Judges strict on downgrading over-fat sheep

Press, 10 November 1983, Page 24

Judges strict on downgrading over-fat sheep

Fat was a dirty word with judges and most competitors in the sheep classes of the Canterbury Show yesterday. All judges in their comments referred at some stage to the undesirability of fat in modern stud and commercial sheep, and indicate; that they had disregarded over-fat sheep in making their selections. Corriedale The three guest judges of the Corriedale Premier Golden Ribbon Award for a young shorn -ram were unanimous, in disregarding any which were over fat, said one of the judges, Mr David Wyllie, of Ashburton. Mr Wyllie is a wellknown Southdown breeder. “Coming from a breed which has been a scape- . goat for the ‘over-fat problem,’ I must say that the Corriedales are not immune from this problem,” he said when giving his reasons for placings. “There were rams here today which were over fat,” he said. Placed first in this award was a young ram from Mr John Sidey, of Cheviot. .• “This ram was 15 to 20 per cent better than the rest of the line-up,” said Mr Wyllie. ; “He was a really good Corriedale, well-balanced and up off the ground. He had a very good head from both the stud and commercial breeders’ point-of-view.” Second in this class was another ram from Mr John Sidey, and third a ram from Mr David Sidey, of Hawarden. - ... The judge of the San Pedro Trophy for Corriedales, Mr R. M. Thomson, of Culverden, said that the winning ;ram, bred by Messrs W. D. and A; C. Powers, of Hawarden, was’ a good bold sheep with excellent head colour and good carriage and walk. Arthur Blakely, of

Waikari, a well-known Corriedale breeder, judged the A classes, for woolly and shorn rams. He said that the winner of the older woolly ram class was an outstanding woolled animal, which was also . reserve champion ram ' and won the Killik Aike Trophy. This ram. from the Coldstream Estate, of Ashburton, was first in a very good class containing a lot of solid sheep with good heavy . wool, said Mr Blakely. In the younger, fourtooth class the winner was bred by Mr B. J. Johns, of Culverden, and this ram also was the champion. Mr Blakely commented that the ram was exceptionally. well balanced with a good head and ears. His better body structure was the reason why. he took the championship from the older Coldstream ram, although the older ram was better woolled. The shorn four-tooth winner was a big, beautiful ram with a soft head and ears, said Mr Blakely, and the winning aged shorn ram, from Mr David Sidey, was a quality, ram carrying his age very well. The judge of the Corriedale B classes, Mr N. W. Briggs, of Pleasant Point, said the top sheep were of very good quality although there were a few faults showing among the sheep in the minor placings. These faults were mainly in walking ability and shoulder setting. Over-all there were some very good woolled sheep, said Mr Briggs. The entries in the class for a pair of ram hoggets were well matched in most cases and the standard was fairly even. The woolly ram hoggets were top sheep, the standard of the shorn ewe hoggets was at a reasonable level, and the top woolly ; ewe hogget was a good moving animal. ’ The judge of the Corrie- •

dale C classes, Mr J. K. Forrester, of Hawarden, said the champion ewe, also the winner of the woolly four-tooth ewe class, was a top, robust ewe which .walked and paraded well. It had a good fleece, twin lambs and was a credit to herself and her breeder, said Mr Forrester.

The winner of the aged ewe class was, also a good ewe, with a good walk and particularly good lambs. Halfbred Considerable changes had occurred in the Halfbred sheep presented for showing in the last 10 years, said the judge, Mr Neville Court, of West Eyreton. The rams carried a lot more of the sire’s fleece characteristics than they did when he. last judged Halfbreds at the Canterbury Show, a decade ago, he said. Numbers of sheep entered this year were not great but quality was very good, particularly in the wool. The ewes were light in numbers and an outstanding feature was that all had twin lambs. As a class most were adequate show sheep. The champion ram, entered by the past president of the Canterbury A. and P. Association, Mr K. D. Stevenson, had an outstanding fleece, said Mr Court. Romney The single ram hogget winner in the Romney ram section was an exceptional sheep, said the judge, Mr B. J.. Southey, of Opaki. One or two of the ram hoggets would be “in the money” at any show in New Zealand, he said. Over-ail the standard of Romney rams was very high, confirming Canterbury a» a province with good quality sheep of this

breed.. The champion ram was a woolly ram which was a big upstanding sheep and showed an emphasis on wool which reflected the value of clip to the Romney producer.

North Island and South Island Romney breeders were heading in the same direction, said Mr Southey, which was to breed taller sheep with good even shoulders and a good fleece and weight. The aged Romney ewe classes were small but of a good, high standard, said the judge, Mr W. D. Mitchell, of Wyndham. The champion and reserve champion were both aged ewes. The younger ewe classes were also strong and a winner hard to pick. The standard ■ was high, with many high stretchy sheep which had been well presented. The standard in Canterbury was right up with that in other parts of the country. “Most ewes carried really good lambs, especially the twins on the champion,” Mr Mitchell said. English Leicester The English Leicester sheep on show were benefiting from the good season in the South Island, said the judge, Mr lan McKelvie, of Palmerston North. The turnout was very good for a numerically smaller breed, he said. The movement towards leaner sheep was the most notable feature of English Leicester breeding and the excellent season in Canterbury had produced show sheep which had almost too much condition, Mr McKelvie said. The champion ram was a big, upstanding fellow without much fat. The ram hogget sections were notable for the variety of sheep presented, most of which were good in thenown right, making tion of winners difficult.

Apart from the trend towards less fat, Mr McKelvie had noticed a slightly bigger variation in wool types, which was not a good thing. This was especially so in the South Island, where wool type was most important. Border Leicester The mature Border Leicester rams were very good and right up to the best standard expected from Canterbury, the region in New Zealand containing the best of this breed, according to the judge, Mr R. J. Harper, of Frankton;; ; . Amongst the older rams wool was excellent and all other characteristics were tdp class, he said; Amongst the younger ’rams the top sheep were up to standard but a lot “were not grown out” and “disappointing,” Mr Harper said. Border Leicester breeders had reduced the fat content on the shoulders and were breeding longer, leaner sheep, said the judge of the Border Leicester ewes, Mr David Kennedy, Bayswater, Southland. \ The over-all standard of the ewes was excellent and the champion, shown by Mr N. W. Scott, Ashburton, had long, fine shoulders and a strong fleece, said Mr Kennedy. The reserve champion, an 18-month woolly hogget from Westmere Fanning Company, Ahburton, was an exceptional hogget with size, length and an excellent fleece and would probably,win its class at any show in New Zealand. The standard of the shorn ewe hoggets was very even, with little between the ’ top 10 sheep. The 18 tb 30-month ewes were of good quality, but the old ewes were not quite up to the best New Zealand standard.

Lincoln Interest in Lincoln sheep and the quality of the sheep being shown had increased significantly during the last few years, said the judge, Mr J. Inkson, of Omihi. Canterbury breeders and exhibitors of this breed were an enthusiastic group who presented their sheep very well, he said. When he last judged the Lincolns, four or five years ago, sheep from only one breeder had been entered and this year there were sheep from six. This was in spite of the absence of a well-known Marlborough breeder, Mr H. E. Williams, Who is still recovering after two floods this year. The champion Lincoln ram had beautiful wool which could not be faulted, said Mr Inkson, and he was pleased to see that breeders were now turning their attention to carcase characteristics as well as wool. Hampshire Hampshire breeders had [presented a “tremendous ine-up” of sheep which were in the direct line of sheep wanted for the fat lamb industry, said the judge, Mrs R. Phillips, of Hastings. What was needed these days was lean well-mus-cled quality carcases she said.

Mrs Phillips said her approach to judging was to select the sheep she would most like to take home for her flock and she would certainly like to have taken away the winners yesterday. “I feel we are heading in the right direction as a breed with the winning sheep at this show,” she said.

When judging the ewes she paid plenty of attention to the lambs at foot The winning ewes were beautiful feminize types which were

good breeders, she said. South Suffolk The South Suffolk rams were out in force and were of an exceptionally high standard, according to the judge, Mr E. A. Benner, of Feilding. The prize-winning rams were of a standard expected for an export lamb sire breed with the winning hogget ram in particular an outstanding example of the type which the breed wanted. South Suffolk ewe classes were very strong with entries up to a very high standard, said . the judge, Mr G. A. Linklater, of Gore. During the last five years most breeders had worked towards leaner sheep, without fat, and the older ewes which were shown yesterday were very good results of this movement. A lot had twin lambs at foot but were still show sheep in top condition, Mr Linklater said. Suffolk The champion Suffolk ram was an outstanding animal, high, long and lean, said the ram judge, Mr R. L. Chywoweth, of Huntly. , This ram won first prize last year at the Royal Show in the Super Suffolk hogget class and had continued to grow well, doing what was expected of him, he said. The hoggets this year were strong numerically and the first placed ram . was a very good specimen of the breed and was also reserve champion.

“Over all it was an excellent display. and equal to any I have seen,” Mr Chywoweth said. The ewe judge, Mr R. Aitchison, of Palmerston North, said the ewe hogget line was a good one and the champion ewe was a fine example of what the breed was heading fs*.

Dorset Down The market dictated the characteristics in the Dorset Down rams upon which show judging should be based, according to the ram judge, Mr A. J. Williams, of Masterton. He summed up these characteristics- as length, leg and leanness. Some of the rams, although well prepared, tended to be over-fat, he said, and breeders were going to have to realise this and change their attitudes toward show animals.

He gave the breed championship to the champion ewe, a very sound two-tooth. The champion ram was fractionally fatter around the tail, he said.

South Dorset Down

The over-all standard of ■ the South Dorset Down entries was impressive, said the judge, Mr C. J. Wall, of Palmerston ■ North.

He was pleased to see that the breed was moving away from over-condi-tioned sheep. This was very important for’ the changes ahead of the sheep industry in grading and overseas market requirements. However, lean meat and muscle must not be sacrificed in the drive towards leaner sheep, he said, because more and more export lambs and ewes were going to be processed. Above all he was looking for bold, alert sheep which moved freely and conformed to the leanness requirement, Mr Wall said.

The ram hogget class was very strong and the winner was a perfectly balanced sheep with no waste. Amongst the younger shorn ewes were some very impressive animals, he said, and this was the class of the day for

uim. “It augurs well for the breed when we see hoggets such as these coming on,”’said Mr Wall. Poll Dorset Many of the ram hoggets in the Poll Dorset section had terrific potential for stud sires, said the ram judge, Mr lan McCall, of Winton. The ram hoggets had excellent length and shoulders of a high standard and it had been difficult deciding between the top placings, he said. Some very good sheep were not even placed, and the top hogget had won because of its size and general appearance.

Mr McCall, who runs 290 stud Poll Dorset ewes, said it was the first time he had judged out of Southland, and described the over-all standard as outstanding. The champion ram entered by S. M. Boon and Son, Dunsandel, had nice shoulders, and a combination of good length and hindquarters, said Mr McCall. All the placegetters in the aged ram section were grand sheep. The line-up of ewes in the Poll Dorset section was much improved on the standard of a few years ago, said the judge, Mr D. A. Booker, of Blenheim.

Mr Booker has judged at the Canterbury show on two previous occasions and said the ewes this year were bigger, longer and were presented very well. The ewes were of as good a standard as anywhere in New Zealand.

The champion shorn ewe, shown by Mr A. M. Mcllraith, Lakeside, had two very good lambs and was long and clean. A lot of the other ewes could have won the ribbon. A feature of the Poll Dorset ewe section was the big number of ewes mothering I twin lambs. Good mothering and milking abil-

ity were attributes of the breed. Borderdale The borderdale breed celebrated its first showing at Christchurch with a very good display over-all, said the judge Dr D. S. Hart, of Christchurch. The older rams were good considering that the breed was in the throes of becoming established and realistically a high degree of uniformity could not be expected, Dr Hart said. The’top ram was a very good sheep, very close to the concept of the true Borderdale. The ram hoggets showed a high degree of uniformity, resulting in strong classes which were hard to separate. A feature of the ewe classes was that every entrant had twins and the lambs were mainly wellgrown. The margin between the champion and reserve champion was very small and it was a pity they could not be bracketted equal first, Dr Hart said. Southdown The champion ewe and ram in the Southdown section were outstanding and embodied everything that breeders were trying tb do with the breed, said the judge, Mr J. D. W. Hughes, of Waverley. “These two sheep picked themselves,” he said. “They showed just how far Southdowns have got in developing muscling, with no over-fat problem at all. Their progeny will get to the right weights without any grading problems.” The hogget ram class was a large one with an excellent standard overall. Most were in the modern style of big long sheep with no waste. ;