Oxford Down shearling ram	Oxford Down shearling ewe

ABOUT THE OXFORD DOWN

The Oxford Down is the largest and heaviest of the famous British Down breeds and was developed during the 1800s mainly in Oxfordshire and the surrounding counties. Today it is a specialist terminal sire breed used in the UK to produce lambs for meat production when crossed with commercial crossbred ewes.

The Association was established in 1889 and its primary objectives are:

· To encourage the breeding of Oxford Down sheep in the UK and abroad
· To maintain the purity of the Oxford Down breed
· To publish a Flock Book containing the pedigrees of registered Oxford Down sheep

Members of the Association maintain flocks of registered pedigree Oxford Down sheep. These can be found throughout the British Isles from Cornwall to Orkney and from Norfolk to Co Down. The breed has classes at a number of agricultural shows and there are several annual auction sales where Oxford Down rams and ewes can be purchased.

The Association hopes you enjoy the website and find the information and photos presented of interest.

Further information
Click here to view the Oxford Down breed fact sheet: Fact sheet
Click here to view the Oxford Down commercial breed leaflet: Breed leaflet
Click here to view the 2011 Oxford Down Flock Book: Flock Book

Royal Norfolk Show 2012

Would members considering showing Oxfords at the Royal Norfolk Show this year please note that the classes can accommodate both MV accredited and non-accredited sheep, and not as stated in the show schedule.

Watson & Grain become Mr & Mrs Watson

Well-known Oxford Down breeders Geoff Watson and Carol Grain took the leap on 29th February 2012 and tied the knot. Congratulations and best wishes from the Association.

Oxford Down Interbreed Champions 2011

Top left: Harry Middeditch's Knowl shearling ram. Interbreed champion at Suffolk Show and native interbreed champion at the East of England Show. Photo © FWI Top right: Geoff Watson's Sulgrave ram lamb. Interbreed champion at Oxfordshire County & Thame Show and Bucks County Show. Photo © John Eveson Opposite: Carol Grain's Twinwood shearling ewe. Interbreed champion at Rutland County Show and lowland interbreed champion at Anglesey Show. Photo © John Eveson

Oxford crosses take 1st prize at Market Harborough fatstock show

Congratulations to Vickie Sturgess of Glebe Farm, Billesdon, Leicester who has taken first prize in the native class at the Market Harborough Christmas fatstock show and sale with a pen of four Oxford cross lambs. The lambs were sired by Vickie's Oxford ram out of Texel cross Mule ewes and sold for £102.

Masham Sheep Fair

Members recently met up at Masham Sheep Fair in the Yorkshire Dales to attend the Association's AGM and also to watch the Oxfords being judged at the last show of the season with classes for the breed. Champion was a 2-shear ram from Dave Coupland, Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham. The ram was bred by Andrew Rutherford, Langrigg. In reserve spot was Carol Grain's gimmer. Bob & Jean Richardson, Beverley, East Yorkshire had best Group of Three and also had success in the wool competition, winning the silver cup for the overall best sheep in the wool-on-the-hoof classes. At the AGM, Geoff Watson, Sulgrave retired as President and the new President, John Brown, Monkstone started his term of office. The Association also welcomes two new Council members, Dr Tom Cole from Carryduff, Co Down and Harry Middleditch from Sudbury, Suffolk.

Success for Newland Oxfords in South West

Jack Aldridge from Newland House, Withypool, Somerset has enjoyed a very successful show season in the West Country with the Newland Flock No 1216. This year Jack and his mother Alex Stokes have shown the flock at Mid Devon, North Devon, Honiton, Mid Somerset and Dunster Shows. Jack has done particularly well with the ewe lamb shown in the photograph, winning three championships and one reserve championship in minority breeds classes with her. She is by Barley Park Lords out of a home-bred Fleetham Tyburn dam. The family have also taken the Newland Oxfords further afield during the summer, selling ewe lambs at the Worcester sale and taking a second prize with a ewe in the Oxford Down classes at the Oxfordshire County Show at Thame and a third at the Bath & West.

Jack Aldridge with his prizewinning Oxford ewe lamb

Builth Wells Oxfords rams sell to 350gns

This year's sale of Oxford rams at the NSA Wales & Border Builth Wells Ram Sale was topped at 350gns by a shearling ram from J W Hook, Barley Park Farm, Ducklington, Witney, Oxon. The Barley Park consignment averaged £265.13 for four sold. J W Brown, Tenby, Pembrokeshire sold two shearling rams from his Monkstone flock at 250gns each, with one of Philip Quick's Applewick consignment from Upper Bearfield Farm, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire matching that price. Overall, seven shearlings sold to 350gns and averaged £264.

Thistledown shearling ram tops Melton Mowbray at 310gns

The show & sale of Oxford Downs at the Melton Mowbray native breeds sale proved to be a very successful event for the breed. Phil Robinson, Blackden Heath, Crewe (Blackden flock) judged the show classes and selected a 2-shear ram from R G T & S A Banks, Thistledown as his champion. This ram was bred by J W Hook. In reserve spot was the female champion, a flock ewe from J W Hook, Barley Park.

In the sale it was a shearling ram from R G T & S A Banks, Thistledown that lead the trade at 310gns, selling to Mrs R Hood of Kibworth, Leicester. This was followed at 230gns for a Barley Park shearling ram sold to G Mather, Preston, Lancashire and 200gns for another shearling from the same home, this one going to Vickie Sturgess, Billesdon, Leicester. The champion made 190gns to Allison Farming, Tythby, Bingham, Nottingham.

Leading the female section was a shearling ewe from Barley Park which made 295gns to Michael Blackwell, Pontefract, West Yorkshire. Another shearling from the same pen went at 260gns to O T Jones, Anglesey. Ewe lambs sold to a peak of 235gns for one from Barley Park, going to A Wright, Saltby, Melton Mowbray.

A feature of the sale was a draft of Barley Park flock ewes from James Hook which represented a great opportunity for new breeders to get into the breed with quality foundation stock. Top price here was 160gns for the female and reserve overall champion, bought by Michael Blackwell. The 9 Barley Park flock ewes averaged £142.33. The major buyers at the sale were A M & P M Hack, Hathern, Loughborough who purchased a total of 8 Barley Park females.

Averages:
5 rams sold to 310gns and averaged £232.05
15 females sold to 295gns and averaged £171.50
Overall, 20 head sold to 310gns and averaged £186.64

Kelso Oxfords to £300 for Fleetham shearling

Top price of the day for the Oxfords sold at Kelso Ram Sales was £300 for a shearling from C R Lamb & Sons, East Fleetham, Seahouses, Northumberland. This one was sired by a home-bred tup. The buyer was M Orr & Sons, Penston, Macmerry, East Lothian. The Fleetham consignment also produced sales of £250 and £240, both to R Boswell, Balnasium, Aberfeldy, Perthshire. This buyer was returning for more rams having purchased one at the 2010 sale. Completing a good run of prices for Messrs Lamb were three rams at £200 each, all sold to the same buyers, R & B Russell, Townhead, Cockburnspath, Berwickshire, who were also buying further rams having purchased two last year. The Fleetham pen averaged £231.67 for 6 sold, up £57 on the year.

The Langrigg pen from A W Rutherford, Guards Farm, Gretna, Dumfriesshire sold to £200 four times. The first shearling in at this price was a Barley Park Barbarian son which went for pedigree use to C R Lamb & Sons, Fleetham. The second £200 Langrigg ram also went to a registered flock, the buyer being Tommy Nimmo who runs 30 ewes in his Duntarvie flock based at Winchburgh, West Lothian. This shearling is by Barley Park Beau. The two remaining £200 Langrigg rams went for crossing work on Exmoor.

Overall, 10 shearlings sold to £300 and averaged £219 (compared to £170.91 for 11 in 2010).

£300 Fleetham shearling sold to M Orr, Penston at Kelso 2011

Delmur Oxford gimmers sell to 280gns at Thainstone

Pat Delday, Delmur had a consignment of three gimmers and a 2-shear ram forward at the Native Breeds sale at Thainstone, Inverurie. The ram, bred by John Wilson, Doleen made 200gns to a commercial buyer for use on Texel x Mule ewes. The three gimmers were keenly contested for in the ring and ended up making 240gns, 240gns and 280gns all to the same buyer, Mr Donald, Little Millbrex, Fyvie, Turriff, Aberdeenshire.

2-shear Doleen ram bred John Wilson made 200gns for Pat Delday, Delmur	Pen of 3 Delmur gimmers from Pat Delday sold to 280gns to P Donald, Little Millbrex, Fyvie, Aberdeenshire

Oxfords to 400gns at Worcester

BIDDING FOR Oxford Downs reached a peak of 400gns at the breed's annual show and sale at Worcester market.

Leading the sale was a shearling ewe from James Hook, Barley Park Farm, Witney, Oxfordshire which had been female and reserve breed champion at both the pre-sale show and at Lincolnshire Show earlier in the season. Sired by the successful stock ram Horsley Flynn, she sold to Roland Williams, Aneddle, Capel Seion, Aberystwyth for his newly established Greenlands Oxford Down flock.

Mr Hook sold another shearling ewe by the same sire at 250gns to Vickie Sturgess, Glebe Farm, Billesdon, Leicester, who was also buying to add to her new Oxford flock.

Matching that price was the best of the ewe lambs, also consigned by James Hook and again by Horsley Flynn. The buyer was Mr Williams. D A R Linford of Buckingham went to a top of 200gns for five ewe lambs he purchased at the sale, with the leading bid going to a Barley Park Jimmy daughter from Martin Johnson's Longfriday flock based at Wollaston, Northamptonshire.

In the ram section, shearlings sold to 290gns for one from Don Clarry, Saxon Farm, Horsham, West Sussex. A Horsley Derby son, this big ram went to A & V Sellick, Winterbottom Farm, Knutsford, Cheshire. Another shearling from the same home and by the same sire sold to Helen Goldstraw, Huddale Farm, Calton, Stoke-on-Trent at 200gns.

Top price for ram lambs was a 240gns sale from Bob Richardson, Lamploughs Farm, Beverley, East Yorkshire to S Driver, Chisworth, Glossop, Derbyshire for a son of Langrigg Borderman. A ram lamb sired by Barley Park Kane from Michael Hackling, Hounsley Farm, Winford, Bristol was next best, selling at 200gns to longstanding Oxford breeder John Brigg, Bishop's Gorse, Warwick.

Auctioneers: McCartneys

Averages: 18 head sold to 400gns and averaged £215.54.

Champion was a ram lamb from Michael Hackling's Redhill Flock	Top price of the day was 400gns for this shearling ewe from James Hook, Barley Park sold to J R Williams, Greenlands

TWINWOOD SHEARLING EWE INTERBREED AT ANGLESEY

A shearling ewe from Carol Grain took the lowland interbreed championship at the Anglesey County Show. The ewe has already been interbreed champion at Rutland earlier in the season. This is the fourth occasion that Carol has won interbreed at Anglesey with an Oxford Down and is the fifth interbreed win for an Oxford Down this season, a remarkable result for the breed.

SULGRAVE RAM LAMB WINS INTERBREED AT OXON COUNTY

For the second year in succession, an Oxford Down was awarded the interbreed championship at the Oxfordshire County & Thame Show. This year the breed championship was awarded by judge James Eustice, Treglinnick to a ram lamb from Geoff Watson's Sulgrave flock at Desborough, Northamptonshire, which then went on to take the top spot in the interbreed judging.