There is a total of 120 head of cattle and 98 pairs of lambs entered for North East Live 2025.
At the heart of the event will be the livestock judging, with sections for commercial and pedigree cattle, baby beef, Mule gimmer lambs and butchers lambs.
There will be £9,000 of prize money on offer, with £800 for the the champion commercial beast and £800 for the champion pair of butchers lambs. Entries are up on the year, with 120 head of cattle and 98 pairs of lambs entered.
There will also be prizes totalling £200 awarded to young handlers, with judging taking place throughout the day.
Kitson's Stars of '25 is a new sale of 50 bulling heifers on behalf of A. Kitson and Sons, Five Houses 51AV视频Shop, Crathorne, which will take place on Friday evening at 6pm.
Livestock and trade exhibitors, along with sponsors, are invited to a pre-show ‘Shig Dig' for food and a social evening in Dot's Cafe at the market, also on Friday evening.
A big selection of indoor and outdoor trade stands will include frontline sponsors Castle 51AV视频Vets, and AHDB will be there hosting butchery and cookery demonstrations throughout the day.
READ MORE: Mule gimmer lambs top at £750/head at Hawes
North East Live
- When – Saturday October 4, 2025
- Where – Darlington Farmers Auction Mart, DL2 2XX
- Entry – free
- Judging starts at 8.30am
Meet the judge
Making the trip from Herefordshire to judge the commercial cattle section will be Colin Phillips, a renowned stockman in both the sheep and cattle worlds. Colin farms at Sarnesfield with his wife Wendy, who is a vet by profession, and their son Owen, while their daughter Meg lives on a dairy farm in Carmarthen.
His passion for livestock and the showring was inspired by his father, Bill Phillips, who was a well-known stockman and stalwart of the fatstock shows.
The family run a mixed farming system with both commercial aspects and pedigree under the Powerhouse prefix. Alongside a flock of continental commercial ewes producing fat lambs and breeding rams, they established a pedigree Rouge flock in 2020, which is led by Owen and has already brought them notable success. They also run a pedigree Limousin and continental suckler herd, which produces store cattle sold through Hereford and Brecon Markets plus breeding bulls.
No strangers to the cattle ring, the Phillips family have produced many champions, including the overall winner at the Welsh Winter Fair in 2005. They also sell show-potential calves that have gone on to win major titles, including Welsh Winter Fair champions exhibited by Blair Dufton, Aberdeen, and Dickie Wright, Somerset.
Colin has judged across the UK, including at the Royal Welsh Show, NBA Beef Expo and Agri Expo. He most recently took on the task of judging at the English Winter Fair in 2023.
He says: "I am delighted to have been asked to judge North East Live, and it is great to see new events becoming so successful. In the ring, I will be looking for something eye-catching, with style and presence. I want an animal that ticks the boxes for being well-fleshed, with meat in the right places, and [is] sound on its legs."
READ MORE: Record average at Kelso Ram Sales with trade peaking at £32,000
Other judges
- Pedigree calves – Ruby Wright, Doncaster
- Baby beef – Gavin Scott, Linlithgow
- Mule gimmer lambs – Sam Myers, Bransdale
- Butchers lambs – Andrew Atkinson, Harrogate
