DARLINGTON Farmers Auction Mart held their 4th annual ‘Tup Tup Chalice’ evening show and sale of breeding rams and ram lambs on Tuesday 9th September 2025. Forward were 312 head.
10 Aged Rams sold to 900 guineas
242 Shearling Rams sold to 2500 guineas
60 Ram Lambs sold to 900 guineas
Show Classes
Thanks primarily go to our judges on the evening, Mrs Wendy Hanson who took good care of the MV accredited section and Richard Bostock who was at the forefront in the non-accredited. Thanks also must go to our sponsors who are, as always, displayed at ringside.
An excellent offering of sheep was forward before both of our judges as the vendors proudly produced one of the best shows ever seen in DfAM. Taking the championship in the MV ring were the Hunter family of Hunmanby, the second time in three years that Tom, Judith and their son Simon have claimed a Tup Tup Chalice title with one of their powerful pure bred Charollais.
The reserve ticket went to Messrs Barlow and Cook of Ingleby House, Northallerton with a tremendous Beltex cross Texel shearling. Other class winners in this ring included two long standing Darlington customers as the mighty Suffolk’s of the Midgley’s from Kirby Underdale and a very smart Texel lamb from the Brannen’s of Penrith each left with a red rosette.
The tri-coloured ticket in the non-accredited ring was this year won by a super Suffolk shearling from young Ridley Craig of North Hanging Wells, Eastgate whilst the reserve went to a high quality Beltex cross Texel shearling from CS Noble who made the worthwhile journey up from Grange Farm, Louth. The remaining red rosettes went to MC & M Sparke, Salmonfield with a terrific Suffolk tup lamb and to a humongous Texel shearling from RN Kirby & Son, Barstow Hall which proved to be the sale topper as you will read about following the show results.
MV Accredited
Best Ram Lamb
1st – P&K Brannen, Scar Top (Texel)
2nd – D Whitcher, Foulrice Farm (Charollais)
3rd – CW Marwood, Foulrice Farm (Charollais)
Best Pure Continental Ram
1st – T&J Hunter, Newtown Town (Charollais) *Champion MV*
2nd – D Whitcher, Foulrice Farm (Charollais)
3rd – PR&V Barlow & Son, Sycamore Farm (Texel)
Best Native Bred Ram
1st – JT & E Midgley, Uncleby Wold (Suffolk)
2nd – SR Crossland & EJ Boby, Spring End (Suffolk)
3rd – SR Crossland & EJ Boby, Spring End (Suffolk)
Best Cross Bred Ram
1st – Barlow & Cook, Ingleby House (Belt X Tex) *Reserve MV*
2nd – T & J Hunter, Newtown Farm (Char X Belt)
3rd – D Whitcher, Foulrice Farm (Tex X Char)
Non-Accredited
Best Ram Lamb
1st – MC & MD Sparke, Salmonfield (Suffolk)
2nd – M Whitfield-Stout, South Terrace (Blue Texel)
3rd – NM Peacock, Carnig (Char X Tex)
Best Pure Continental Ram
1st – RN Kirby & Son, Barstow Hall (Texel)
2nd – SJ Harrison, Aimshaugh (Texel)
3rd – T&D Harrison, The Old Potato House (Charollais)
Best Native Bred Ram
1st – R Craig, North Hanging Wells (Suffolk) *Champion Non Acc*
2nd – J Platts, Marwood Farm (Suffolk)
3rd – R Craig, North Hanging Wells (Suffolk)
Best Cross Bred Ram
1st – CS Noble, Grange Farm (Belt X Tex) *Reserve Non Acc*
2nd – DR & RL Burns, Lodge Farm (Tex X Char)
3rd – I Ford, Moorfoot House (Char X Tex/Belt)
Sale of Rams & Ram Lambs
Huge credit must go to the sixty-six vendors who raised the bar and brought forward what was very likely the best show of quality ever seen at our flagship annual Tup Tup Chalice sale. Thanks to every one of the 119 active buyers who travelled from far and wide; North Wales, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Humberside, Lincolnshire, Lancashire, Cumbria, Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland were all very well represented on the night.
Size matters, no question as the big stretchy tups traded at wonderful levels all evening long. The big four commercial breeds came to the fore as a noticeable premium surrounded those with Texel, Suffolk, Charollais and Beltex genetics in them, less interest was apparent in anything that little bit different as the sheep buyers who have perhaps dabbled in less mainstream breeds previously noticeably headed back to basics.
Absolutely annihilating the previous sale record and selling for the top price of 2500 guineas was a gargantuan pure Texel from Steven Kirby of RN Kirby & Son, Barstow Hall, Northallerton. The brut from Barstow Hall carries a terrific pool of genes behind him, he is a son of the £4200 Clanfield Farmer which was sired by the renowned £100k Alderhouseburn Expression, our sale toppers dam is a homebred ewe by Charben Crackerjack.
The previous record at this sale was 1600 guineas and twice that figure was matched by pure Texel shearlings, firstly by the pick of a great pen from Phil Dawson at Park Head, Bishop Auckland with a son of Kelso purchase Wolfclyde Frankel out of a homebred ewe by Duncryne Chancellor. Shortly afterwards we hit 1600 again, achieved by the sole entry of Antony Glaves, Cayley Lane, Brompton-by-Sawdon with a big shearling sired by a Roxburgh Mains sheep from John Elliot and out of a homebred dam.
The star of the Suffolk’s was undoubtedly a marvellous shearling from PR Wilkinson, Stoneley Woods, Bransdale which sold for 1550 guineas, another with a serious pedigree, an AI son of a Langside sheep which is himself a former Kelso champion.
Cross bred shearlings were both plentiful and popular, the top two reached 1400 guineas as our non-accredited reserve champion shearling (Texel X Beltex) from Charlie Noble and Milly Petchell had his price matched by the pick of a terrific pen of Charollais X Beltex from the annual consignment of Gail Hodgson, Rose Hill Farm, Weardale.
A total of thirty-seven shearling tups sold over 1000 guineas as confidence in the sheep industry appears to be at a very high level. If consistency was key then we should perhaps look no further than a super pen of 11 pure Texel tups from the regular DfAM vendor Phil Weaver, Little Manor Farm, Newark; the pen topper from the marauding Midlander reached 1500 guineas which helped these great tups along to an impressive average as you will read below.
Two Suffolk tup lambs at 900 guineas shared the limelight in that age bracket, one in either ring, the non-accredited was led by the prize winner from MC&MD Sparke, Salmonfield, Hexham whilst in the MV section it was longstanding Darlington customer Pam Lupton, Greenholme Farm who was galloping back to Galphay with the top price.
Please see below a selection of the top prices and also some leading averages for the individual breeds and vendors.
RN Kirby & Son, Northallerton sold 3 averaged £1855
PR Wilkinson, Bransdale sold 2 averaged £1548
J Platts, Middleham sold 1 averaged £1260
PR Weaver, Newark sold 11 averaged £1155
K Slack, Durham sold 1 averaged £1155
P Dawson, Bishop Auckland sold 5 averaged £1098
G Hodgson, Eastgate sold 6 averaged £1050
S Barlow & R Cook, Northallerton sold 2 averaged £1050
27x Suffolk Shearlings averaged £862.50
83x Texel Shearlings averaged £841.00
9x Charollais Shearlings averaged £789.80
54x Cross Bred Shearlings averaged £753.20
15x Suffolk Lambs averaged £579.60
8x Charollais Lambs averaged £531.50
4x Texel Lambs averaged £498.70
Leading Prices (Guineas)
Aged Rams
Charollais – 900 T & J Hunter. 550 500 AW Dixon.
Texel – 700 CS Noble.
Shearling Rams
Texel – 2500 1400 RN Kirby & Son 1600 AE & FS Glaves. 1600 P Dawson. 1500 1400 1200(x2) 1000(x3) PR Weaver. 1100 WM Reed & Sons. 1100 K Slack. 1050 1000 DR & RL Burns. 1050 SJ Harrison. 1000(x2) JC Thwaite & Son. 1000(x2) PR & V Barlow & Son.
Suffolk – 1550 1400 PR Wilkinson. 1400 RN Kirby & Son. 1300 1000 800 SR Crossland & EJ Boby. 1200 J Platts. 1020 900 R Craig. 920 900 NM Peacock. 850 800 720 James Herdman. 750 I Spedding.
Cross Bred – 1400 1050 950 CS Noble. 1400 1100 1000(x2) 900 G Hodgson. 1120 DJ Summers & Son. 1000(x2) S Barlow & R Cook. 900 850(x2) I Ford. 900 880 C Foxton. 900 850 AR Sutcliffe. 880 DR & RL Burns. 850 T Common & Son.
Charollais – 900 620 580 CW Marwood & Son. 850 750 700 T & D Harrison. 850 820 T & J Hunter. 700 D Whitcher.
Tup Lambs
Suffolk – 900 520 500(x2) MC & MD Sparke. 900 650 P Lupton. 700 620 Anna Herbert. 550 500(x2) JT & E Midgley. 500 SR Crossland & EJ Boby. 500 P&K Brannen.
Charollais – 700 520 500(x2) D Whitcher. 520 480(x2) CW Marwood & Son. 350 Cyril Dougherty.
Texel – 520 380 JC & A Metcalf. 500(x2) P&K Brannen.
Cross Bred – 500 450 NM Peacock.
