DALESMAN Shaun Richards was top dog again at Skipton Auction Mart annual summer sale of working sheep dogs after selling a well-bred two-year-old tri-coloured bitch for 7,200gns (£7,560).

Mr Richards, who runs Pen-y-Borough Sheep Dogs in Eldroth, near Settle, in the shadow of Pen-y-Ghent, secured top call with his fully Irish-bred and bought Nell, by the renowned stud dog and multiple trials winner Knockmaa Jack, from Michael Hynes in Belclare, County Galway, out of David Nevin’s Jan.

Mr Richards had again put his dog handling skills to effective use on Nell, having used her throughout this year’s lambing season. She also produced a litter of pups three months before the sale and the vendor has retained two, a bitch and a dog, which will be broken and trained and may well appear at a future Skipton dog sale.

Nell, who turned two in June, fell to Scottish Borders hill farmer Niel Manning, who farms near the source of the River Tweed at Tweedsmuir, near Moffat. He is already well aware of the qualities of Mr Richards’ dogs, having previously gone to a sale-topping 4,000gns at Skipton two years ago for another of his bitches.