AFTER a big day of judging, the Ferguson family, Mallee Park Poll Dorset stud, Hopetoun, won supreme champion Poll Dorset exhibit, with their senior champion ewe.
Marianne, Tim and Jacey Ferguson were all ecstatic that the 15 month-old ewe took out the title.
“She’s a big framed ewe, is very correct, and has a very soft, Poll Dorset-typed head,” Ms Ferguson said.
“She’s definitely loved, she’s a great ewe.”
She said they would retain the ewe, who would go on to be a breeding ewe in the stud.
“We’ll also take her to the Australasian Dorset Championship in Bendigo coming up, and also the Melbourne Show, so hopefully she does well there too,” she said.
James Frost, Hillden Poll Dorset stud, Bannister, NSW, judged the Poll Dorsets, and said the ewe fit the type of Poll Dorset that he was looking for.
“She’s just a really feminine ewe, she’s very correct, and she’s going to be a really good ewe to breed from in the future,” Mr Frost said.
He said the grand champion ram, from Gooramma Poll Dorset stud, Galong, NSW, was another stand-out.
“He’s just a really good Dorset type ram, with a heap of meat, and is very structurally correct,” he said.
He said the ewe was a stand out from the start.
“It was a pretty obvious choice, the ewe stood out right from her first class,” he said.
“They’re both the right Dorset type that I’m looking for, they’re soft, easy doing, structurally correct, with good meat cover.”
Gooramma stud co-principal James Corcoran (junior) said it was an unexpected win.
“We came down to have a look around, and we were lucky enough to get away with the win,” Mr Corcoran said.
“We place a strong emphasis on commercial traits, and he had beautiful muscling, maturity and growth, and was very structurally sound.”