Record price paid for family’s Longhorn cow

David and Angela Blockley, from Drighlington in West Yorkshire, saw the new benchmark price set for a female at 7,600gns, which converts to £7,980, at the Longhorn Cattle Society sale in Warwickshire.

The figure dwarfs the previous record set at £4,620.

Debbie Dann, of the Longhorn Cattle Society, said that the price achieved was “phenomenal”.

“For our little breed it is quite incredible stuff. It was just a case of two people going up against each other and really wanting the animal.”

The animal, a junior heifer from Mr and Mrs Blockley’s well-respected herd, was bought by John and Pat Stanley for their renowned Blackbrook herd in Leicestershire.

In a nice touch the heifer, named Southfield Lyric, was shown in the main ring the day before the sale by Mr and Mrs Blockley’s 10-year-old grandson Harry.

Mrs Blockley told the Yorkshire Post: “We definitely did not expect such a high price. The sale was looking quite slow when it started too. We are obviously delighted. She is an absolutely brilliant heifer and the winners obviously just really wanted that bloodline.”

The animal was home bred by the Blockley’s at their Drighlington farm and caps more than two decades worth of success with the breed.

“The breed has grown in stature over the last 10 years. I have always liked them, we just started off with a couple in 1991. Gradually, we became more involved with them and I guess you could say we were bitten by the bug. The attraction really is the animal itself. They have a great nature and a great presence. They are a very easy cattle to manage with a very placid nature, unlike some of the continental breeds who can be quite hard to handle.”

In all, the Blockleys run a herd of around 55 animals including followers at the moment.

“That was the fourth national sale the society have done,” said Mrs Blockley. “We took six on Friday and there was some strong interest throughout.”

Elsewhere at the sale first prize in the junior bull section went to Yorkshire breeder David Walker.

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