May Show & Sale of Cattle 2026
Saturday 16th May 2026
SPECIAL MAY SHOW AND SALE OF CATTLE
Forward: Cattle, comprising 128 Store Cattle, 18 Beef Breeding Heifers with Calves at Foot, 1 Cow & Calf and 3 Cull Cows.
The Annual May Show and Sale of Beef Breeding Cattle, Store Cattle and OTM Cattle attracted a strong entry and an excellent trade throughout, with several standout prices and a new centre record established in the beef breeding section.
OTM Cattle and Cast Cows
A small entry of three OTM cattle and cast cows met a solid trade. Leading the section at 320p/kg, or £1,808, was a pure Limousin feeding cow from Croft Farm Partnership, Hardraw. Limousin cross cows from S.D. Thompson, Aysgarth, sold to a top of £1,705.
Beef Breeding Cattle – Record-Breaking Trade to £5,100
The annual May Show and Sale of Beef Breeding Cattle saw tremendous demand, culminating in a new centre record price of £5,100.
Our sincere thanks go to judge Edward Parkinson for his time and expertise in assessing an outstanding line-up of cattle.
The championship rosette, along with first, second and third prizes in the heifer class, was awarded to the annual consignment from Martin Cragg of J.W. & M.E. Taylor, Dent. The champion, a stylish Limousin cross heifer with a smart calf at foot, established a new market record when selling for £5,100.
Other exceptional outfits from the same renowned home included British Blue and Limousin heifers, both selling to £4,900, while British Blue cross dairy heifers with smart Limousin bull calves sold to £4,250. This impressive consignment averaged an outstanding £4,370 per outfit.
A pure Shorthorn heifer with a Limousin bull calf from J.L. Cloughton & Son, Askrigg, sold to £3,900.
Making their debut in the beef breeding section at Hawes were Chris Slinger and Laura Eaton of Sedbergh. Their British Blue cross dairy heifers with Limousin calves sold to £3,500, while Hereford cross heifers reached £2,900. Their consignment averaged a highly respectable £3,136 per outfit.
Store Cattle
Store cattle sold to a stronger trade than anticipated, despite continued easing in the prime cattle market. Well-grown, quality suckler-bred cattle were in keen demand, with many regularly selling around the £2,000 mark.
Once again, judge Edward Parkinson had an excellent show of cattle to assess. The championship rosette, together with the £250 prize for the champion animal, was awarded to W.M. & J.E. Shuttleworth, Barbon, for their first-prize heifer. This outstanding 14-month-old Limousin heifer went on to achieve the top price of the day at £2,300.
The reserve champion rosette was awarded to the second-prize heifer from J.R. Blades, Hawes, which sold for £2,210.
Suckler-bred yearling Limousin heifers from R. & R. Gornall, Dent, sold to £2,090 and £2,080, followed by another at £2,060 from E. & K. Bland, Gaisgill. The annual consignment of British Blue heifers from J.C. Fawcett, Hawes, peaked at £2,100.
In the bullock classes, the first-prize steer was a yearling Limousin from E. & K. Bland, Gaisgill, which sold for the top-priced steer at £2,280.
Other notable prices for yearling Limousin bullocks included £2,170 from Stephen Alderson, Gayle, and £2,140 and £2,100 from A.T. Pratt, Burtersett. Among the native-sired cattle, Aberdeen Angus-sired yearlings from T. Metcalfe & Son, Muker, led the section at £2,100.
Kindly Sponsored by; Bainbridge Vets; Carrs Billington Agriculture; JMP Foodservice; J Warren ABP Ltd; King Hope & Co (Chartered Accountants); Mr FW Lawson; NFU Leyburn; Spar - J Blades & Sons, Hawes,
STORE CATTLE
Judged by Edward Parkinson, Dunsop Bridge
Champion and winner of the J Blades & Sons (Grocers) Trophy, was a Heifer from WM & JE Shuttleworth, Barbon which made £2300 to Edward Parkinson
Reserve Champion and winner of the Bainbridge Vets Shield was a Heifer from JR Blades, Hawes and made £2210 to J & JE Bradley, Giggleswick
Heifers
1st & Champion, WM & JE Shuttleworth, Barbon, £2300
2nd & Res Champion, JR Blades, Hawes, £2210
3rd - S & A Bland, Gaisgill, £2150
Steers
1st - S & A Bland, Gaisgill, £2280
2nd - L Shuttleworth, Barbon, £1910
3rd - WM & JE Shuttleworth, Barbon, £1900
Leading Prices: Heifers:
Limousin - WM & JE Shuttleworth £2300, £2000, JR Blades £2210, E & K Bland £2150, £2060,
R & R Gornall £2090, £2080, £1980, £1960, AT Pratt £1940
British Blue – JC Fawcett £2100, £2020, £2000x2, £1960, £1920, £1900, £1880, £1850, JF & GR Howard £1950
Holstein - JF & GR Howard £1680
Aberdeen Angus – G & P Middleton £1890, £1580, £1500, JF & GR Howard £1540
Overall Average £
Leading Prices: Steers:
Limousin – E & K Bland £2280, S Alderson £2170, £2000, AT Pratt £2140, £2100, £2000, G & P Middleton £2020,£1940,
L Shuttleworth £1910
Aberdeen Angus - T Metcalfe & Son £2100, £1760, £1640, G & P Middleton £1960, GM Sedgwick & Son, £1660,
A Sharples £1600, £1520 x 2
Overall Average £
BEEF BREEDING CATTLE
Kindly Sponsored by FW Lawson
Judged by
Hfr & Calf
1st & Champion, JW & ME Taylor & Sons, Dent, £5100
2nd - JW & ME Taylor & Sons, Dent, £4900
3rd - JW & ME Taylor & Sons, Dent, £4250
Leading Prices:
Limousin - JW & ME Taylor & Sons, £5100, £4900, £4350, £4300, £4250, £4000
British Blue – JW & ME Taylor & Sons, £4900, £4250, £4150, £4100x2, £4050
Beef Cow & Calf
1st - TW & GM Hartley, Dent, £2150
CULL CATTLE
Continentals to 320p/kg
Total Average: p/kg
Leading Prices per Head:
Continentals - Croft Farm Partnership £1808, £1503.50, SD Thompson £1705.95
