HAMPSHIRE Down stalwart John Cordukes was pleased with the outcome in the ram section, as his Wollondale stud ram over 1 years class-winner was awarded grand champion of the feature breed at the 2018 Sydney Royal Show.
This was the last show for Wollondale stud, Towrang, as the flock has been sold to Tom Bull, Lambpro, Holbrook.
The grand champion ram was sired by Wollondale 6610, the 2013-drop which has won multiple championships, including being a member of the winning interbreed group at Royal Geelong show, Victoria, in 2014 before becoming a stud sire.
This sire went on to breed the winning interbreed group at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show, Bendigo, Vic, in 2017 and the supreme interbreed prime lamb sire the same year.
Reserve grand champion ram came from Helen Ravens Jurambulla stud, Henty, and as an eight month-old, had won the milk teeth shorn ram class.
Jurambulla stud was established in 2002 on Burrandool and Marananga bloodlines and closed the stud in 2012.
The show attracted 19 rams and 30 ewes from six studs, three from NSW and three from Victoria.
A grand and reserve championship double in the ewe section for Kane Hildred and Bridget Leahy who conduct the Boonong Park stud at Langwarrin, Vic, had their woolly ewe over one year awarded the grand broad ribbon while their woolly over two years class-winner took reserve.
The couple met while studying at Elizabeth Murdoch College, Langwarrin, and established their stud on Johnos ewes and a Ramsey Park ram in 2011. They also run their Monton Corriedale stud established in 2014 and exhibited sheep at Sydney on the same day.
They showed five Hampshire Downs and three Corriedales at Sydney and had won champion interbreed woolly ewe at Berwick show, Vic, earlier this year with the Sydney grand champion ewe.
Feature breed judge, Rod Summers, Marananga stud, Evandale, Tasmania, said the younger ewe was a clear winner.
This ewe would be very hard to fault, he said.
Of the reserve ewe Mr Summers said it didnt have quite the style of the champion but did have the carcase.
Pair of rams over one year class was won by the Aurora Park, stud, St Helens Plains, Vic, while Wollondale stud won the pair of ewes. The Jurambulla group of three was selected to represent the breed in the Peter Taylor Interbreed Group class.
Mr Summers said he was honoured to judge the Hampshire Downs breed at what could possibly be the last showing of the breed at Sydney Royal.
Id say this was one of the best representation of the Hampshire Downs breed at a Sydney Royal and a credit to all exhibitors, Mr Summers said. The grand champion ram was hard to beat as he has won many prizes in the past couple of years and hes a very good sheep.
The grand and reserve champion ewes are from Victoria and very, very good sheep. The grand champion is among the tops of the breed in my opinion.
