SHEEP Merino

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28435, 15 November 1957, Page 17

SHEEP Merino

Sheep from Mr A. A. Urquhart (Mount Somers) won both the ram and ewe grand championships in the Merino section. The Australian judge, Mr Murray Thomas, said, after he made the awards yesterday, that the top-placed ram had been very closely attended by the strong com oing cnampion from Mr j. B. Laidlaw (Blenheim), which was conceding nearly three 1 months’ growth of wool. The Urquhart ram had, however, also been awarded a trophy for the ram with the best conformation of any animal in the show and it was the fact of its outstanding conformation that had probably carried the day for it in the grand championship. The grand champion was also carrying a magnificent even fleece of beautiful quality medium wool of outstanding colour and character. Both these characteristics of the sheep were particularly valuable in higher rainfall conditions such as were experienced in New Zealand. Mr Thomas said he would be making a recommendation that reserve grand titles should also be made at the show and if it had been made on this occasion it would have gone to the Laidlaw sheep, which was bred in South Australia by Mr M. S. Hawker. It was a really immense sheep with an enormous fleece, but he was not so well covered underneath and lacked the evenness of covering of the winner. The champion medium combing ewe from Mr Urquhart was selected for the grand champion honour with the reserve honour going to another of his sheep, whicn topped the strong combing section. Mr Thomas said that they were two beautiful typical top ewes but he understood that the grand champion had the advantage of several years in age over her stablemate. An interesting point about the placing was that both of the ewes were rearing lambs. He could not remember ever before having awarded the two top positions to ewes rearing lambs. It was quite a recom-

mendation of their soundness of constitution.

Reserve ram placing in .the strong combing section was awarded to Mr J. R. Todhunter, and Mr A. A. Urquhart exhibited the ewe reserve title winner.