Richard, a well-known figure in the Isle of Man’s sheepdog trialling community, secured the second-highest price of the day, 5400 guineas (around £5670), for his 18-month-old tri-coloured bitch, Tanhill Jess. Bred by Cumbria’s Rob Hutchinson, Jess is by Hendre Taff out of Tanhill Wattie, one of the last of its line from the late Alec Baines, a legend in the working sheep dog and trialling world. The promising young dog is now bound for East Yorkshire after being purchased by an unnamed buyer.
In addition to his headline sale, Richard also sold two further fully broken dogs, 16-month-old black, white, and brown Bruno for 2400 guineas (around £2520), and a June 2023-born red and white dog, Gilfach-Y-Fran Joe, for 2600 guineas (around £2730). His total sales for the day exceeded 10,000 guineas (around £10,500), marking a significant achievement for the Isle of Man handler.
Richard and his family are heavily involved in the Isle of Man’s sheep dog trialling scene, hosting the annual Mannanan Sheep Dog Trials at their farm in Kirk Michael. This event has raised over £2000 for local charities over its four years and continues to grow in prestige. Richard himself is a regular competitor, and his 15-year-old son Freddie is following closely in his footsteps, showing great promise in the field.
The Isle of Man also featured in the unbroken section of the sale, with Derbyshire’s Matt Tomlinson selling a seven-month-old lilac tri-coloured dog, Parkhills Nip, to Manx buyer Daniel Moore for 700 guineas (around £735). Parkhills Nip was the highest-priced entry in the unbroken pen, underlining the continued interest and investment from the Isle of Man in high-quality working dogs.
The Skipton sale, held on February 28, saw a strong clearance rate, with 29 of the 38 broken dogs sold. The highest price of the day went to Fly, a rising two-year-old black and white bitch from Welsh breeder and triallist Kevin Evans, who fetched 7200 guineas (around £7560) from an online buyer in Norway. Other notable sales included a four-year-old black and white dog named Tiktok, which sold for 4600 guineas (around £4830) to Irish buyer Brian Casey, and a 15-month-old tri and mottled dog, Mic, which changed hands for 4000 guineas (around £4200) to a Welsh purchaser.
The winter fixture at Skipton remains a key event for the working sheep dog community, with both live and online bidding providing opportunities for handlers and farmers from across the UK and beyond to secure top-quality working dogs. With the Isle of Man’s strong presence at the sale, local handlers like Richard Crowe continue to reinforce the island’s reputation in the competitive sheep dog world.
The next Skipton working sheep dog sale is scheduled for Wednesday, April 2, as an online-only event, with a live field-run sale set to follow on Friday, May 23.