THE Lleyn Sheep Society sale at Ruthin Mart rose above many people's pre-sale predictions.

Held on September 3, shearling ewes saw only one pen unsold at the end of the day.

A handful turned out in the ring found buyers down the pens, proving demand was there with a respectful trade which held up, seeing the average price for the section up by £1 on the year.

The positive trade reflects the quality, where high standards were noted across the pens.

J Hamer, of Oswestry, won the female championship the night before with a pen of five stylish shearling ewes, which went on to realise the top price of £232/head when bought by D A and T K Pyke, Whitchurch.

Next, D N Bennett & Son, Meifod sold a pen of five for £230/head to C Grindy, Macclesfield.

Hamish Goldie, Dumfries sold two pens to Southern Ireland, the two pens of five sold for £210/head and £195/head to David Oliver, Dundalk.

W J and D J Williams, Pwllheli sold five for £200/head to M L Davies, Denbigh.

There were few pens sold under the £130/head mark, with many pens selling for between £135-£150.

Senior ewes started the day with excitement, with a top of £202/head seen for a pen of three-year-olds from D N Bennett & Son, which sold to Vaughan Farms Ltd, Leominster.

With the family’s breeding in demand, the Bennetts sold a further six three-year-olds for £196/head to E T Pugh, Bala and then six for £190/head to Vaughan Farms.

W J and D J Williams saw pens of four-year-olds sell for £155/head and £150/head, both purchased by C H Bellis, Holywell.

There was a more relaxed trade for the ewe lambs.

Buyers were cautious, with sellers holding store and prime sheep trades in their minds.

There was a greater selection of running lambs on offer. The section topped with the first prize pen of five from A W Davies, Pwllheli selling for £125/head to G G and H E Sevenoaks, Abergavenny.

Messrs Sevenoaks also bought a pen for £108/head from W J and D J Williams, Pwllheli.

G A Jones and F Williams, Chwilog sold five for £102/head to A Hughes, Caernarfon.

Many pens sold for £70-95/head.

The ram trade was firm for two-thirds of the sale, once buyers had met their orders.

Later commercial type rams found it harder to find homes, with overall clearance of 75 per cent for 96 forward.

The highlight came early in the section when E and D Jones, Machynlleth sold lot six for 8,400gns.

The Jones family also sold lot eight sired by a Steen ram for 1,300gns to A Hughes, Caernarfon.

Next Bronallt Gruf from A W Davies, Pwllheli, sired by a Robert Johnston ram, sold for 1,800gns to DW Ellis, Betws Y Coed.

The pre-sale show champion from Lionel Organ, Carmarthen, Southam Gunner, sired by Laneside Extra, sold for 1,100gns to the show judge Dylan Jones for E and D Jones, Machynlleth.