NOT only did the Calderdale-based Leach family successfully retain the supreme prime lamb championship for a scintillating third year running at CCM Skipton’s 17th annual Christmas showcase, but they also sold their Beltex-x trio for a mart record £800 per head to Robertshaw’s Farm Shop, Thornton, above Bradford.

The Hebden Bridge Leach family, led by husband and wife, Adrian and Kathryn, notched up a notable hat-trick with their red rosette-winning 44kg Continental-x lambs and lowland champions, all out of home-bred ewes from their Owlers Farm Beltex flock.

One was by the Scottish-bred ‘Blackadder The Greatest Showman,’ champion ram at the 2022 Border Union Show, later purchased for 2,400gns and the sire of last year’s title winners, one by another Scottish-bred tup, Padkin Full Monty, who sired the 2022 victors, the third by a Welsh-bred Gyffin tup.

Purchaser James Robertshaw, renowned for his support of local farmers and local producers, also secured both the same day’s prime cattle and prime pig supreme champions. All acquisitions will be on sale for Christmas at the Brighouse & Denholme Road shop, with Robertshaw’s also looking forward to the opening of its new Skipton farm shop in the former Keelham Farm Shop premises in Gargrave Road next February.

Lowland lambs show judge, Ribchester’s Peter Briggs, a director of Preston-based Bowland Foods, remained in the trimmed section when tapping out another first prize Continental-x pen from Antony and Emma Thompson, Higher Broach Farm, Foulridge, as reserve lowland and overall reserve champions.

Making a welcome return to their local festive highlight after a two-year break, the couple caught the adjudicator’s eye with their three-quarters Beltex lambs out of home-bred ewes and sired by a tup from the McCutcheon family’s Bodoney flock bought out of Skipton at the 2023 breed highlight.

Weighing in at 39kg, they made £210 each when falling to Long Preston’s Clare Mellin, again buying on behalf of Cropper Family Butchers & Deli, Accrington, which she runs with her father, George Cropper, and team. The Blackburn Road shop had previously claimed the Skipton supreme champions four years running.

Team Thompson had an excellent day with their Beltex lambs. As well as standing runners-up in two untrimmed lowland show classes with 39kg and 42kg pens selling at £175 and £190, both to the judge and Bowland Foods, 11-year-old Isobel Thompson, a pupil at Park High School, Colne, was crowned young handlers’ champion with a black 49kg Beltex lamb, recipient of The Hannah Brown Memorial Trophy once more presented by Martin Brown and knocked down for £240 top, again to Croppers..

In addition, Croppers went to £220 second top when adding the young handlers’ reserve champion, a home-bred 45kg Beltex-x by a Skipton-bought Woodies tup shown by Calderdale five-year-old Ernie Midgley, who has just started at Luddendenfoot Primary School. It came from the family’s Upper Calder Valley flock, the 2020 and 2021 Skipton supreme prime lamb champions.

The Red Rose family butcher was in fine form at the ringside, also procuring both the champion and reserve at the same day’s standalone lamb carcase competition.

The untrimmed championship fell to the Ribble Valley’s James Towler and Sammy Fawcett, Steelands Farm, Grindleton, with a red rosette-winning 50kg Beltex-x-Texel trio by a home-bred Beltex tup making £210 when claimed by Hamlets Butchers, Garstang.

Ellis Bros, Cragg House Farm, Addingham Moorside, untrimmed champions the previous three years, had to settle for the reserve championship this year with their first prize 39kg Beltex-x pen again by home-bred tups, two by a North Craven Davis family Rathbone ram, the other by an Airyolland top.

They sold for £175, yet again to Cropper Family Butchers, who also went to £165 to add a 38kg Continental-x trimmed runners-up pen from Brian Lund, Walshaw, the third 38 prize pen in the same show class from Richard and Mark Ireland, Whalley, another Bowland Foods buy at £160, as was a further third prize 40kg trimmed pen from Welsh vendor HW Williams at £155.

The judge also paid £180 for a third prize untrimmed 46kg Continental trio again from the Whalley Irelands, then £152 for a second prize 35kg untrimmed pen again from HW Williams.

Clinching the hill lambs championship for an unprecedented fourth year running were the Hutchinson family, Faceby, again with a trio of 50kg Scottish Blackface wethers by a Hexham-bred Scott family tup also responsible for their previous victors. Retaining the Anthony Dean Perpetual Trophy after being tapped out by section judge Ross Greenwood, of Gargrave-based Craven Farm Butchers, they were then purchased by him for a section top £230 per head.

The Hutchinsons also won the untrimmed Suffolk-x class with 58kg lambs away at £182 to Swaledale Foods, Skipton.

Reserve hill champions for the second year running were Kevin Wilson and family, Blubberhouses, with 49kg North of England Mules making £152 again to Swaledale Foods, Skipton, who also paid £149 for the second prize 50kg pen from the same home, along with the third prize 47kg pen from George Breare, Silsden Moore, at £140.

Allan and Susan Throup, Silsden Moor, consigned the first prize Masham for the second year running, their 47kg pen joining regular buyer Andrew Atkinson, Felliscliffe, while John Smith, Carleton, returned to again stand first with his 51kg Swaledale, £145 also to Craven Farm Butchers, the same home also responsible for the third prize 48kg pen, £145 to Halifax wholesale butchers J&E Medcalf & Sons, the second prize 46kg pen from the Crisp family, Calton, another Atkinson acquisition at £132. So too at £145 was the first prize 47kg Dalesbred trio from the Stoney family, Pateley Bridge, the 42kg runners-up from the same home also going to the Medcalfs at £122.

George Breare stood runner-up in the Suffolk-x class with a 46kg trio joining Robertshaw’s Farm Shop, Thornton, the third prize 51kg pen from Simon Bennett, Silsden Moor, a further Metcalf buy at £158.

Other horned/hill/native breed runners-up, the Scrivin family, Elslack saw their 50kg lambs also go to Andrew Atkinson, the third prize 42kg winners from Welsh vendor HW Williams again heading to the Medcalfs at £128.

Back with the trimmed lambs, 49kg Continental-x runners-up from Ian and Mary Lancaster, Wiswell, sold well at £230 when joining Kendalls Farm Butchers in Pateley Bridge and Harrogate, who also secured both the second and third prize winners in the 11-16 years young handlers show class from local brothers Thomas and Oliver Marshall, both at £180.

Medcalfs supplemented their earlier acquisitions with the second and third prize 10-years-and under young handlers lambs from Niomi Harrison, Skipton, and Harry Kitching, Threshfield, at £162 and £175 respectively.

A total of 188 butchers lambs sold to an overall average of £173.65 per head, or 391.1p/kg (SQQ 431.5p/kg).

The annual Christmas showcase was once more supported by multiple sponsors, with Skipton NFU again the keynote sponsor.