Dewi Jenkins’ £18,100 top priced dog Gwyddil Ben. Image – Moule Media.

SHEEP dogs sold to a top price of almost A$33,000 and to buyers as far away as Japan in the Skipton Auction Mart’s March timed online sale on 7 March.

Top dog on price at the sale was £18,100 (A$32,900) at the sale was for 12 month-old black and white dog Gwyddil Ben, on behalf of leading Welsh handler and triallist, Dewi Jenkins, of Tynygraig, Ceredigion.

Dewi, a frequent price topper at the North Yorkshire venue at live and online sales, far eclipsed his £7,000 top price at the previous online sale last December. Gwyddil Ben is by the handler’s main stud dog Jock, the reigning 2022 International Supreme Champion, and with whom he also represented Wales at last year’s BBC One Man and His Dog final.

The 2016-born Clwyd Bob has exceptional bloodlines going back to multiple champions on both sides, among them on the grand dam’s side former International Supreme Champion Glencregg Silver. Ben’s own dam is Malta Jill, acquired by Dewi from Carlaine Thom, of Malta Border Collies, based in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

Ben, a top-notch nursery trials prospect, was sold to Staffordshire’s Eamonn Vaughan, who farms beef and sheep. In 2021, Mr Vaughan paid the then new world record price of £27,100 for Dewi’s Kim, which has since been bettered, though it remains a world record for a dog under 12 months.

Mr Vaughan farms the Partridge Nest pedigree Texel sheep flock and also has a herd of pedigree Charolais, Limousin and Simmental cows, now has plans to put Ben to Kim next year, who he describes as a “phenomenal” bitch.

“She is out every day and absolutely flying, a superb worker, so strong, a serious bitch,” he said. Kim has already bred a world beater for Mr Vaughan, when her 11-week-old Kim Jnr made £11,600, a new record price for an unbroken pup.

At Skipton, Welsh vendors were again responsible for the leading online prices. Next best with a £6,200 sale was James Jones, of Rhayadar in Powys, with his 22 month-old black and white bitch, Brondrefawr Misty, a daughter of fellow Welshman Kevin Evans’ trialling legend, Tanhill Glen, a dual European Nursery and Royal Welsh Champion who has had such a major impact on selling prices at Skipton in recent years.

Out of Cefneithin Jan – a £7000 fully broken online purchase from Sion Jones, who runs Cefn Eithin Sheep Dogs in Corwen and is himself a familiar face at Skipton – Misty, who had been mated prior to the sale to Dewi Jenkins’ Jock, was closely followed online from the outset and successfully claimed at the close by a Japanese bidder, sheep farmer Shinjro Kigawa, of Deergrove Sheepdogs in Shizouka, a city on the south coast with views of Mount Fuji.

Japanese buyer Shinjro Kigawa with his dogs and sheep.

While sheep are not prevalent in Japan, Mr Kigawa runs a 70-strong mixed hybrid sheep flock, including Suffolk and Cheviot, and also trials, having competed in the 2017 World Sheepdog Trials in Gloucestershire.

Mr Kigawa said in Japan, trials were not held for several years due to the influence of COVID, though they are about to be re-opened. B

“before I knew it, all my dogs were 10-years-old and it became urgent to raise the next generation of dogs.

“I’m very happy to have a deal with Mr. James Jones and am grateful for the opportunity to raise the next generation of dogs,” he said.

“I prefer to be able to feel the growth of dogs rather than competition.

“And I like to help people who are having trouble raising dogs.”

Third top price at the Skipton sale was £5700 for a fully home-bred rising two year-old black and white bitch, Hilltop Lil, or Gwen, from Nataly Matthews, of Ebbw Vale in Gwent. By her own Vince out of Lil and already mother of a litter of six red pups the first dog in the online catalogue found a new home in North Devon with Bideford’s TJ Nicholls.

Three dogs, one unbroken, topped £4000 and five more dogs made £3000 and upwards. Together with the Japanese purchaser, other registered online bidders worldwide showing interest throughout the sale, including from America and Germany.

The online turnout of 65 dogs comprised 33 fully broken, 17 part-broken and 15 unbroken, which achieved what was perceived as a very good clearance rate, with, aside from the higher prices, seven selling below £1,000, 11 at £1,000-£2,000 and six at £2,000-£3,000.

CCM’s general manager and auctioneer Jeremy Eaton said it was a good result given that trade for unbroken and part-broken dogs is traditionally slow as lambing time approaches and this sale bucked that trend.

The next sale at Skipton is on Friday, May 19, with a live field sale of working sheep dogs, followed by another online-only sale on Friday, June 13.

Source – Moule Media.