Hockenhull bow out on a top note

By Fiona Sloan

After nearly 40 years of breeding Simmental Cattle, Hugo, Geraldine and James Arnold saw their beloved herd go to new homes. Hugo’s impending retiral had forced the sale of a herd, which was renowned throughout the breed both here and overseas and around 1000 people turned up to witness the event and take the last chance of buying a Hockenhull female. As Hugo said at the conclusion of the sale, “every story has a start middle and end ….and this is the end!” It was the end of the Hockenhull Herd but a beginning for several new herds as well as many established herds, when 78 buyers bought the 102 lots on offer to a top of £17500 for cow and her first calf from the famous Snow Queen line.

Mrs Hayley Clarke, The Croft, Hevingham, Norwich paid 10,000gns for the Popes Laird bred Hockenhull Snow Queen 35th out of Snow Queen 25th by the Herd Stock bull for many years Blackford Harvester, to join her Williams Herd. Harvester will retire with the family and was not at the sale. Her heifer calf Snow Queen 40th, by Dirnanean Solomon, sold for7,500gns to DW &CE Jones Wiltor Lodge, Wilcrick, Magor, Gwent . This calf was one of several at the sale by Dirnanean Soloman, another of the successful stock bulls at Hockenhull.

Hockenhull Juliet 10th took the individual top price when she sold for 14,000gns with her Hockenhull Red Rum calf, Juliet 13th at foot to new breeder Mike Frazer, Ballyclare Road, Templepatrick, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, one of three lots bought by Mr. Frazer. Juliet 10th is a 2006 cow by Hockenhull Norman out of the Harvester daughter Juliet 3rd who was sold in calf again to Red Rum.

Tony and Anne Jukes, Swallowhill, Sandhurst, Kent added the first of the in calf heifers, Trudy 36th to their Swallowhill Herd for a bid of 11,000gns. A January 2007 heifer by Hockenhull Norman, she was sold in calf to the current stock Bull Hockenhull Red Rum and will undoubtedly be closely watched on the show circuit next summer.

The first of several Scottish purchases went to The Greenhill Family, Craighall, Duntrune, Dundee when they paid 10,000gns for Snow Queen 39th. This 14 month old heifer is by Red Rum and out of the Blackford Harvester bred Snow Queen 19th.

David and Lesley Sapsed from Heathbrow Herd Codicote, Hitchin Hertfordshire went to 9,000gns to secure one of their three lots, Hockenhull Girlie 22nd. Girlie 22nd is from another famous line at Hockenhull and is a daughter of the Dovefields Gallant bred Girlie 13th that went to Findlay and Judy McGowan at Incheoch earlier in the day for 5,800gns and was dam of several outstanding lots in the sale. Girlie 22nd that is again by Harvester was sold with her 4th calf at foot, Girlie 49th by Dirnanean Soloman. David and Lesley had previously purchased the 5th calver Susanna 9th earlier in the sale for 7,000gns. Susanna 9th is out of Susanna 4th F37 and is again by Harvester and was sold with her bull calf Hockenhull Alaska 09 at foot by Red Rum.

Stuart Stronach, Berryleys, Grange, Keith, waited to later in the day to add Girlie 41st to his Islavale Herd. By the 17,000gns Glenturk Rolex she was an ET daughter of Girlie13th and sold for 8,000gns. She sold with a sire index of +31 and a Self replacing index of +39.

Hayley Clark added to her earlier purchase when she bought yet another Girlie 13th daughter, Girlie 47th for 7,500gns. Again by Rolex, she had a +35 Self Replacing Index to go with her.

Neill McGeoch was happy to bring his 7,000gns purchase Juliet 12th home to the Hazelden Herd based at Easter Blacklaw, Stewarton, Ayrshire. Juliet 12th is a February 2008 heifer by Solomon and out of Juliet 5th by Harvester.

Another 7,000gns purchase headed north, when Brian Grant, Druid Temple, South Inverness, bought Sarah 20th with her July born Red Rum Bull calf at foot. Sarah 20th is a third calving Harvester daughter out of Sarah 10th by Woodhall Dynamite.

Joe and Rachael Ede, Stone Leys, Four Trees, Checkley, Stock on Trent, spent 6,800gns to secure their choice, Deborah 11th , with her March born Red Rum bull calf at foot, Adjutant 09. Deborah 11th is by Hockenhull Norman and out of a Balmano Hitman daughter Deborah 7th.

M. Hind, Bungehurst, Newick Lane, Mayfield, East Sussex, paid 6,200gns for Snow Queen 37th to join their Ravensdale Herd. A Harvester daughter, she was sold with her first calf at foot, Snow Queen 41st by Red Rum and in calf again to Red Rum.

No less than four lots made 6,000gns. The first of these was another from the Snow Queen line, the Hockenhull Kojac daughter, Snow Queen, 26th who was out of the very successful Snow Queen 8th. She is a fourth calver and was sold with her April born Harvester calf Snow Queen 42nd at foot. She sold to Richard Storer Smith, to join his herd at Spath Farm, Utoxeter.

Robin and Rory Bell, Roxburgh Mains, Kelso, paid 6,000gns for Hockenhull Sarah 22nd, a second calving daughter of Hockenhull Norman out of Sarah 17th. Her Bull calf Abadan 09 by Harvester was sold separately to Barry Harding, Cornerfields, Holly Bush Lane, Bucks for 4,800gns giving a 10,800gns tag for the outfit. The very next lot in the ring also sold for 6,000gns and again headed north. This time to Mrs. Margaret Addison’s Lartington Herd at The Keld, Kings Meaburn, Penrith, when she purchased Juliet 5th, an April 05 Harvester daughter, with her March born Dirnanean Soloman bull calf, Achilles 09 at foot.

Mr. W. J. Hollingsworth, High Midhope Hall, Midhopestones, Sheffield also paid 6,000gns for Deborah 12th. An April 07 daughter of Red Rum and out of a Harvester daughter, Deborah 6th, she was sold in calf to Hockenhull Kramer.

The Stock Bull, Hockenhull Red Rum, sold for £6000gns to Paul Gunther, Fir Covert, Felthorpe, Norwich, to join his Fircovert Herd.

Semen from Hockenhull Magnum sold to 80gns to Jimmy and Vikki Wood, Popes Farm, Dutton, Longridge. The same buyers paid 65gns for Magnum’s sire’s semen from Overhall Hivy, both hugely influential in the success Hockenhull herd.

There was never any doubt that the sale would be a huge success but it exceeded all expectations when the 102 lots sold averaged a massive £4447!

Tributes were given to the Arnold family at the end by Dan Evans from the Wroxhall Herd, a life long friend and fellow breeder and the family were presented with the First Edition of the new Border Fine Arts Simmental Cow and Calf which comes out in January and is modelled on one of the Hockenhull cows.

A presentation was also given by the Society General Secretary, Claire Rowbotham to Fiona Sloan, their Development Manager who leaves the Society this month after 5 years.

OTHER AVERAGES
Cows without calves at foot 13 £4079
Cows with calves at foot 44 £4704
Bull Calves 6 £3413
Heifer Calves 4 £4909
In Calf Heifers 18 £4632
Maiden Heifers 13 £4232
Stock Bull 1 £6300
Young Bulls 3 £2940