Baringa backs up Bendigo success

This year the Oberon, NSW, stud gained the top gong with a White Suffolk ewe named Baringa Beyonce, and principal Ian Gilmore reckons she's the best they've ever bred.

"What we considered as the best White Suffolk ewe we had bred is the grandmother of this one, a 2018-drop, and this ewe is next level," Mr Gilmore said.

"We have never seen such tremendous fleshing in a White Suffolk ewe."

The champion ewe, supreme White Suffolk exhibit and eventual supreme exhibit of the show was by Baringa Magnum, a ram who the Gilmores sold a half share to Depta Grove stud, Jeparit, for $20,000 in 2017.

"She's out of a [Baringa] Optimum daughter; Optimum is a ram that we sold at this show privately for $16,000 in 2014," Brayden Gilmore, Baringa, said.

"She was champion White Suffolk ewe at the Sydney Royal this year, this is only her second show, and now she will go into an embryo transfer program later in the year."

There was a Tasmanian theme to the judges of the event, with judge Chris Badcock from Fairbank Sheep Stud and associate judge Molly Cornish of Cremorne White Suffolk stud both hailing from there.

Mr Badcock said the ewe's overall correctness and balance was what made her stand out, and there was nothing he would change about the ewe.

"She's very well put together, beautiful White Suffolk type, lot of length, great topline, really hard to fault," he said.

"The advantage of a ewe like that is she's got that versatility that she can be joined to any sire because she's already got that foundation of being correct and even and balanced.

"She's a ewe that you could use with a range of different rams to try and push it to the next level."

Baringa also exhibited the reserve junior champion White Suffolk ram, an August-drop Magnum son fresh from winning the junior pair competition at the Adelaide Royal the weekend prior, and were awarded most successful exhibitors.

That ram has been sold to Almondvale stud, Urana, NSW, privately for $10,000.

Champion White Suffolk ram came from the Kyle family's Ashley Park stud in Bairnsdale.

The late August-drop ram weighed 126.5 kilograms with an eye muscle of 48 millimetres and 8mm of fat.

Reagan Kyle said the ram was by a Kurralea sire, and the judge had seen that it was well muscled and balanced, with a good White Suffolk head.

Mr Badcock said he liked the champion ram's overall balance and correctness.

"He had very good hindquarter definition, he was only a young ram, so there is still a lot of potential there, he's not finished yet which I think is really exciting he still has more to go," he said.

"For a young ram he had early maturity, was already expressing that muscling and that correctness that I was looking for all day."

READ MORE: White Suffolk and Suffolk ram sale report

Rene stud, Culcairn, NSW, dominated the groups on the White Suffolk mat, winning all three - breeders group, group of three rams and sires progeny - having got both reserve senior and reserve junior champion ewe earlier in the day.

In the Suffolk judging, the places fell the other way, with champion ram being sashed supreme over the ewe.

Mr Badcock described the supreme Suffolk ram from Sayla Park stud at Kilmore as another young ram full of potential.

"I liked his overall style and presence, beautiful Suffolk head and neck extension," he said.

"He maintains that lovely topline as well as fleshing through the hindquarter, and obviously very correct and balanced.

"A smooth sheep that's only young so he's going to keep improving, we haven't seen the best of him yet."

The September 2018-drop ram weighed 112.5kg, with muscle depth of 50mm, muscle width of 99mm and a fat depth of 9mm.

It was purchased for $5000 by Banquet Suffolk stud at Mortlake during the event's sale on Sunday.

Sayla Park also won the sires progeny and pair of rams group classes.

Closeup's champion Suffolk ewe was "excellent on top and very correct", according to Mr Badcock.

"She was a bigger type of ewe, but she really maintained her correctness and has a lot of length, that extra length is what got her over the line," he said.

Charlotte Close, Closeup stud, Finley, NSW, said the ewe was by a Closeup-bred stud sire and would be kept in the stud.

The ewe had previously been sashed champion at the Royal Canberra Show, and was supreme interbreed exhibit at the Finley Show just last week.