Winning Australian Sheep & Wool Show Lincoln breeder admits to having "rocks in her head" when it comes to the breed

"Rocks in my head, shear pig headedness, I think," Ms Raven said.

"It's a challenge to keep improving them, I knew I had to improve to get to this point.

"I don't want to let them go, I don't want us to lose our Lincoln population, I am very keen to keep them here."

It was the first time Allaray had won the Most Successful Exhibitor title at the Australian Sheep & Wool Show, Bendigo.

She took out the champion ewe ribbon, with the 1.5-2.5 year old class winner.

"I think the judge was very impressed by the carcase quality, which I have been working on over the last few years, and the quality of wool," Ms Raven said.

"I've been working really hard to get different genetics into the flock

"It's really hard, with a small number of Lincolns, to keep that genetic balance.

"I am so proud to have done that - it makes all the years of hard work worthwhile."

Flock bloodlines included genetics from Esdale, Yarrawonga, and Garvald, Byaduk.

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Ballarat Grammar took out the champion ram ribbon, with an over 2.5-year-old class winner.

Judge, Brenton Heazelwood, Launceston, Tasmania, said the champion ram was "well balanced.

"With the Lincoln you have to have a good carcase and good wool and that's what the ram gave us, that well-balanced, good structure," Mr Heazelwood said.

"There are not many breeders, there is not much competition, so to bring out a heritage breed is not an easy job."

He said all the studs brought out well-bred and presented sheep and it was good to see the three exhibitors.

Ballarat Grammar Agricultural Show Co-ordinator Caitlin Grieve, said the school had only been running Lincolns for the past three to four years.

Ms Grieve said the show team was initially running Corriedales.

"I think the motivation was to focus on a heritage breed, as well as a fairly common Corriedale, and just to compare, because they are both dual purpose but vastly different," Ms Grieve said.

The school had focussed more on "pampering" the sheep this year.

"I went up to Holbrook where they had quite a few Lincoln exhibitors, and I was getting all their ideas so we put a really focussed effort into them," she said.

"It's a good breed and one a lot of them (the students) won't have encountered, even if they have been around sheep," she said.

"They won't have looked at the characteristics of that breed - the judge asked how many had read the flock book and the requirements and none of them had."

The school started its breeding program with genetics from John Beattie's Esdale stud, Yarrawonga.