Caramba Beef Shorthorns Sale: Photos & Information Courtesy of Tom Staunton 7/06/2024
Tom Staunton of Caramba Herd held a special sale of Beef Shorthorns over the June Bank Holiday weekend. A special viewing day took place at Caramba Farm on Sunday 2nd June, while the online sale took place on Monday 3rd June. Below is a sale report put together by Tom Staunton, proprietor of Caramba Beef Shorthorns.
In the sale were 14 homebred females and 1 homebred young breeding bull. There was a 93% clearance, with demand from UK & Northern Ireland breeders. 11 animals were purchased by UK based breeders and 3 were purchased by home based buyers.
Topping the sale was lot number 3 sired by stock bull Westmoor Merlin who has twice been Male Champion at Balmoral and has twice been the All-Ireland Senior Bull Champion. The Dam was a home bred cow Caramba Oi Edna, the 2023 Balmoral Overall Breed Champion. Prior to that, her success includes All Ireland titles as a yearling and as a 2-year-old which also includes the 2022 National Show Champion title.
Her first calf Caramba Blythesome Tequila sold at £9,000gns / €11,100euro, selling to Glebefarm Beef Shorthorns owned by the Alfie Shaw and family. The price achieved represents a new Irish record price for an Irish Beef Shorthorn female, beating a six-year record of €8,400euro held by another Caramba bred animal “Caramba Rothes Lovable”, Shaw also purchased Lot number 8 Caramba Tilly sired by home bred bull Caramba Pedro for £3,200gns / €3,750.
The second-best price was achieved by lot 4 Caramba Ruby Sue who made £7,400gns / €8,650euro. Caramba Ruby Sue is a daughter of Podehole Beefeater out of 1st calf heifer Ballinlig Ruby, she sold to Alex Bennett & Elliw Roberts from New Mills, Newtown, Wales. Bennet / Roberts also purchased 4 others: Lots 2, 5, 9, & 10 including the 3rd best priced heifer Caramba Elizabeth Twink, a Carrarock Chalkie daughter out of homebred Caramba Jemma Liz. Twink topped out for £6,000gns / €7020 euro. Bennett & Roberts travelled over for the sale viewing day as it is their intention to start a new Beef Shorthorn herd, both Alex and Elliw enjoy showing cattle and felt the Caramba herd animals will help them establish the foundation stock they require for a successful entry into the Beef Shorthorn breed and show circuit.
Other highlights of the sale include purchases from Tom Quin, Portadown who secured 2 Carrarock Chalkie, daughters lot 14 for £3,300gns / €3,860 and lot 7 for £2,900gns / €3,400. Lot number 12 sold for £2,800 / €3,300 and she went to N. Leary from Newtownbulter Co. Fermanagh. This was Leary’s second purchase from the Caramba herd as he first purchased at Caramba’s first online sale in 2016. Lot 15 sold to E & T Richardson, the Catterall herd based in Preston, UK.
Home based buyers include Sam Dooley, Templemore, Co. Tipperary who secured lot 6 for £2,300gns / €2,700, and T Scalon, Tralee Co. Kerry purchased the only ET sale heifer sired by Eionmor Ideal 50p also for a price tag of £2,300gns / €2,700,
The only bull in the sale went to local breeder D. Cronin, Loughrea Co. Galway for £2,300gns / €2,700 and this is the second stockbull Graigue herd has purchased from Caramba.
My own few words on the sale!
I am delighted with the sale and grateful to all who supported our open day, the bidders and the under-bidders. A special thank you to Trevor Chadwick for his management of the herd day to day. The sale cattle represented the best of the Caramba herd and the type of Beef Shorthorn we like to breed. Any success for our herd is also a success for the Beef Shorthorn breed and all its breeders. We were first on the island to showcase online sales back in 2016, 2017, and 2018 through our own platform Pedigree Sales and this year the decision to go with the H&H / Mart Eye partnership wasn’t an easy decision but was the right decision based on the growth and success of the online platform in recent years.
Many thanks again,
Tommy Staunton
