SHEEP

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29051, 13 November 1959, Page 11

SHEEP

Merino In the Merino section the Victorian judge, Mr F. A. Meagher, was most impressed with the medium combing sheep from which he selected both the grand champion ram and ewe. Mr Meagher, who runs 7000 Merinos on 5000 acres 32 miles south-west of Horsham, in some of Victoria’s best wool-producing country, said .that he had been more than surprised to find a section of such high over-all standard in this country. The champion ram of the section, which later went on to capture the grand championship, was from the estate of James Stevenson. Mr Meagher said that it was a sheep that would- have held its own in any show in Victoria. A really outstanding •specimen of the breed, it was big and bold with splendid conformation and head and covered with wool full of style and soft handle. A ram from the Stevenson estate was also runner-up to the champion in the medium combing section. This was another excellent sheep of splendid conformation and cover but lacking the finish of the champion, the judge said. A A Urquhart (Mount Somers) exhibited the ewe which Mr Meagher selected as medium combing champion and champion ewe of the breed. This sheep, which came from the class above 30 months with lamb at foot, reflected great credit to the breeder in the way that she was bred, prepared and presented, said the judge. A close contender lor top honours was the reserve title holder from the estate of James Stevenson, ' . * In the fine combing department Mr Meagher’s choice for ram champion was a sheep in the above 30 months class from Robert Jopp and Son (Alexandra). The champion ram was an excellently covered sheep with wool full of style and handle. Another of Robert Jopp and son’s rams also filled the reserve champion berth. , The ewe championship went to A. A. Urquhart with a ewe which Mr Meagher said was a worthy exhibit of her type. The reserve position was awarded to R. Steel (Waiau). , N. G. and R. H. Bruce sent forward the champion strong combing ram, which the judgej said was a massive sheep, strong in constitution with a densg covering of wool which coaler perhaps have carried a little more style. The reserve champion from Robert Jopp and Son was a useful sheep but lacking w the size and finish of the champion. Both the champion and reserve champion strong wool ewes were from J. R. Todhunter (Rakaia Gorge). The top ewe was a very good specimen of the breed, said Mr Meagher. She was big and bold with plenty of conformation and style in cover. The reserve was a sheep with p.mty of size And quite a good specimen of its Particular type. The class for a group of three r »ms apd two ewes was won by ■ team which included the grand champion ram, said Mr Meagher. This group carried balance and . *ored a well-deserved victory. «e other two teams in the class

were both exhibits of merit but lacked the balance of the winning team. Mr Meagher said, reviewing the Merino section as a whole, that he felt that his task had been made more difficult in that Merino sheep were run under a wide range of conditions in this country and thus presented different characteristics to a judge. However, having this in mind, the general standard of evenness whs much better than he had expected, and over-all the sheep had reflected great credit on exhibitors. The most noticeable weakness, he said, was the underline and bellies. Apart from the top sheep, Mr Meagher said, there was room for improvement in bellies, but he added that this weakness might be due to the conditions in which these sheep had to survive. Of the new Polled Merino section, Mr Meagher said that both entries were very good sheep of the Polled breed carrying true Merino wool of good style. Corriedale First-class selection by exhibitors for the James Reid Memorial Challenge Cup class was praised by the judges, Messrs F. K. Forrester (Hawarden), D. W. Ensor (Cheviot), G. E. Taylor (Ward) and Gordon Johnston (Geraldine). They said the overall standard was very high. The cup is given for a group class which consists of a oneshear or over ram in the wool, a shorn ram, a ram under 18 months in the wool, a ewe oneshear or over with lamb at foot, a shorn ewe and a ewe under 18 months in the wool. The award was won by D. S. Johns, of Culverden. Mr Forrester described the sheep as having outstanding wool and excellent carcases. They were an exceptionally fine pen of sheep. Mr Johns’s pen included the champion ewe, the first prizewinning ewe hogget and Meat and Wool Cup winner, which was a ram hogget.