The recent Orange Show attracted a good turnout of stock across the meat sheep and beef cattle judging.
A super classy ewe which had retained her smoothness of body, while showing great volume and muscling – and on the point of lambing – cleaned up the interbreed meat sheep judging.
From the Good family’s Bowen stud at Millthorpe, the ewe beat the interbreed champion ram, a Poll Dorset from Montray stud, Perthville near Bathurst, under judges, Peter Matus, Tara stud, Rockley, and Dean Rowley, Springwaters stud, Boorowa.
The combined response from the judges as to why the ewe beat the ram for supreme was how it caught their eye the moment it walked out, along with its “beautiful balance and structure”.
They said the ram, while a meaty, smooth package himself, wasn’t as smooth as the older ewe, and as a rule of thumb, smoothness isn’t something that improves with age, hence the ewe’s victory.
The Poll Dorsets, meanwhile, won the best group for their evenness across the three.
The prime lamb competition was won by the Mckay family from Clergate for the second year running.
This included the best individual prime lamb, which was part of the champion pen of prime lambs, bred by Ray and Carol Mckay, “Yurunga”, Clergate, by Ashburnia White Suffolk rams and raised on natural pasture.
Ashburnia stud, Four Mile Creek near Orange, won champion White Suffolk ram with a milk-tooth, April-drop entry by Baringa 142/13.
In the beef, a red Shorthorn heifer, Kilkee G04 Watermaid M17, by Kilkee Tsunami G04, shone throughout the day as a “very complete” heifer for judge, Marie Barnes, Cudal, a Shorthorn breeder herself, and kept shining among the interbreed line-up to be awarded best interbreed female and then best beef exhibit.
“There was absolutely no holes in her – she was all quality,” Ms Barnes said. “She travelled extremely well, she had capacity, depth, femininity, balance, just everything you look for in a young female.”
The best beef bull, Hollywood Kildare K87, by Hollywood Hubba Bubba, which pipped by the Shorthorn heifer for best beef exhibit, was from the Infinity Angus herd at Parkes.
“I loved his smoothness, his length and correctness, he travelled exceptionally well and was very structurally sound,” Ms Barnes said, of the Hollywood Hubba Bubba son. Hubba Bubba made $11,000 when sold through the 2014 Sydney Royal Show Angus sale.
The best beef breeder’s group was won by BT Brahmans, Dubbo.
In the Stock Horse judging, the champion working Stock Horse was awarded to Yarranoo Twilight, ridden by Steve Davage, Temora, and reserve went to Braeview Grace, ridden by Cassie McCarroll, Mudgee, under judge Sharyn McKell, Sydney.