There was a buoyant and packed ringside to watch the Carlisle Bluefaced Leicester sale, and with buyers a plenty, the demand for the top bloodlines was fierce. Trade was brisk throughout and most sellers would go home very happy.

One of the happiest sellers were Messrs James from the Todhills flock that saw a great trade for their run of shearlings and tup lambs. It was their fourth lamb, by Z6 Todhills and out of a ewe by K8 Hewgill, which saw the days highlight with a centre record bid of £10,000. It sold in a two way spilt to Neil Marston, Highberries and P Dawson, Kentmere Hall, who have both had a good autumn in the Mule sales rings. The Todhill shearlings were also in demand, topping the shearling trade too with another son of Z6 Todhills, this time out of a ewe by W4 Hayshaw. The Z6 has been a consistent breeder for Todhills, siring six lambs in the top pen at Carlisle and eight in the champion pen at Longtown. The shearling which sold for £7200 also had a lamb in the top pen at Carlisle, and was sold to G W Lee & Sons, Stockley Burn. Another shearling the same way bred was sold for £4500 to M/s Alderson, Howgill Grange, who was one of the under bidders to the first shearling.

The Shafthill flock from John Smith-Jackson have a great track record for producing the goods over the years, and this year was no exception, and the pick of a cracking pen of lambs was sold for £7800 to M/s Booth of the Smearsett flock. He is by the Z4 Hundith, which is run by Neil Marston in his Highberries flock, and out of a good breeding ewe by the S15 Shafthill. Shafthills second lamb by the Z21 Shafthill and out of a S25 Shafthill ewe sold for £6500 to Alan Pye, Emmetts. The flock averaged £3465 for five lambs to complete a great day.

Neil Marston is a young breeder with a growing reputation within the breed, taking champion at both Carlisle and Cockermouth with his Mules, and this record is helping to sell his Leicester lambs with great aplomb. Fresh from Hawes, where he had one of the top averages, he sold three sons of the Z4 Hundith to average £4655, selling to a top of £7000 for a full brother to one he sold to Alan Pye last year, out of an X1 Snab Green ewe, selling to Weardale breeders L Smith, Roachburn and M/s Collingwood, Ambling. His second, by the Z4 Hundith again, and out of a ewe by the homebred T4 Highberries sold for £3500 to David Lawson, Gragareth and John Whitfield, Wraytop.

The star of the sales season has undoubtedly been the B4 Tanhouse tup which has sired lambs to £19,000 from Midlock, and a host of other cracking prices. This sale it was the turn of the other breeders in the B4 Tanhouse syndicate to have their day at the races, with a top bid of £5000 going to a B4 Tanhouse son from the Nunscleugh flock of Harry Gass, joining the noted Cowden flock of Alan Barnes, and another son from the Firth flock travelled into Northern Ireland, to the Starbog flock of Hugh Henry. Midlock also sold another son, out of a controversy ewe for £3400 to J Pedley, Yore House, to further enhance the reputation of this exceptional breeding tup.

The growing reputation of the Tanhouse tups undoubtedly helped Richard Thomas's sale despite being late on in the catalogue. He secured two bids over the £5000 mark, for sons of the A3 Old Hemley, a grandson of the Midlock Controversy. The first was £5500, out of a ewe by X2 Tanhouse and sold to Ireland in a joint deal between J A Holden and K McGrath, Co. Donegal. The other, out of a Midlock Controversy sired ewe sold for £5000 in another joint deal between W P Sutcliffe, Horton in Ribblesdale and W R Wildman, Kirkby Malham.

As always there is a good mix of traditional and crossing types at the Carlisle sale, and the highlight of these sheep came from the noted Parton flock of Messrs Hewson, when they sold a son of X2 Cernyw out of a Y1 Cendy E+ ewe for £5200 to the Thomason & Hayton, Pielview flock and A M Little, The Close. Robert Neill's Rossibank flock often produces a top notch lamb, and once again this year his pen saw a cracking traditional lamb, by A2 Hazelwood and out of a ewe by the Homebred X2 Rossiebank sell for £3900 to J Shennan & Sons.

10 Aged Rams: £715.00, 111 Shearling Rams: £911.71, 395 Ram Lambs: £835.75, 43 Shearling Gimmers: £404.42, 39 Ewes: £281.79.

2009 Averages: 128 Shearling Rams £633.59, 13 Aged Rams £341.54, 358 Ram lambs £775.54.

Rossiebank - £3900	Highberries - £3500
Kilnstown - £3200	Firth - £3000
Hewgill overall champion - £2800	Nithsdale Female Champion - £1300