€3,400 Hillwood He’s the One sets new Irish ‘record’ price

The €3,400 Hillwood He’s the One smashed the previous Irish price record for a Belgian Beltex when he went under the hammer at the society’s elite sale at Tullamore Mart in recent days.

That is according to a spokesperson for the Belgian Beltex Breeders’ Society of Ireland, who said that Friday, July 22^nd, 2022, will be “remembered for years to come”.

Hillswood He’s The One was the sale’s champion ram lamb and overall champion hailing from the Hillswood flock of Tom and Thomas Kenny.

Their shearling ram, shown and sold by Brian Mathews, was awarded the shearling ram and reserve champion on the day also.

The judge on the day was John Harbinson from the Glenkeen Flock, Limavady and a total of 14 rams were presented forward in both the lamb and shearling ram classes.

He said that all “sheep of a very high standard, whilst the shearling ewe class did not disappoint and almost saw a full clearance in the later sale”.

Belgian Beltex prices 

Other prices of interest include:

• Sean and Ryan Cuddy’s second-placed ram lamb, lot 37, for €1,060 to Jimmy Burke and Paul Slevin;
• Dermot Goss’ lot 30, Hillview Hercules, for €1,000 to Michael Lynch;
• Stephanie and Hugh O’Connor’s second-place shearling ram, lot 10, sold for €920 to Patrick Murphy;
• Reserve champion, lot 22, to Mark Kelly for €900;
• Eddie and Jillian McCarthy’s lot 26, Awbey Hup and Over, to Denis Kavanagh for €800;
• The champion female, Ballinakill Gobinet, was lot 44 from John and Dudley Maher sold for €700 to Amy Ryan.

Show results:

• Champion: Hillswood He’s The One – Tom and Thomas Kenny
• Reserve Champion: Hillwood Goliath – Brian Mathews

Ram lamb class:

• 1^st – Hillswood He’s The One – Tom and Thomas Kenny;
• 2^nd – Red Devils Hannibal – Sean and Ryan Cuddy;
• 3^rd – Ballinakill Hulk Hogan – John and Dudley Maher;
• 4^th – Knockawuddy Hagley – James and Cormac Killilea;
• 5^th – Hillview Hercules – Dermot Goss;
• 6^th – Lisnacrann Huckle Buck – Michael and Niamh Oliver.

Shearling ram class:

• 1^st – Hillswood Goliath – Brian Mathews;
• 2^nd – Cloneycavan Gigolo – Stephanie and Hugh O’ Connor;
• 3^rd – Hillview Gavin – Dermot Goss;
• 4^th– Quarrymount Gaffer- Brian Mathews;
• 5^th– Cloneycavan Gringo- Stephanie and Hugh O’Connor;
• 6^th– Red Devils Greenwood- Sean and Ryan Cuddy.

Shearling ewe class:

• 1^st – Ballinakill Gobinet – John and Dudley Maher;
• 2^nd – Edmondstown Gwen – Michael McGrath;
• 3^rd – Seaview Ginny – Aeron James;
• 4^th – Benji Glenn – David Pearson.

High averages and clearance

Speaking following the sale, a society spokesperson said:

“The elite sale is the society’s earliest sale of the year and offers pedigree Belgian Beltex breeders a fantastic opportunity to purchase breeding stock at an early stage in the year.”

“It was no surprise from early on Friday afternoon that both sale averages and clearance rates would be high as a fantastic standard of sheep was put forward in all three classes,” the spokesperson added.

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