Simon Draper Joins Kirkby Stephen Mart
05/08/08

Simon Draper, who has had almost 30 years’ experience of auctioneering commercial and pedigree livestock, joins Harrison & Hetherington next month as auctioneer and livestock-manager at Kirkby Stephen Mart.

SImon Draper

Kirkby Stephen operates weekly sheep sales on Tuesday evenings and fortnightly store and breeding cattle sales. The area is renowned for producing exceptional high quality cattle and sheep and buyers from all over the UK attend special breeding sales.

Simon, 47, begins working at Kirkby Stephen on September 1 at the start of the busy autumn sheep and cattle sales and will also be involved with sales at Lazonby, and Middleton-in-Teesdale and St John’s Chapel in County Durham.

“I have wanted to come north for some time to work in a prime livestock rearing area and, particularly, for the leading livestock auctioneering company in the country,” said Simon.

Simon began his career 28 years ago as a trainee auctioneer at Worcester market. Until 2001 he was senior auctioneer selling all categories of stock with Rugby Livestock Sales.

He joined Thame Farmers Auction Mart seven years ago as an auctioneer-director during which time he resurrected the famous Bicester Sheep Fair.

He is well-known to many breeders from the north who attend the Bicester fair, the biggest one-day sheep sale in the country with up to 25,000 sheep which included many Mule gimmers bred in the north, going under the hammer in early August, helping to set values for the season’s trade.

He also set up a sheep sale centre selling up to 2,500 prime lambs each week at Foscote, near Buckingham.

While his career has mainly been involved with commercial livestock, he has sold pedigree sheep and cattle and his association began with Harrison & Hetherington with pedigree Limousin and commercial sales staged jointly for Doug Mash’s Torrington herd at Chesham.

Simon was chairman of the Midlands and East Anglia Livestock Auctioneers’ Association and until recently represented the LAA as a board director for Assured British Meat (ABM). He is a Fellow of the Livestock Auctioneers’ Association.

In the past, he has bred Charollais sheep and Charolais cattle as well as North Country Cheviots.

He and his wife Suzanne have two children, Edward, 18 and Rachel, 13.

David Pritchard, Operations Director with Harrison and Hetherington said: “We are looking forward to Simon joining the team at Harrison & Hetherington and we feel sure that his broad experience within the industry will be invaluable to the team based at Kirkby Stephen and the company at large.”

For anyone wishing to discuss any future marketing requirements, Simon can be contacted on 07595 067858

Frankland Nets Skipton Prime Lambs Double
Emmotts Secure Second Craven Dairy Auction Championship
Horses & Ponies Go Under the Hammer