NEW records were set at a much anticipated cattle dispersal sale honouring a Gretna man.
The well known Gretnahouse herd of Charolais and Aberdeen Angus cattle, above, was sold off at a packed Borderway Mart last Saturday and the event has been described as ‘a fitting tribute to a lifetime of pedigree breeding’.
The herd was developed and nurtured by the late Alasdair Houston and his family are thrilled at the support shown to them.
And everyone involved was delighted to see a new female breed record and a new Charolais centre record set on the day – with Gretnahouse Tequila going for 50,000 guineas and a spokesperson for Harrison and Hetherington, which runs the mart, said: “A huge thank you to Lucy, Tara and Rafe Houston for giving us the opportunity to be involved in such a historic sale, and well done to Joe Speak and all the Rettie sale prep team for turning the cattle out in such amazing order.
“Alasdair would have been immensely proud of the cattle and the Gretnahouse team.”
Meanwhile, a statement was also this week posted on the Gretna House Farms Facebook page by Lucy Houston.
Describing the sale day as ‘utterly surreal’, she said: “To say that it exceeded our expectations was an understatement.
“From everyone’s unbelievable kindness to us all, to the hard work by so many in showing the stock to their best, to the hundreds of messages that we have received, I cannot even start to thank everyone.
It’s humbling for us as a family.”
She thanked everyone “past and present” who had been involved with the farm and the sale and added: “We are utterly humbled and delighted that the genetics of the herd will carry on across the UK, stretching from Orkney, over to Northern Ireland and down into Cornwall.”
