Guy to fill this hole. I am excited to work with him and hope it will be such a pleasure and give happiness like it is with Kemi Joy.

“I am really happy with Joy. She is everything I expected after initially seeing her video – a very friendly, uncomplicated bitch, nice feeling for sheep and good listener. If her development continues I want to start her on some nursery trials next year.”

Evans also headed the unbroken prices at £2,300 with a six-month-old red and white bitch, Talley Roxy, by his own Thornbury Max, a dual South Wales and All-Wales Nursery Champion last year. Out of fellow Welshman Huw Williams’ Kemi Cass, herself a daughter of Middery Frank, Roxy remained in Wales when claimed by Mrs Meryl Evans, who farms near Corwen with her husband Arwel, daughter Elain, son Dyfan and his girlfriend Esyllt, who will all play a part in the dog’s further education.

Roxy should learn plenty on the 450-acre Pendre Fawr Farm, with a further 200 acres rented to keep a 300-strong cattle herd and 1,000 head sheep flock, which includes 60 pure Beltex, one of which was crowned Royal Welsh champion carcase at Builth Wells earlier the same week, netting an unbelievable record £3,400!

Two broken entries made £5,100. First up was another local handler, Harrogate’s Peter Simpson with his May, 2022, black and white dog, Frank, by RB Hutchinson Hendre Taff, out of GF Whitfield’s Heyshaw Molly. With a successful 2023/24 nursery season, including five first and multiple placing, Frank found a new home in Kendal with CP&AG Bateman.

Away at the same price was a rising four-year-old black and white bitch, Bosley Belle, from Cheshire’s James Gilman, of Macclesfield. By S Cottrell’s Jim, out of the breeder’s own Bonny, she, too, is another multiple nursery trials winner, going on to finish fourth in the 2023 English Nursery Final, also gaining national points. Belle is Surrey-bound after falling to Gillian Woolsten, of Horley.

Carnforth beef and sheep farmer Colin Birkett made £5,000 with his February, 2022, black and white bitch, Netherbeck Floss, the last remaining sister in a litter sired by Jedbergh handler Frank Hickson’s Chase, out of the home-bred Millie. Earlier this year at Skipton, two of Floss’s siblings excelled at live field-run sales, one making 6,000gns top, the other 5,600gns. Floss also goes north of the border to Falkirk’s Joshua Bain.

Catching the eye at £4,800 was Scottish shepherdess Laura Hinnekens, from Auchengray, South Lanarkshire, with her December, 2021, black and white bitch, Gelli Annie, fully bred in Wales by well-known triallist David Howells and by his Dick, out of Wyverne Gem. Originally from Belgium and having represented the Scottish national team, Laura saw Annie remain north of the border when falling to Ellen Smith, of Kinross.

Rossendale shepherdess and triallist, 23-year-old Janine Ashworth claimed a combined £7,300 with a brace of fully-broken dogs. Leading the way at £4,500 was a solid all-rounder, Meg, a May, 2022, brown and white bitch fully bred by SC Wayman, by his Tom, out of Sunset Pip, and also heading to Scotland with J&M Turner, Campbelltown, on the Kintyre Peninsula. Her second entry, the tri-coloured Sam, a three-year-old son of Alec Baines’ Ben, out of Frank Cleary’s Flash, made £2,700 to Cumbrian buyer Andrew Metcalfe, of Bampton.

Also from Rossendale, Stackstead’s Alf Kyme took £4,300 with his blue merle Border Collie, Rockface Blue, a January, 2021, son of DR Wood’s ISDS ROM (registered on merit) sire Blue, out of Northern Ireland breeder Shannon Conn’s Peg. He, too, is Scotland-bound to Alice Muir, Caithness.

Another at £4,300 was a May, 2021, black and white dog, Lynburn Dick, from Scotland’s Chris Caygill, of Kirkudbright, Dumfries and Galloway, fully bred north of the border by C Kirkland’s Sweep, out of Nant-y-Moel Jill. The Derbyshire buyers were S Percival & Sons, Duffield.

Yet again from Scotland and Aberdeenshire, George Simpson, of Huntly, took £4,000 with his black and white bitch, Lexi, a February, 2023, daughter of his own Lad, out of KW Brehmer’s Thistle Down Fern. She, too, remained north of the border when joining Farquhar Renwick in Garve, Ross Shire.

A further two broken dogs topped £3,000. From the Republic of Ireland, Eamonn Egan, who runs Rockland Sheepdog Training Centre in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, claimed £3,700 with his December, 2022, tri-coloured, Joe, while, this time from Wales, Carmarthenshire’s Logan Williams, made £3,100 with his March, 2020, black and white bitch, Nedwin Beca. Joe didn’t have too long a trip when joining David Coyne in Tipperary, Beca heading north to Perth to Stuart Patterson.

Topping the part-broken prices at an exceptional £4,100 was David Wood, from Derwent in the Derbyshire Peak District's Hope Valley, with his May, 2023, black and white dog, Mirk, by Kevin Evans’ Tanhill Glen son, Kemi Bert. The dog remained in his county of origin when joining Malcolm Wright, of Buxton.

A flurry of late online bidding produced another solid and second top part-broken price of £3,700 for Clyde, a nine-month-old black and white dog who has just started driving from South Yorkshire handler J Alton, from Sheffield. He, too, has Evans bloodlines, being by Hendre Sam, a Welsh Nursery Champion and multiple Open trials trials winner who is line bred to Tanhill Glen. Clyde crosses the Irish Sea to join Co. Donegal’s Louise McGoldrick.

Back in the unbroken pen, second top of £1,300 went to Co. Donegal vendor Donal Mullaney, of Letterkenny, with his fully home-bred five-month-old tri-coloured dog, Ted, by Dan, out of Maid, and with other very impressive breeding lines to his name. The dog remained in Donegal with J Travers.

Also hitting four figures at £1,150 was one of the youngest unbroken entries, the mid August-born bitch pup, Kype Hill Tess, from James Campbell, of Strathavon in Scotland’s Cairngorm National Park. Out of the breeder’s own Kype Hill Mist, Tess goes down to Ludlow in Shropshire and new owner and Neville Bird.

The sale again demonstrated the flexibility of the online format in meeting the needs of both vendors and buyers from all corners – national, international, even globally, with one part-broken two-year-old tri-coloured bitch from Shropshire’s Janet Beale, Much Wenlock, making £1,400 when falling to an online buyer from British Columbia, the westernmost province of Canada.

Potential purchasers once more had access to well-proven broken dogs, some with trials experience, others to bring on for either work or trial, plus others to break. There was confirmation of all-round interest when CCM’s general manager and auctioneer Jeremy Eaton noted: “The office was busy all week with new clients registering to bid at the sale and returning clients checking account details to ensure that they were equipped for sale night.”

Furthermore, all tastes and pockets were catered for. For example, outside the leading prices fully-broken dogs could be bought from £1,300, part-broken entries from just £150, though more generally from £600, and unbroken pups from £200.

The 52 dogs forward achieved a solid 80% clearance rate, with the following averages recorded: Reg Broken dogs to £7000, av £3822, Reg Broken Bitches to £14800, av £5315, Part Broken Reg Dogs to £4100, av £2200, Part Broken Reg Bitches to £1600, av £1438: Unbroken and Pups: Reg Dogs to £1300, Reg Bitches to £2300, av £1650. Reg Broken Senior Bitches (2016) to £1350, Unreg Broken Dogs to £1500.