02-05-2025
Blues top at 7200gns at CCM pedigree cattle triple header
CCM's 2025 pedigree beef season opened with a show and sale triple-header - the annual 'Blue Wednesday' highlight for British Blues, a new Beef Shorthorn Society-supported Spring fixture for breed bulls and females, another for Aberdeen-Angus, Hereford and Lincoln Red bulls.
Blues saw a solid entry of cattle, with a good selection of mobile correct bulls and just one high quality female presented for sale, all achieving total clearance. Top call on price and walking away with the reserve champion rosette was an April '23-born home-bred bull, Greystone Tarzan, from North Craven vendor Graham Coates, Rainscar Farm, Stainforth.
By Almeley Ginola, the natural-born black and coloured bull reached 7200gns, the successful bidders being T&K Ellison, Sedbergh. Poignantly, Tarzan was the last of the Almeley Ginola lineage bred from the favourite 14-year-old stock cow, Greystone Gleam, to be offered for sale.
Taking top spot as overall champion was Springfield Timmins, an impressive light-coloured bull just gone two years old from Alan and Deirdrie Wilkinson, who have been breeding Blues under their Springfied prefix since 1992 at Out Rawcliffe, Garstang. The farming family were also butchers in the past, rearing their own beef for their Widnes outlet.
Timmins, home-bred by Round Hill Ice, out of an Empire d'Ochain cow, Springfield Izzie, mother of ten calves, was knocked down for 4600gns to E Middleton, of Spilsby, Lincolnshire.
The title winner was tapped out by Roughlee judge Mark Hartley, who has run his family's Pendle herd for the past 29 years. He said the nine bulls and single female in the show ring were very good examples, his choice of champion being 'true to the breed with excellent muscle.'
The day proved to be a red rosette double-header for the Wilkinsons, whose 13-month-old black show heifer, Springfield U Bonnie, sired by Ballygrange Alex, out of Springfield Olive, herself a daughter of the renowned Cromwell Fendt, bred by the Dunsop Bridge Walkers, took first prize and reached the day's second high price of 6500gns. She goes to the Midlands to an undisclosed buyer.
Reaching 4800gns was 19-month-old Sand Lane Terrance, one of two bulls from Guy Elsworth, who runs the Sand Lane herd in Raskelf, Easingwold. The Almeley Ginola grandson, sired by Greystone Noveltee, out of Sand Lane Oasis, was bought by WH Dixon & Son, of Hayscastle, Pembrokeshire. The vendor's second entry, the March '23-born Sand Lane Trojan, also by Greystone Noveltee out of Tamhorn Fenella, sold for 4000gns.
Bringing a brace of bulls from West Yorkshire and her Towngate herd was Clayton's Rosie Metcalfe, who achieved a notable 4700gns when selling Towngate Tinder, a 23-month-old Goodyhills Emperor son out of the 2014 Stonebyres June. He was bought by mart regular Colin Whitelock as a good prospect for use on his dairy herd in Gargrave. From the same home, the May '23-born Towngate Teddy, by Greystone Mastercard out of Towngate Evie, sold for 4500gns.
Dacre British Blue breeder Stewart Gill, Hallfield herd, saw his November '23 Hallfield Tornada sell for 4600gns to Simon Wheelwright, of Halifax. Tornado is by another Greystone bull, Poncho, who is a Lutin Du Bouchelet son, out of the Tamhorn Enterprising cow, Hallfield Peppa.
Mart regular, Ken Gamble, hailing originally from Upper Wharfedale, but now running his Linthorpe herd with wife Hazel at Brickyard Farm, Easingwold, said he was pleased with his third prize win for Linthorpe Toblerone, a powerful black two-year-old Homilton Jupiter son out of Brennand Olga. Toblerone sold for 4400gns to Calderdale mart regular Brian Lund, Walshaw.
Selling for 4000gns was Bordley farmer John Stephenson's home-bred Bordley Toploader, a June '23 Topside Maverick son, out of Bordley Olympia. The Nidderdale buyers were the Challis family, Middlesmoor. Blue bulls averaged £4993.
A busy midweek fixture – 563 cattle were forward - also included the fortnightly sale of young feeding bulls, beef feeding cows, store bullocks & heifers. The 126 young bulls met another strong trade, averaging £2293, with the strongest regularly over £2600 and Jeff Pickles, Chapel-le-Dale, topping at £2880 with a Limousin-x.
Nineteen beef feeding cows averaged £1,841 to a high of £2700 for a strong Limousin from the Masons, Oddacres, Embsay, while 390 bullocks and heifers featured more yearlings among the entry, with short-keep cattle certainly still good to sell and harder farmed and longer-keep cattle seeing a slight resistance. A detailed market report is at
