A much-anticipated dispersal sale of Chris Bellerby’s long-established Dale pedigree Beef Shorthorn herd at Bridge House Farm, Weeton, Harrogate, is to be staged at CCM Skipton Auction Mart on Wednesday, June 19, with a catalogue entry of 91 head comprising cows and heifers with calves or in-calf, bulling heifers, bulls and commercial cows and calves free of the bull.
The award-winning herd is a member of the Biobest Controlled Health Scheme, BVD Accredited and Vaccinated, IBR and Lepto vaccinated, Johnes level 1, and all the sale cattle are tested free of Neospora.
It was founded over 20 years ago, following in the footsteps of the former Weetondale pedigree dairy herd and the ready selection of cattle on offer will be presented by stockman Daniel Woolliscroft, who has long worked at Bridge House both as man and boy.
Solid breeding lines appear throughout the catalogue, featuring both former home-bred sires and others from leading pedigree holdings – Steve and Gilly Johnson’s Gilven herd in nearby Huby, Stuart and Gail Currie’s Beautry herd in Rathmell and Gerald Turton’s Upsall herd near Thirsk. Also prominent are two other well-known sires, the Meonhill Fire Fox son, Derwentwood Jagger, and Hallsford Spartan Warrior, himself by Chapelton Warrior.
When selling Beef Shorthorn for the first time in the pedigree breeding ring at the Breed Society’s annual autumn highlight at Skipton last November, Jagger featured as the sire of the dam in the second top price 6,000gns cow and calf outfit, her calf being by Gilven Panther.
A particular home-bred favourite among the cow and calf outfits is Lot 3, the 2018 Jagger daughter, Dale Maggie, out of the Spartan Warrior-sired Dale Daisy Joan, who will go under the hammer with her fifth calf at foot, the March-born Dale Voltarol.
Two other outfits worthy of mention hail from the Beautry herd, both out of dams by Beautry Excalibur. Lot 33 Beautry Shona Pandora is a 2020 Beautry Malfoy daughter, while Lot 34, the EX90 Beautry Tessa Mildred, is a 2018 daughter of Poyntington Himself. Both will be joined in the ring by their respective 2024-born heifer and bull calves.
Four bulls included a much-respected brace from the Johnsons – the 2021Gilven Rob Roy, both the sire and the dam are out of the Journey family, the latter Gilven Butterfly Georgia, rated EX95 three times, and Gilven Seventh Son, a 2022 Willingham Kensington son. The other two bulls are 2023-born sons of Napoleon of Upsall, which hails from Britain’s oldest Beef Shorthorn herd.
All but one of the six 2023 bulling heifers on offer are by Gilven Panther, the other by the Stonehills Jackpot son, Beautry Perseus, while of the free-of-bull commercial offering all cows are Beef Shorthorn-x and all calves Limousin-x.
Over the years, the Dale herd has built up a solid reputation for its extremely saleable, correct natural cattle. Chris Bellerby said: “We are pleased to present a young and genuine quiet herd of cattle, with an emphasis on well-bred, easy calving sires, forage-based, with no creep feeding of calves. We are confident these cattle will go on to do well for their new owners.”
The dispersal is scheduled to begin at 12pm, with an opportunity for potential purchasers to view the cattle pre-sale at CCM from 4pm on Tuesday, June 18. The full catalogue can be viewed at www.ccmauctions.com
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