A Welsh sheepdog breeder has set a new record at Skipton Auction Mart’s autumn working sheepdog sale, with the Isle of Man also represented among the buyers.

Top Welsh handler Dewi Jenkins, from near Aberystwyth, sold his 19-month-old bitch Plascwta Jen for 23,000 guineas (£24,550) – the highest price ever achieved at the North Yorkshire auction centre since sales began in 1996.

The black-and-white dog, bred from Jenkins’s own International Supreme Champion Clwyd Bob, drew an opening online bid of 15,000 guineas before field-side and remote bidders pushed the price to the record level. The buyer was Samantha Jo Furman, from Virginia, USA, who plans to use Jen for work and local trials on her farm.

The previous Skipton record of 18,000 guineas was set in 2020.

Other strong prices included 7,000 guineas (£7,350) for Tweeddale Kate, a three-year-old bitch from Scottish vendor Alastair Walker, sold to South Yorkshire farmers Tom Hill and Ruby Wright for use on their flock of 1,000 ewes and 4,000 lambs.

Stuart Walton, of Brackenholme Sheepdogs, Selby, achieved 5,000 guineas (£5,250) for Brackenholme Dolly, bought by Dwayne Shiels, from County Donegal, Ireland.

Regular Skipton handler Shaun Richards, of Eldroth, sold two dogs for a combined 6,600 guineas (£6,930), while Keighley farmer Roy Canning achieved 7,500 guineas (£7,875) for two 14-month-old bitches from the same litter.

One of those, Fly, was bought by Richard Crowe, an Isle of Man farmer and regular vendor at Skipton. The other, Sal, went to the Bouch family of Kirkoswald, Cumbria.

Skipton Auction Mart’s general manager Jeremy Eaton said: ‘We are seeing lots of returning visitors and buyers to our sales. Demand focused on well-broken, capable entries for work or the trial fields.’

The 36-dog sale saw registered bitches range from 900 to 23,000 guineas (average £6,095), and registered dogs from 1,000 to 2,000 guineas (average £1,659).

Skipton’s next online sale takes place on November 26.