Cranbrook claims grand champion ram at Dorset championships

Held at Cowra last Friday and Saturday, 18 studs took to the ring with Cranbrook 42-23 awarded the senior champion ram before going on to claim grand.

Philip Balcombe, Cranbrook, said the ram had good growth for age and was a very correct ram with good temperament.

"He's got a very strong Poll Dorset head on him," Joanna Balcombe said.

Sired by Tattykeel 1061-18, the ram won grand champion off the back of being awarded interbreed champion at Bathurst Show earlier this year.

The Balcombe family run about 140 stud ewes and sell about 60 rams a year, with the grand champion to be on offer this year.

Judge Wallace Binnie, Bungeet, Victoria, said the junior, intermediate and senior champion rams were all outstanding exhibits.

"I was particularly drawn to the junior champion but when I placed him beside the senior champion the thickness of carcass of the senior ram was too much to overlook to give the junior champion the benefit that he would develop to that extent," he said.

"He was a very heavy ram that had very few faults."

Reserve senior champion ram went to Rene stud, Culcairn, for Rene 395.23, sired by Valley Vista 155.21 and out of Rene 973.18.

Abelene Park, Woolomin, took a clean sweep of the intermediate and junior ram classes, claiming champion and reserve for both.

The intermediate champion was Abelene Park 43-23, sired by Tattykeel 155-21 while reserve was Abelene Park 60-23, sired by Tex AP 83-21.

Marshall Douglas, Abelene Park, said the intermediate champion was well-muscled.

The junior champion was Abelene Park 210.23 and reserve was Abelene Park 91.23, both sired by Tattykeel 155-21.

Mr Douglas said the junior champion had a really good outlook.

"His carcase shape, he's structurally really correct and a clean face which is important to us," he said.

Judge Mr Binnie said it was like splitting hairs between the two junior rams but the champion was hard to go past.

Mr Douglas said he judged at the Dorset Championships with his father in 1991 and had been coming almost every year since.

"We just see it as a great opportunity to get our sheep out and benchmark them against some of the best in NSW," he said.

The Douglas' run about 200 Dorset stud ewes and Mr Douglas said they cull heavily, being strict on structural traits.

Abelene Park was also awarded the most successful exhibitor and the highest strike rate award.

Cranbrook won the overall Stockscan performance ram, while the Central West NSW region award for highest placed ram lamb went to Mt Bathurst, Poll Dorset stud, Black Springs.

Cranbrook had further success in the group classes taking out NSW pair of the year.

Rene stud won the group of two rams and one ewe, as well as the group of three rams.

Finley High School claimed the sires progeny group.

In the Dorset Horn classes long-time exhibitor Kei-Vale Dorset Horns stud, Boorowa, won the champion and reserve for the ewes and rams.