Irish buyers and sellers were among those sealing deals at Skipton Auction Mart’s most recent timed online-only summer sale of working sheepdogs on Tuesday, June 13th, 2023.
The sale at the North Yorkshire-based venue saw a top call of £5,600, plus a trio of joint £5,100 second top prices.
Francis Mongan, of Cullionboy, Co. Donegal, were among the Irish vendors at the sale.
A trio of fully broken entries went under the online hammer at £3,500, two of which came from the Donegal native.
£3,500 entry
The first and lot 1 was Nan (Jan), a January-2021, black and white bitch, and another daughter of Evans’ red Spot, out of Queen, from Welsh shepherd, John Griffiths, based near Brecon in Powys.
She joined Thomas Longton, a member of the well-known Red Rose sheepdog trialling family from Quermore, Lancaster, and who also regularly sells dogs at Skipton, with John Griffiths himself making £2,500 with a two-and-a-half-year-old black and white dog, Oaktree Jim.
The second Francis Mongan entry at £3,500 was another January-2021 black and white dog, Flash (Cash), a son of Nigel Watkins’ Nap, himself by Brendan McAllister’s multiple trials winner Spot, out of ALB Davies’ Meg.
Flash goes to Lincolnshire with Grantham’s Richard Curtis.
Con McGarry, of Ballyglass, Co Roscommon snapped up Bess, yet again by Evans’ red Spot, out of I Morgan’s Mwnt Floss, herself a Derwen Doug daughter at £3,500.
The entry makes the journey from Wales from the yard of Ceredigion, Pencefen’s Arthur Morgan.
Mr McGarry also went to a bid of £2,900 to successfully acquire Udale Heath.
This is a February-2021 black and white dog from Tom Huddlestone of Brookhouse in Lancashire’s Lune Valley.
The entry is by his own Udale Ola, himself a son of Ricky Hutchinson’s Sweep, out of Rosa, a granddaughter of P Williams’ Sweep.
The fully broken dog had already won four nursery trails for Mr Huddlestone, a retired community nurse who has been breeding and training dogs for well over a quarter of a century.
He has been a successful trialist for more than two decades, following in the footsteps of his late father, Harry, an English National winner.
Unbroken section
In the unbroken section, plenty of youngsters sold well into three figures.
Co. Donegal’s K McLaughlin, Glentogher, led at £800 with his black and white Gin, a promising youngster born in March this year.
Three others made £700. From Wales, Powys’s James Jones, Brondrefawr, was the first of them with another March-born youngster, Brondrefawr Jan, a Middery Frank son.
Following was Paul Bouch, Kirkoswald, in Cumbria’s Lower Eden Valley, with his July, 2022, Copperthorns Len.
Then regular Irish vendor Pat Byrne, of Ballyglass, Co. Roscommon, sold his a 14-month black and white bitch by his highly regarded Moss.
All tastes and pockets
According to a spokesperson for Skipton Auctions, out of 41 fully broken, part-broken and unbroken entry, a total of 21 dogs successfully found new homes.
The fixture again catered for “widespread tastes and pockets” for potential purchasers seeking established work dogs, others to bring on and improve, plus potential trials prospects.
