Superb trade was seen in the highly-anticipated Shadwell Aberdeen-Angus herd dispersal, with a top of 28,000gns for a cow and calf outfit and a standalone high of 22,000gns for a maiden heifer.
Craven Cattle Marts and United Auctions, in conjunction with the Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society, joined forces to stage the fixture at Skipton Auction Mart, North Yorkshire.
The entire award-winning pedigree Shadwell Aberdeen-Angus herd, consisting of 153 cattle based in Thetford, Norfolk, sold for a total of £653,730, with record breed averages recorded for both in-calf and maiden heifers.
The sale comprised predominantly females – proven breeding cows, in-calf and yearling heifers – from one of the country’s most prominent herds on the show circuit.
The herd has bred multiple national and interbreed champions at the UK’s major shows since it was first established in 1997. Many cattle by Shadwell sires were included in the sale, along with embryos.
The stars of the sale with a 28,000gns price tag were a herd favourite, Shadwell Lady Heather P738, a 2014 daughter of Te Mania Berkley B1, out of the Netherallan Peter Pershore EO52-bred Lady Heather M572, a full sister to the £25,000 Blelack Lord Hildalgo and the £16,000 Blelack Lady Heather G769. The top performing outfit on price joined JM Steele, Scottish Borders.
However, it was the second daughter, the year younger Lady Heather X250, a maiden heifer and solid cow in the making by the prolific Evolution, who really caught the eye when making the day’s top call for a standalone entry of 22,000gns when going to Michael and Melanie Alford, Foxhill Farm, Devon.
From another renowned female line and consistent family, Shadwell Blackbird R797, soared to 10,000gns. The 2015-born mother of five is one of the few daughters in the herd by the £40,000 Rawburn Black Hawk L261 (by Lockerley Legolas), out of a home-bred Peter Pershore dam.
Her bull calf son, Shadwell Black Magic X281, by Evolution and one of the picks from the 2021 autumn calf crop, was also offered for sale separately, doing better than his prolific dam when sold for 14,000gns to Scottish buyer, Aberdeenshire’s NA Wattie, the outfit together netting 24,000gns.
Another mother and son outfit, this time from the Evora family, were sold separately, jointly making 20,000gns. The dam, Evora UO55, a four-year-old daughter of Rawburn Fast Ball P844, is out of Evora J443 (by Muirhall Total Deal).
The mother of two, scanned in-calf to Evolution, fell to a 15,000gns bid from the Isherwood family’s local Airedale pedigree Angus herd in Kildwick, while her second calf, an October, 2021, bull, Shadwell Earthquake X288, another well-bred Evolution son, made 5,000gns when going to W&R Dunlop in Lanarkshire.
Outfits from the Blue Belle line were also in ready demand. Hitting 9,000gns was the October, 2016, Idvies Eland daughter, S934, bred out of a Peter Pershore dam.
In-calf to Evolution, she joined Porter Farms in Lisburn, Northern Ireland., being accompanied into the sale ring by her October, 2021, son, Shadwell Bravado, again by Evolution, who sold separately for 8,000gns, going to Ireland with M Irwin, of Omagh, Co Tyrone, the duo jointly netting 17,000gns.
In addition, a total of 43 Shadwell embryos grossed £15,330 in total, averaging £356. The sale was conducted by United Auction.
Herd manager Robert Clarke said afterwards: “It was a sad day for myself and my family, including daughters Maddie and Isobel, and I can only thank them for their hard work over the past ten months.
"We had been with the Shadwell herd for the last 12 years with much success along the way, but I couldn’t have asked for a better sale.
“I thought the herd was heading in the right direction with the young females we had coming through and was so pleased that the prices reflected this.
"It’s never a one-man effort and I can’t thank everyone enough for their help with the sale."
