Skip to content

A new centre record of 2,050 guineas for a breeding ram and gimmers averaging £279.34, up £34 on the year, were just two of the highlights from this year’s Partney Fair Special Show & Sale at Louth Livestock Market. 

Partney Fair Special Show & Sale is Louth Livestock Market’s largest annual sheep show, attracting entries from across Lincolnshire and neighbouring counties, and this year saw another excellent entry of breeding sheep and store lambs. 

Farmer’s Guardian Mart’s The Heart kindly sponsoring the sale and the show was judged by Andrew Read and Morgan Baker. 

The winners were: 

Champion Breeding Ram 

1st – P Weaver, Newark 

Reserve – D J Summers & Son, Gainsborough 

Champion Breeding Female 

1st – T E Dixon & Son, Cabourne 

Reserve – T E Dixon & Son, Woodhall Spa 

Champion Pen of Store Lambs 

1st – A B Johnson, Lincoln 

Reserve – T J Baxter, Alford 

Half Bred & Suffolk X Breeding Gimmers 

1st – T E Dixon & Son, Cabourne 

2nd – T E Dixon & Son, Cabourne 

3rd – Woolhall Investments Ltd, Spalding 

Continental X Breeding Gimmers 

1st – T E Dixon & Son, Cabourne 

2nd – P E Roe & Son, Revesby 

3rd – T E Dixon & Son, Cabourne 

Mule Breeding Gimmers 

1st – G & H Rogerson, Dunston 

2nd – Sir Richard Sutton Ltd, Market Rasen 

3rd – Sir Richard Sutton Ltd, Market Rasen 

Pen of 4+ Ewe Lambs 

1st – La Hogue Farms, Chippenham 

2nd – A & N Spillman, Lincoln 

3rd – R L Hartley, Louth 

MV Accredited Shearling or Older Ram 

1st – P Weaver, Newark 

2nd – P Weaver, Newark 

3rd – E J Benge, Horncastle 

MV Accredited Ram Lamb 

1st – L Brown, Market Rasen 

2nd – L Brown, Market Rasen 

Non-MV Accredited Shearling or Older Ram 

1st – D J Summers & Son, Gainsborough 

2nd – D J Summers & Son, Gainsborough 

3rd – D J Summers & Son, Gainsborough 

Pen of 8+ Store Lambs 

1st – A B Johnson, Lincoln 

2nd – M A & I J Brumby, Market Rasen 

3rd – A B Johnson, Lincoln 

The gimmer section saw probably the best quality entry seen at Partney for some time, with the overall average reaching £279.34, up £34 on last year. 

White-faced gimmers took the top prices, with Tom French selling Texels to £440.00 and £360.00, Tim Dixon selling Texel Cheviot Mules to £350.00, Woolhall Investments selling Texel crosses to £335.00 and P E Roe & Son to £315.00. 

Suffolk Mules were well supported, with Woolhall Investments and J K L Davenport both selling to £325.00, while Gilbert Watchorne reached £280.00. Suffolk Halfbreds shared a top price of £350.00 between Tom French and Tim Dixon, with Woolhall Investments selling to £315.00. 

Clive Applewhite sold Cheviot gimmers to £260.00 twice and £240.00, while Continental crosses from Thomas Farms reached £255.00. La Hogue Farms sold Charollais crosses to £250.00 and Redhill Farm’s naturally farmed Rouge crosses to £240.00. 

Mule gimmers were very much the trade of the day, with Geoff and Helen Rogerson presenting a run of 82 North Country Mules shown in excellent order. They topped at £310.00, with many others trading from £260.00 to £275.00, averaging an impressive £267.56. 

Sir Richard Sutton Estates also presented a fantastic consignment of 120, selling in their working clothes. These peaked at £275.00, with many pens trading between £245.00 and £260.00 and averaging £256.17. 

The breeding ram section produced the day’s record, with 2,050 guineas paid for a Texel shearling from Charlie Noble, setting a new Louth Livestock Market centre record. 

D J Summers & Son sold Charollais to 1,600 guineas and Rouge X Texels to 1,500 guineas, while Emily Scaman topped at 1,400 guineas for Charollais X Texels. 

Renowned Texel breeder Phil Weaver sold Texel shearlings to 1,100 guineas, while Garfield Stephens sold Charollais to 1,000 guineas, making his first appearance at the market in more than 20 years. 

The champion breeding ram came from P Weaver, Newark, with D J Summers & Son, Gainsborough taking reserve. 

Ewe lambs averaged £170.00, with La Hogue Farms, Chippenham taking both first and overall champion with Charollais Texel April-born ewe lambs selling to £245.00. A N Spillman sold Texel Xs to £215.00 and £190.00, while Richard Ogg sold late-born Suffolk Mules to £155.00. 

Store lambs averaged £108.00, with longer-keep lambs proving the best sellers. T J Baxter topped at £140.00 with a smart pen of Beltex-sired lambs. A Eagle sold medium Blue Xs to £134.00, A B Johnson Continental Xs to £130.00 and N A Collishaw Continental Xs to £128.00. Shaw Bros sold Texel/Suffolk lambs to £124.00. 

In general, stronger lambs traded from £118.00 to £140.00, medium lambs from £108.00 to £117.00 and long-keep lambs from £90.00 to £107.00. 

The champion pen of store lambs came from A B Johnson, with T J Baxter, Alford taking reserve. 

From everyone at Louth Livestock Market, a huge thank you to Andrew Read and Morgan Baker for judging the show, Farmer’s Guardian Mart’s The Heart for sponsoring the sale, and to all our buyers and sellers for their continued support. 

Thank you also to Lakings with their delicious BBQ and The Tipsy Nag, a converted horsebox serving the full range of Hawkstone which added to the ambience and went down well with farmers. for providing refreshments, and to the whole Louth Livestock Market team for their hard work in ensuring the day ran smoothly. 

Now we look forward to doing it all again at our 2nd Sale of MV & Non-MV Accredited Breeding Sheep & Store Lambs on Friday 11th September. Entries are now open and avilable here. 

If you are interested in trading here at Louth Livestock Market, then please get in touch with us. You can email [email protected] or just come along. We warmly welcome new buyers and sellers week in and week out, not just at our special sales. You can find all the forms on our Louth Livestock Market page including haulier details or please call our market team for a chat about marketing your livestock at any time. 

Contact Auctions Manager & Auctioneer Keith Miller on 07395 570303