Royal Launceston Show: On for young and old
VETERANS and youngsters alike competed with gusto at last week’s Royal Launceston Show. KAROLIN MACGREGOR reports.
NUMBERS were down a little but quality definitely was not in the sheep and cattle sections of last week’s Royal Launceston Show.
The interbreed sheep classes saw strong lines ups in all classes on Thursday.
In the champion interbreed ewe class Brett Stokes’s Noblelee Suffolk stud continued its winning streak.
It has been a highly successful year in the show ring for Mr Stokes, who recently won the champion interbreed ram title at the Royal Adelaide Show.
Mr Stokes said his winning ewe was bred using semen he kept from one of his previously successful rams called Ace.
Judge Brenton Heazlewood said the winning ewe stood out straight away.
“She’s a very big-framed ewe and she’s very correct.
“She’s got plenty of muscle and a leg at each corner where you want them,” he said.
In the champion interbreed ram class, the Badcock family’s Fairbank stud made it two in a row when they took out the title with a Southdown ram. They won last year’s ram title with another Southdown.
It was a unanimous decision from all three judges, who said with exceptional length and great hindquarters, there was not much to fault with the ram.
Chris Badcock said the ram was sired by one of their home- bred Southdowns.
He will be part of the Fairbank team heading to the breed’s national show at Geelong this week and will be offered for sale at an on-property auction on November 9.
On Friday winners from all cattle breeds got to strut their stuff in interbreed classes before judges Sam Martin from NSW, Steven Bronson from Victoria and local judge Judy Fry from Forest.
A solid line-up in the champion interbreed junior female class provided the judges a tough job.
In the end the Woodiwiss family’s Royston JT Rosary was named the winner and the 12-month-old heifer earned high praise from Mr Martin.
“I admire the cleanliness of front on this heifer and she’s also carrying a lot of muscle.”
Reserve champion went to the Jones family’s Limousin Badger View Matilda, who won the supreme champion exhibit at the Burnie Show.
There was a smaller but good line-up in the interbreed senior female class. A cow from the Hazlewood family’s Platinum Angus stud, three-year-old Platinum Angus Fleur Ru, was shown with her calf at foot and Mr Bronson said she was hard to beat.
“We need to appreciate what this cow brings to the ring,” he said, adding exceptional frame and length combined with functionality made her a clear winner.
The cow went on to be sashed grand champion female and took home the supreme beef exhibit award.
Reserve champion went to a cow from the Damlee Simmental stud.
In the champion interbreed junior bull class an Angus from the Hall family’s Quarterway stud took the win and 18- month-old Quarterway Miles also went on to win the grand champion interbreed bull title.
Mr Martin said there was plenty to like about the bull and his tremendous length and muscling combined with softness got him over the line.
In the senior bull class a Red Angus from the Bowach stud at Bangor proved the one to beat. Two-year-old Goondoola Linedance is owned by Daniel Imlach and Jamie Rainbow.
Mr Bronson said the bull’s length of body and the fact he moved so freely around the ring made him a clear winner.
On Saturday the focus turned to the junior handler competition with about 45 participants providing some tough decisions for Mr Martin.
Senior winner Demi Bird, 17, from Sheffield, took the champion handler title. She earned her first Launceston win with a heifer from Badger View Limousin stud and secured a place in the state final at Stanley on December 9.
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