HEFTY Charolais bull Hendy Messi is returning to Powys after being bought at a sale in Carlisle for £8,000 by a Breconshire farmer.
The 14-month-old bull was taken to the British Charolais Cattle Society Sale in Cumbria by Wyn and Diane Rees from north Powys.
They had to travel more than 200 miles from their farm in Llangurig to get Hendy Messi to the sale last month. And when all the bids were in, the huge bull fetched 8,000 guineas – or £8,400 – and was soon on his way back to Mid Wales, making the near 250-mile trip to successful bidder Gareth Davies’ farm at Merthyr Cynog.
Altogether over the weekend of May 15/16 Hendy Messi was transported almost 500 miles to end up at his new home – just 33 miles away! But despite all the travelling the beast had done, successful bidder Gareth insisted it was a more than worthwhile transaction. “I bought him on the phone, so it was a bit of pressure, but I had been to see the bull on the farm [in Llangurig] beforehand,” said Gareth, who was unable to attend the sale in person because he was providing a hog roast
at a charity rugby match in Brecon.
“The Carlisle sale is the main spring Charolais sale and you’ve got to buy them there. I suppose people will be surprised to learn you can’t just buy them down the road and that a man from Llangurig has taken him to Carlisle and we’vebrought him back to Brecon. We used to buy them from a sale in Perth, which
is a lot further up, and we’d often buy Welsh bulls there.”
Hendy Messi will now be used by Gareth for breeding on his farm and if all goes well he could sire on the farm for up to 10 years.
Wyn Rees, who sold the bull, said he has known Gareth for a number of years and is pleased the animal will stay in Powys. “I think he’s a bit special and that’s why I took him up to Carlisle, one of the premier sales.”
Wyn says he has previously sold cattle to other local farmers at the Carlisle sale.