Wensleydale Show: The Yorkshire sheep farmer-turned-auctioneer who has Wenlseydale in his blood

“I’ve been showing there since I was a young ‘un,” says Kenton. “I got on to the show committee when I was in my twenties and I’ve been on 30-plus years. I was chair for three years and now I’ve taken over as chief sheep steward.

“The one thing about the Wensleydale Show committee that we’ve got are people that are willing to do jobs. Someone always puts their hand up. That’s how I think it works well and in the last 10 years the show has grown year on year and is getting bigger than we thought.

“In the sheep classes this year we have new classes for Dutch Spotted and Valais Blacknose breeds and our Young Handler classes have become popular.

"This year they are kindly supported by the Bell family who tragically lost their son Aaron in a traffic accident two years ago. Aaron had won quite a few times as a young handler.”

Wensleydale Show attracts up to 10,000 each year and Kenton says the livestock classes for the sheep and cattle and the horse entries maintain the show’s tremendous reputation for animal husbandry.

The show is also a points show for the North East Jersey Society and the Teeswater Sheep Breeders and has over 500 classes this year in all competitions.

“It’s a show that is still very much a traditional agricultural show as well as having star attractions like stunt rider Jez Avery in the main arena, which has a full programme throughout the day.

"We’ve done so well that we’ve had to engage a new security and car parking firm in this year, which is all about giving that real effort to get people parked up quickly and into the showfield as soon as we can so that everyone enjoys every minute and to minimise the impact on the local community.”

Kenton grew up on a smallholding at Garriston Farm where his father lived all his life until recently when his parents moved into a bungalow in Leyburn. Kenton’s first job was at Leyburn livestock market.

“I started at Leyburn when I was 16, working one day a week. I worked as a buyer for Kerry Foods’ abattoir at Busby Stoop until I was 21 and ever since I’d always dealt in deadweights and farm to farm movements until three years ago when I became an auctioneer at Hawes.

“I’m still dealing with the farmers in the North York Moors that I started with in 1991 and who follow me wherever I go, some now come up to Hawes.

“I’d always wanted to be an auctioneer and when the Foot and Mouth disease happened in 2001, and I couldn’t go round farms, I became saleroom manager at Tennants for 10 months. Then a job came up to auctioneer at St Boswell’s in Scotland.

"I went up as trainee auctioneer as well as doing their deadweight marketing and would keep coming to look after my farmer customers either each weekend or fortnight. I was up there two and a half years and loved it up there.

"I came back down to Wensleydale because mum wasn’t well and worked for Darlington Auction Mart for a year until I went back to just doing deadweight marketing.

“Ted Ogden asked me to do some sales at Skipton to help them out and I got right back into it and enjoyed it, then the Hawes job came up I and got it three years ago.”

Everyone in Wensleydale knows of the legendary Hawes Mart auctioneer Raymond Lund and he was Kenton’s inspiration.

“I wanted the job at Hawes and wanted to get back into auctioneering but I did want to learn off Raymond. I’d listened to him, like his tone and sound and he comes across well. I’ve learned such a lot from him and he’s really good to get on with.

“There’s two of us who now do the weekly sales, Ian Atkinson and myself. Raymond comes back for our massive back-end sales to give a bit of a hand. He comes to watch me.

"Ian sells the prime lambs and then I sell the cast ewes and calves on a Tuesday. I take all the store lamb sales and cattle sales and we share the big sales.”

Kenton says his first time in the auctioneer’s box at Hawes’ legendary autumn sales was something he will never forget.

“I’d been to Hawes Gimmer Lamb Sale a few times but getting in that box the first time I definitely needed new underpants. The sale room was absolutely packed.

"I got in and thought, where am I going to find bids there were that many people in. The second day was so much easier.

“I find the Swaledale tup sales the hardest because they can all be a bit shy of bidding, especially early on, but the Mule Gimmer Lamb sales go like clockwork and Bluefaced Leicester sale is such a long day, but the Swaledale tups are just different league.”

Kenton’s current need is to find a new home for him and his partner Sue and for their sheep.

“Garriston was tenanted and under the rules I had to prove that most of my income comes from the smallholding, but now most of mine comes from the auction mart, so we are no longer there.

“I’ve still got some of my own sheep and have grassland rented and the chance of a shed over winter.

"We’ve been on this grazing land for the past five years and the person we rent from has been really good and has said the sheep can stop all year, so that’s temporary stop gap.

“We’ve 20 MV accredited pedigree Charollais ewes, and then 20 traditional Bluefaced Leicesters and 50 commercial ewes which we run together.

“We’re down to 20 Charollais because it’s not an early spot and when you’re borrowing somebody else’s shed it’s hard to be using it all year round. We sell most of the gimmer shearlings the following year and all the tups.

“We went into the Leicesters because there’s a lot more putting the Leicester on the Cheviot to make the Cheviot Mule and are something to keep my interest going. They also fit in for me on this farm as it is a later grass farm.

“My partner Sue and I are living together over at Whashton but the sheep are at Leyburn. We need somewhere where everything is together. Not a big spot, just a good building, a few acres and a house close by.”