A TRIALS champ from Denbighshire has sold a working sheepdog for a world record price.
World sheepdog trials champ Aled Owen of Ty-Nant, Corwen, sold his home-bred border collie Llangwm Rex for 4,900 guineas (£5,145) at Craven Cattle Marts' summer fixture at Skipton Auction Mart in Yorkshire on July 16.
The talented 26-month-old black and white collie was bought by Aled’s trials rival Nigel Watkins, of Llangadog, Carmarthenshire.
“Rex has a fantastic temperament, a nice nature, is very friendly and good looking,” said two-times world champ Aled.
He was not surprised that the outstanding Rex had achieved a record price and was “really happy” that the dog had been bought by Nigel who, he said, was one of the top handlers in the world and a reserve world champion in 2005.
Aled added: “Rex might come back to haunt me at a trial! He is a good dog.”
He decided to sell Rex because he has two top-string trials performers in five-year-old Mac, Rex’s brother, and seven-year-old world champ Roy.
“Sentimentality doesn’t come into it,” said Aled of Rex’s sale.
“You can only run two dogs in the competitions, and you have to keep the main dogs fit and polished and on top form. It’s very important to do that.”
Rex’s mother Eli is a daughter of Bob, who gave Aled the first of his two world trials wins at the inaugural event in 2002.
He has represented his country on numerous occasions and has also been Welsh national champion three times, as well as landing three supreme championships.
He also hopes to qualify to defend his title at next year’s International Sheep Dog Society World Trials, to be held in England for the first time at Lowther Park Estate, near Penrith in Cumbria.
The world record price for a sheepdog was later equalled at the same Skipton sale by Yorkshireman John Bell whose 14-month-old tri-coloured dog Ron was bought by a Perthshire-based Scottish buyer, who requested anonymity.
The previous record for a working sheepdog, achieved at Skipton in 2004, was 4,100gns (£4,305).
Of the 72 dogs sold on the day, quality dogs performed exceptionally well, with 17 dogs topping 2,000gns.
The average price of £2,345 for the 35 broken registered dogs sold was again an out-and-out mart record for the second sale in succession.