IRISH couple Brian White and Aoife Smith achieved another top price at Skipton mart’s summer sale of working sheep dogs.

Ben, their 17-month-old black-and-white dog, made £7,560 (7,200gns) and the couple, of Naul in North County Dublin, went on to sell three more to make a total of £21,105 (20,100gns).

Ben is by Littledale-based Ricky Hutchinson’s international reserve supreme champion Sweep, who was also responsible for Moss who clinched the £9,660 (9,200gns) top call for the couple at Skipton’s sale in May.

The couple also achieved the day’s second highest price of 5,700gns with 29-month-old black-and-white dog, Jack, home-bred by Pat Byrne, of County Roscommon.

The new record venue unbroken pen price of 2,500gns fell to Roy, a seven-month-old black-and-white dog from Eifion Hope, Pembrokeshire.

Shaun Richards, of Pen-y-Borough Sheep Dogs in Eldroth, near Settle, achieved 4,000gns with his 15-month-old black-and-white bitch, Fly, another product of Sweep.

He also made 2,400gns with his December, 2016, tri-coloured dog, Mot.

The sale attracted 142 dogs.

Registered dogs averaged £2,580; registered bitches £2,584. Unregistered bitches averaged £2,625; unregistered dogs sold to £850.

In the unbroken section, registered dogs averaged £705 and registered bitches £617, with unregistered dogs selling to 280gns and unregistered bitches to 200gns.

The next and final sale of 2017 at Skipton mart is scheduled for Friday, October 13.