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25/10/06
Octogenarian Bill Wilkinson signed off on a high note when taking
both championship and reserve championship honours at the third
annual show and sale of pedigree Charollais females at Craven
Cattle Marts’ Skipton Auction Mart. (Sat, Oct 21)
Bill Wilkinson with his Skipton Charollais champion
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Having reached the age of 80, Mr Wilkinson, of Staindale Lodge,
Picton, Yarm, has decided to cut back extensively on his sheep
breeding days and utilised the British Charollais Sheep Society
fixture to stage a dispersal sale of his noted Urlay Nook flock.
Mr Wilkinson, who has been breeding Charollais for a quarter of
a century, is a retired solicitor and former coroner for north-east
Yorkshire. He presented 29 of his shearling and older ewes at Skipton,
two of which landed a memorable swansong double.
Show champion was an April, 2003, senior ewe, while the reserve
was a January, 2005, shearling ewe. Both are by Logie Durno tups
from Bill Ingram’s well-known Scottish flock at Pitcaple,
Aberdeenshire, and both are in-lamb to Southam Debonair, purchased
by Mr Wilkinson at Lanark for 1,600 guineas in 2005 and responsible
for most of the lambs by females offered in the sale.
Others were by the previous stock sire Cairnhill Cavalier, purchased
jointly by Mr Wilkinson and fellow Charollais breeder Charles Marwood,
of Whenby, York.
The title-winner made the day’s top price of 820 guineas
when bought by C Dougherty, of Kirby Misperton, Malton, while the
runner-up sold for 600 guineas to D&W Livestock, of Woodhall
Spa, Lincoln. Mr Wilkinson also had a shearling ewe sell for 720
guineas, top price in class.
However, Mr Wilkinson has not quite hung up his shepherd’s
crook for good. He has retained a number of ewe lambs, which he
plans to put to Southam Debonair, then offer them for sale at the
2007 Skipton females show, unless sold previously.
Back at the this year’s show, JA & R Geldeard, of Gilpin
Bridge, Kendal, sold a shearling ewe for 460 guineas to D Holmes,
of Longton, Preston, while John Stott, of Kendal, sold two shearlings
at 360 guineas each and a brace of ewe lambs at 210 guineas per
head.
Flock ewes sold to 820gns (av £257), shearling ewes to 720gns
(£311) and ewe lambs to 210gns (£207).
 Tomcroft Suffolk flock wins Bristol Gold Cup
Lambert shearling ram champion at Skipton Dalesbred show
Bownass Lleyn lambs land first Skipton title
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