DAY two of the Hamilton and Western District Sheep Show at the Sheepvention Rural Expo presented a grand opportunity to showcase the feature breed of the show, Poll Dorset.

There were plenty of classes to highlight the finest qualities and attributes of the feature breed.

The Sheepvention committee brought in a judge from York, Western Australia - Poll Dorset breeder, Laurie Fairclough. Assistant judge was commercial sheep breeder, Annie Tischler from Tarraleah near Edenhope.

Mr Fairclough is a fifth-generation sheep farmer and cropper who founded his Stockdale Poll Dorset Stud in 1987 and then diversified into White Suffolks in 2003, providing high quality stud and commercial rams.

“I am very honoured to be invited by the Sheepvention committee to come across to Western Victoria,” he said.

“It’s my first time and I am going to have a look around for a couple of weeks – visit a few studs and catch up with some people.

“Poll Dorsets are early maturing, and they suit our farming practice – they suit the climate in Western Australia.

“There is certainly a lot of Poll Dorset breeders in Western Victoria as well, and they do very well.

“They are a great meat breeding sheep, they are early maturing and have very good carcase.

“It’s what commercial breeders want.

“The quicker you can get the lambs off the mother, it gives the mother a chance to get a score of fat up to 3.5 and able to be put with rams again.

“Most of the lambs go as suckers where we are, we don’t shear them – the wool isn’t really that beneficial but the tighter the pelt the better it is.”

For the one-and-a-half-year-old rams, judge Fairclough was impressed with the first six April bare shorn line up of rams.

A stud ram from Konongwootong Dorsets, operated by Alistair and Jessica Sutherland, was selected as the winner.

“Presentation was top line,” judge Fairclough said.

“He had a great masculine head, there was plenty of meat on the back and he paraded very well.”

The next class of rams for judging were under one and a half, the April trimmed class, with judge Fairclough again declaring there was a line-up of six fantastic rams.

First place went to Tim Ferguson of Mallee Park at Hopetoun.

“There was nothing between first and second place,” judge Fairclough said.

“First place had a fraction more length and meat across the loin.

“He presented himself very well.

“He was a great representation of the Poll Dorset breed.”

In the Open bare shorn rams under one and a half years, born on or after May 1, Alistair and Jessica Sutherland’s Konongwootong stud won first place.

“First place was a very correct ram with heaps of length and great loin,” judge Fairclough said.

“He had good neck extension with true Poll Dorset characteristics.”

For the Pair of Rams class, first place again went to Konongwootong, with judge Fairclough awarding placing on evenness.

“Second place was slightly heavier in the shoulders which was the only difference,” he said.

Next came the Senior Champion Poll Dorset Ram with first place going to Konongwootong and the Reserve Champion going to Mallee Park.

“The Champion was a very correct ram with all the attributes of a true Poll Dorset ram,” judge Fairclough said.

“He stands up well, has a great top line, a really good Poll Dorset head with heaps of meat and very good loin.

“I’m sure he can produce some fantastic rams.

“The Reserve Champion was a very nice ram, but not quite the same length as the champion.

“I’m sure they’ll both do the studs a lot of good in the future with credit going to the breeders.”