As ram sales come to a close for another year, a Swaledale ram has sold for £92,000 (€102,210) at one of the final Swaledale sales of the year in the UK.
The sale took place in Hawes Auction Mart which serves a large area of the Yorkshire Dales with 611 rams going under the hammer.
A Swaledale ram called Kisdon Lovely received the record price from the sale, selling for £92,000 to Paul and Sue Hallam from Derbyshire.
Christine Clarkson from Muker in Yorkshire, said on her Facebook page that rearing a ram such as Kisdon Lovely makes breeding Swaledale sheep worthwhile.
What a day. We are just starting to get our heads round it. A dream come true for us. Breeding Swaledale sheep can do your head in but occasions like this make everything worthwhile.
“Our only hope now is that he goes on to do well for Paul and Sue and that he leaves his mark and is remembered in years to come,” she said.
The sale, which also included a show aspect, saw the Overall Champion from the second day, Stonesdale Governor, make £86,000 (€95,538).
The annual two-day sale, which took place from October 26-27, saw average prices rise by £386 (€429) compared to 2015 levels.
With an overall average ram price of £2,226 (€2,472) at the Swaledale sale, prices ranged from below £1,000 (€1,110) to £10,000 (€11,109).
Meanwhile, highers prices also saw some rams selling for between £15,000 (€16,663) to £86,000 (€95,538) over the course of the two-day sale.
The breed’s origin almost certainly emerged from the genetic group of horned sheep that the Blackface, the Rough Fell, and other localised types also came from, according to the Swaledale Sheep Society.
These substantial prices follow the news that a Scottish Blackface ram lamb sold for £85,000 (€95,500) at the annual sale in Lanark mart in Scotland on October 21.