JUDGING OF SHEEP IN RING FAVOURED

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33815, 11 April 1975, Page 7

JUDGING OF SHEEP IN RING FAVOURED

Some of the judging of the Corriedale sheep at the next Canterbury show may be done in a ring instead of in pens. This was indicated at the annual meeting of the Corriedale Sheep Society at Lincoln College this week.

Mr D. L. Ensor, a former president of the society who judged Corriedales in the ring at an international show in Punta Arenas in Chile in February, spoke in favour of ring judging. Mr Ensor spoke after Mr A. F. G. Blakely had said that there was some talk of a selling ring being available at the show grounds at Christchurch and of some judging being done there. It Was possibly a little premature to say too much about ring judging, Mr Ensor said.

But from his experience, he said ring judging was an ideal way to judge. It was easier, quicker and the judge was liable to make no more mistakes.

It might be possible to do some ring judging at the next show, he said, but it was useless to try it unless there were the proper facilities.

In Chile he said that they did a quite interesting thing in association with judging. They had a reception committee that inspected every sheep that was brought into the show. They were “vetted" for such things as brown hair down the back of the legs, teeth and horns. It meant that the judge could get on with the -judging of the “essential” sheep. But he said he would be dubious

about setting up any such committee in the local situation. He said that three categories of sheep came forward at the show in Chile and he believed that the inspection committee had been established because non-pedigree sheep were coming forward. Asked how he had got on with a large class of 30 or 40 sheep. Mr Ensor said that he had had one class of about 30 sheep. They were brought in half at a time. They had been walked around the ring, but he would not suggest that they be led here — rather that they should be held. He had taken the best seven out of each group and reviewed these in a third ring group. Mr Ensor said that he had judged the whole class in about 60 per cent of the time that would have been taken had the sheep been presented in pens. He said that he had eliminated about a third before they had stopped walking. Another former president of the society, Mr J. F. G. Blakely, said that when he had judged in Melbourne, sheep had been held in front of. him and he would support the concept of sheep being held for judging. Mr Ensor said later that, the show he had judged at in Punta Arenas was conducted by the Chilean Corriedale Society. The sheep were - all Corriedales from Chile and the Argentine but there were also Hereford. Shorthorn and black Galloway cattle. He had been invited to judge the Corriedales at this show, he said. Some 250 Corriedales had been entered, with the pedigree sheep only being judged in the ring. There were up to about 100 of these. The judging had occupied two full davs. The best of the Corriedales were good sheep and would have been good sheen anywhere, be said. They would have compared well with good sheep in New Zealand, but on the other hand there were quite a number of sheep that would not find favour in New Zealand in this day and age because thev were far too muffled with wool about the head.

Th? sheep ■ were also brought forward in varying degrees of preparation for a show. Some had spent all their lives in a ram shed and others had not seen

anything else but native pampas.

Mr Ensor took with him two silver salvers from the New Zealand Corriedale Sheep Society for competition there. He said it had been found that the New Zealand embassy in Chile was also giving a trophy and this was awarded to the grand champion Corriedale ram. It was decided in consultation with the Chilean society that one of the salvers be given for the best Chilean ram and one for the champion ewe. It happened, he said, that the grand champion ram did come from Chile. Mr Ensor . has a sister living in Santiago and a nephew. Mr Hugh McLeay, farms on an island in the far south of the country in the province of Magallanes.