‘REGAL’ POPES PRINCESSES SIMMENTAL HEIFERS SELL TO 15,000GNS!

Popes heifers at 15,000gns x 2; 14,000 x 2; 13,000ngs
20 Popes heifers average £8610

The much anticipated Popes Princesses Production Sale of 20 pedigree Simmental heifers, from Jimmy & Vikki Wood, Popes Farm, Dutton, Preston, Lancashire, lived up to all expectations with a fantastic trade seeing heifers at 15,000gns, 14,000gns, 13,000gns, and with a mighty average of £8610.

An evening sale held on Friday 8^th May at Harrison & Hetherington’s Borderway Mart, Carlisle, the sale ring was packed to the rafters with potential buyers from the length and breadth of the country, eager to bid on the top lots forward.

From a catalogue packed with quality heifers offering a real depth of proven bloodlines, two heifers made 15,000gns.  The first of these was Popes Nellys Prudence who was offered for sale entered for both the upcoming Royal Highland and Royal Norfolk Shows.  Featuring through the catalogue, this heifer is sired by the €52,000 Clonagh Lucky Explorer, and is out of the Denizes Impressive daughter Popes Nellys Lexi.  With breeding, character, and outlook, this heifer was marketed as ‘one of the best to be bred at Popes’.  Come sale time and a flurry of bidding, Popes Nellys Prudence was purchased by new Simmental breeders Chris and Nicky White, Frogmore Farm, Moreton in the Marsh, Gloucestershire.

15,000gns Popes Nellys Prudence

The Whites  sold their noted herd of pedigree Limousins in 2023 and realised they wanted to keep a very small number of pedigree cattle on the farm.  To achieve this, they bred from some of their retained Limousin embryos but also wanted to keep some Simmentals as well.  Commenting, Chris White said: “Having seen the Popes Princesses catalogue, we decided that Nellys Prudence was the heifer for us. With her very feminine traits, combined with power, excellent feet and legs she is very much of the quality for a foundation female at Frogmore Simmentals . We are looking forward to showing her soon at the Royal Highland and Royal Norfolk.”

15,000gns Popes Fabulous Sapphire

Prior to the sale the heifers were brought out of their pens and tied up in an open area at Borderway.  In what was a fantastic bit of marketing, potential buyers were able to ‘get up close and personal’ and walk amongst the lots forward.  Having initially clocked the breeding and figures in the catalogue it was here that Popes Fabulous Sapphire fully caught the eye of Stewart and Fiona Stronach, Berryleys, Grange, Keith, who went on to purchase the heifer for their prolific Islavale herd at the sale joint top price of 15,000gns.   This April 2025 born heifer is by the 37,000gns Denizes Nugget, and is out of Clonagh Jubilant Fabulous, an Irish National Champion purchased for €18,000 from Roscommon back in 2019.   Speaking afterwards, Stewart Stronach said: “We thought this was an outstanding heifer from within what was a quality line up.  She’s young but just full of potential, and we liked the Clonagh breeding in her pedigree with her mother also having been a fantastic heifer.  It’s very seldom that we buy females but we’re delighted to have purchased Popes Fabulous Sapphire and we can benchmark her against the contemporary heifers in the Islavale herd.”

At the close of the sale, the British Simmental Cattle Society’s General Manager, Iain Kerr said:  “What a terrific sale and a huge congratulations is extended to the Wood family.  In talking pre-sale they said how in the Popes herd they had prioritised such as milk and calving ease while looking for growth, fleshing ability, and cattle that are easy on the eye.  That shone through in these sale heifers which were an absolute credit to the family and to the Simmental breed. These heifers have sold to new and established breeders, and from Kent to the North East of Scotland. Full of quality and a depth of proven bloodlines I have no doubt these heifers will go on to make top breeding Simmental females. It’s a massive well done to Jimmy, Vikki, Harry, and Hannah and great to see such a packed Simmental sale ring at Carlisle!”

The Wood family: Vikki, Jimmy, Hannah, and Harry

14,000gns Popes Nellys Rhea

The majority of the heifers in the sale were by the €52,000 Clonagh Lucky Explorer who was bought for his width, natural fleshing ability, and character, and with these being traits now being seen in his females.  As well as being sire of the joint top price, two further heifers by Clonagh Lucky Explorer made 14,000gns.  The first of these was the April 2024 born Popes Nellys Rhea.  This heifer is out of Popes Nellys Koko whose breeding goes back to Popes Nellys Dazzler, a full sister to Popes Barclay, and described as one of the most influential cows in the herd.  Popes Nellys Rhea was one of two purchases made on the night by the establishing Tippetcraig herd of  The Burns Family,  High Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire.  Commenting, Lyndsey Stark said:  “Popes Nellys Rhea is a beautiful heifer with size and style, she has a great presence, is full of breeding, and has excellent performance figures.  Seeing her in the flesh at Carlisle she met all of the expectations we had from her picture in the catalogue, and her back pedigree, and we loved her the moment we saw her.”  Tippetcraig had got the sale underway when they also purchased the first lot Popes Tarkas Rhona, another Explorer daughter, for 5000gns.  “The Wood family are distinguished breeders and the Popes herd is one of the foremost in the Simmental breed.  We are delighted to buy these two heifers as we continue to expand the Tippetcraig Simmental herd.”

14,000gns Popes Ruflles

Also at 14,000gns was Popes Ruffles, another by Clonagh Lucky Explorer and out of Springfield Magic who was purchased at Stirling in October 2022, and whose pedigree goes back to Woodhall Extra.  This heifer was sold jointly to the Newbiemains herd of Jim & Patricia Goldie, Newbie Mains Farm, Annan, Dumfriesshire, and the Tundergarth herd of Alastair Dodd, Tundergarth Mains, Lockerbie.  Of Popes Ruffles, Jim Goldie said:  “This is a smart, long, clean heifer, with a depth of, and plenty of progression in her.  She’s a very modern type, carries a lot of style, and has all the potential to be a good bull breeder.” Later in the sale the Tundergarth herd also purchased Popes Sparkly Eyes, a Denizes Nugget daughter, for 8000gns.

13,000gns Popes Nellys Rumour

The fifth heifer over five figures was Popes Nellys Rumour who made 13,000gns when selling to the south of England and the O’So’Good pedigree herd of Robert & Nicola Tremayne, Paley Farm, Cranbrook, Kent.   Again by Clonagh Lucky Explorer this heifer is out of Popes Nellys Ilia from the herd’s famous Nelly family.  selling at 13,000gns to Mr & Mrs R Tremayne of Hill View herd, Paley farm, Cranbrook, Kent.  Commenting, Robert Tremayne said: “This is a July 2024 born heifer who we think will go on to make a tremendous cow.  She has tremendous breeding behind her, has scale, is very correct, and has a lot left in her.  We are looking to bring new lines to the herd and are delighted to have been able to buy a quality heifer like Popes Nellys Rumour.”

9000gns Popes Princess Ruby

At 9000gns the June 2024 born Popes Princess Ruby.  With tremendous breeding behind her, this heifer, by Explorer, is the first calf out of Popes Princess Lumi, the Simmental English National Show, Great Yorkshire Show, and Royal Lancashire Show Interbreed Champion in 2022.  Princess Lumi is a daughter of the multi title winning Popes Princess Cleo.  With a Maternal (Milk) figure of +12, putting her in the breed’s top 5% for this trait, this heifer was purchased by RE & SHW Steggles for their Wacton pedigree herd at Honingham, Norfolk.

8500gns Popes Nellys Sage

The youngest animal in the catalogue at nine-months-old, Popes Nellys Sage, made 8500gns when selling locally to the Strudda Bank pedigree herd of KG Holliday, Calderbridge, Seascale, Cumbria.  Sired once more by Clonagh Lucky Explorer, this heifer out of Popes Nellys Lottie, goes back to Tintoside Nellys Wonder, a foundation cow in the Popes herd.

AVERAGE
20 heifers                   £8610