ROYAL MELBOURNE SHOW: Supreme Corriedale takes home interbreed top gong

The principal of Sweetfield Corriedale stud at Mt Moriac took home four of the broad ribbons from the all-breeds judging, including supreme exhibit of the show.

It was Sweetfield's first interbreed supreme ribbon at a royal show, and the first time in a long while a Corriedale went home with the award.

The supreme exhibit was Sweetfield Bud, an under 1.5-year-old March-shorn ram that was sashed champion ram and supreme in its own breed judging.

Ms Ellis said this was the first championship the ram had won, but it had been her pick of this year's show team all year.

The ram was by Croydon 33-14, a ram which sired most of the Sweetfield show team, including the interbreed sires progeny group which the stud also won.

"He has thrown me exceptionally good carcase sheep, while keeping the beautiful soft, lustrous wool, which is what he has right through," Ms Ellis said.

"And he's got a ripper of a carcase, in Stockscan he was a 51 (square centimetre) eye muscle, which is really good for a Corriedale.

"He is covered from head to toe [in wool], he's got the open face and white muzzle, a beautiful fleece from the shoulder to the hip, and it is even over the back and right through."

Six judges adjudicated the interbreed competition, one being Nick Cole from Camperdown, who placed the Corriedale on the top in the ram judging.

"I am looking for a carcase, but when I am looking at the dual purpose ones I am looking for wool coverage as well, and that Corriedale had a very even fleece across the board which gives us a handy money spinner," Mr Cole said.

"Wool can be a very important part of income if we can get the doona market happening, which is one of the most specialised markets in the world for wool, unfortunately companies just won't pay the money for it at the moment for [producers] to get a bonus out of that."

READ MORE: Sweetfield ram is supreme Corriedale

Mr Cole runs a family property of 3500 ewes and has three studs, as well as being a professional wool classer.

Also judging was Wrattenbullie stud's Rod Davies from Naracoorte, South Australia, and he placed the Poll Dorset ram on top, which was sashed reserve interbreed ram.

The Poll Dorset ram was exhibited by the Ferguson family of Mallee Park at Hopetoun, and was also sashed supreme in its breed judging.

Mallee Park 'Goose' 36-18 was previously supreme interbreed ram at Sheepvention in Hamilton in August.

"I just think he's a tremendous sheep he's got great length, he's got good neck extension, he's got good bone and a tremendous carcass," Mr Davies said.

"I think he's a tremendous sheep, he's got a good cover of wool on him, he stands very square, he's got good feet and a lovely head."

Fellow judge Nick Lawrence of Pinnacle Suffolk stud at Bordertown, also in SA, commented on the size of some of the under 1.5-year-old rams that were at 150 kilograms and heavier.

"We are trying to kill lambs at nowhere near that, and trying to get shearers to start shearing rams when they are 150kg plus when they are only 1.5-years-old, that came into my thinking," he said.

"For my way of thinking if a young ram is already at a mature weight he is going to head out to quite a massive weight and I think relevance these days you want them big early, but not necessarily as big as that later on."

Bud the Corriedale beat the supreme ewe exhibit from Allendale stud, Bordertown, SA, to the top title.

The ewe was 15-months-old, sired by Allendale 326-16 and had previously been supreme Poll Dorset at the Adelaide Royal Show.

Judge Brayden Gilmore of Baringa stud, Oberon, NSW, picked her as his champion interbreed ewe.

"I think she is an exceptional ewe, she's got beautiful topline, she's got beautiful breed type and is structurally very sound, she's just a very correct animal that is hard to fault," he said.

Mr Gilmore also picked the reserve champion in the right order, with that sash won by a Hampshire Down from Matthew Hill's Aurora Park at St Helens Plains.

"The balance in that ewe and the softness that is hard to come by," Mr Gilmore said of the Hampshire Down.

Another SA judge Peter Button, Minlaton, said he also selected the Poll Dorset in first place.

"The carcase on that ewe is magnificent...the meat in all those high end cuts, magnificent topline on that ewe, beautiful smooth through the shoulder, nice open, clean face and even with the carcase on that sheep still holds the femininity," he said.

The breeders group also went to Sweetfield stud, while Poll Dorsets shared the terminal production classes and Tintern Grammar won the maternal production class.