‘Taken aback’ by supreme sheep award

A two-tooth ewe, bred by Whitestone Genetics, was named supreme champion sheep at the Tokomairiro A&P Show last month.

Owner Owen Booth, of Milton, was "taken aback" by the win.

The ewe, a mix of Wiltshire and Shire breeds, was up against a Suffolk ram for the title.

"She’s a good ewe, but I wasn’t expecting it," Mr Booth said.

He believed it was the first time a shedding sheep breed had won a supreme champion title at an A&P show in New Zealand.

Rising popularity in shedding sheep was increasing the number being entered in competitions.

Of the 60 sheep entered in the Tokomairiro show, about half were shedding breeds, he said.

The ewe was sired by a Wiltshire ram, which he bought from Andrew Heard, of Waitohi Peaks, in North Canterbury, in 2024.

Judges told Mr Booth his ewe won because she was very correct and they also commented on the amount of meat on her hindquarters.

He had introduced shedding Texel genetics to his breeding programme for the past two seasons to increase the amount of meat his sheep carried on the back-end.

"The back-end is the money end," he said.

shawn.mcavinue@alliedmedia.co.nz