Date: 10th -11th September 2026
Judge: Ben Lamb, Richhill
Sponsor: Harbro Farm Supplies
The annual event held by the Border Union Agricultural Society, known as the Kelso Ram Sales, took place at the Kelso Agricultural Showground on Friday 11 September. The event was preceded on Thursday evening by the pre-sale show of Shearlings and Ram Lambs forward in the Accredited MV section, held in Rings 8 and 10.
This year’s judge, selected by the Scottish Area Branch of the Suffolk Sheep Society, was Ben Lamb of Richhill Suffolks, who made the journey from Northern Ireland to undertake the judging. Combined entries across the two rings numbered upwards of 550 consignments.
Shearling Rams
1st: Lot 2231 – W & C Ingram, Logie Durno — going on to be Champion
2nd: Lot 2130 – J Watson, Brijon
3rd: Lot 2271 – RG & RA Jones, Rowlestone
4th: Lot 2155 – J Alexander, Jalex
5th: Lot 2120 – J Watson, Brijon
6th: Lot 2160 – J Alexander, Jalex
Ram Lambs
1st: Lot 2761 – J Smyth, Bessiebell — going on to be Reserve Champion
2nd: Lot 2711 – J Innes, Strathbogie
3rd: Lot 2814 – M Evans, Jubilee
4th: Lot 2786 – A Wilson, Glenhead
5th: Lot 2729 – J Elliot, Roxburgh Mains
6th: Lot 2912 – G Brown, Capielaw
Champion
Lot 2231 – W & C Ingram, Logie Durno (Shearling Ram)
Reserve Champion
Lot 2761 – J Smyth, Bessiebell (Ram Lamb)
SALE
Ring 8 – MV Accredited Shearling Rams
Ring 8 saw Scott Donaldson of H&H Borderway Mart take to the rostrum to deliver his annual performance at Kelso. Scott openly admits that he thoroughly enjoys proceedings, selling the MV-accredited Shearling Rams.
Preparation, as always, was precisely executed, and his availability to vendors and purchasers before the sale is always appreciated.
A ring top price of £11,000 was reached twice.
The first £11,000 price came from James Alexander’s Jalex flock, with the Northern Irish raider finding a good audience for his pen of 33, which averaged £2,703.03, the top average of the sale.
The second at the same money came from the Brijon flock, with Jonathan Watson consigning a pen of 25 to achieve an average of £2,668.00, making them runners-up in the Suffolk Shearling sale average for 2026.
Top Five Pen Averages – Shearling Rams
| Vendor | Flock | Number Sold | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Alexander | Jalex | 33 | £2,703.03 |
| Jonathan Watson | Brijon | 25 | £2,668.00 |
| Mrs Fiona Wight | Wights | 12 | £2,400.00 |
| RG & RA Jones | Rowlestone | 5 | £2,200.00 |
| John Elliot | Roxburgh Mains | 12 | £2,141.60 |
The summary of the Shearling trade for 2026 in Ring 8 was 335 sold, with a top price of £11,000, achieved twice, giving a sale average of £1,707.61.
Ring 10 – MV Accredited Ram Lambs
Ring 10 is dedicated to MV-accredited Ram Lambs and is under the well-known Suffolk breeder and enthusiast Richard Harrison, who sits on the board at United Auctions, Stirling.
His skill with the gavel saw James Innes of Strathbogie, whose Lot 2711 had placed second in the show the previous evening, achieve the Suffolk top selling price of the day at £14,000.
Being one of five Ram Lambs consigned, Strathbogie topped the Ram Lamb sale average at £3,440.00.
Top Five Averages – Ram Lambs
| Vendor | Flock | Number Sold | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Innes | Strathbogie | 5 | £3,440.00 |
| Jack Smyth | Bessiebell | 10 | £3,200.00 |
| John Elliot | Roxburgh Mains | 6 | £1,325.00 |
| S Buckley | Sitlow | 14 | £1,307.14 |
| George L Stuart | Birness | 12 | £1,262.50 |
The Ram Lambs sold numbered 220, averaging £897.55, with a top call of £14,000.00.
Ring 14 – Unregistered and Non-MV Accredited Shearling Rams
Ring 14 is dedicated to Unregistered/Non-MV-accredited Shearling Rams, although many of our members choose to sell through this ring.
The Campbells of Glenrath saw one lot attain £8,000.00, which was the sale leader in Ring 14. This also gave them the leading sale average in the ring of £3,012.50 for the 16 Shearlings sold.
The Ring 14 sale for unregistered Suffolks saw 433 sold, averaging £1,491.62, with a top price on the day of £8,000.00.
Suffolk Market Share at Kelso
In total, 989 Suffolk Rams were sold at Kelso, representing 27.2% of the total number of rams sold, a slight increase on last year.
The purpose of calculating this figure is to try to establish the market share we have within the sheep industry as a whole. This is not an exact science, but it provides a useful guide, and once again in 2026 we have increased our percentage of the numbers sold at Kelso.
We are continuing to grow our market share, and we need to maintain the pressure through our marketing efforts and by continuing to promote the breed within both the pedigree and commercial sectors.
Without engagement with commercial sheep farmers, and the continued transmission of the Suffolk Advantage and the knowledge we have, it is difficult to grow our market for pedigree Suffolk sheep and maintain our upward trajectory.
Kelso Gallery 2026 – Photos from Lewis Staley
