Local results at Royal Sydney Easter Show

When it comes to dairy, the Goulburn Valley is at the top end of the competition.

Nowhere was this more obvious than in the Supreme Intermediate Champion Dairy Female category, with first place awarded to a Girgarre East Jersey, second to a Dingee Brown Swiss and third to a Congupna Holstein.

The supreme intermediate champion, known as Cairnbrea Casino Daisy, was shown by the Llandovery team, in particular Zoe Hayes, who also successfully showed the Junior Illawarra and Reserve Intermediate champions.

The 24-year-old had her own winning moment at the show when she took out the National Young Dairy Cattle Judging competition — a belated 2021 event held on Easter Sunday.

“The young judging comp was on before the cows, which were the priority, so I thought I’ll just give it a go and it became the cherry on top,” Miss Hayes said.

“There was a big team of us from Victoria who travelled and got our cows ready together. About 13 head went from five different farms and 11 turned into winners.”

Supreme Junior Champion Dairy Female reserve was won by Windy Vale Master Tina from Mead (near Cohuna).

And the local names kept coming, even at the pointy end of the judging in the Supreme Champion Dairy Female class where reserve was taken by Torrumbarry Holstein Smallridge Shadow Rainbow, owned by the Sieben family, and third was Tandara Vivid Lunda from Dingee.

Beef:

Cann Valley Lowline Stud from Tallygaroopna had to be one of the most successful studs from northern Victoria, taking out Junior Champion Female, Reserve Senior Champion Female, Junior Champion Bull, Senior Champion Bull, Grand Champion Bull, Best Exhibit and Most Successful Australian Lowline Exhibitor.

Cann Valley Lowline Stud principal Matt Cooney said it was great to see the cattle sheds full after a limited 2021.

“Beef cattle numbers had tripled compared to last year, that is across the Lowlines and all beef breeds,” Mr Cooney said.

“We got Most Successful Exhibitor which makes it three times in a row for us (since 2019) winning that.”

Heading to the edge of the Mallee, Roly Park Shorthorn Stud from Lake Boga had an excellent time against strong competition, walking away with the Reserve Senior Champion Bull sash and several class wins.

Stud principal Scott Bruton said he was pretty rapt with the results.

“It was a big showing of Shorthorn cattle and high quality, too. It’s reassuring to do well against strong competition, it shows we’re doing the right thing with our breeding,” he said.

Mr Bruton also rubbed shoulders with British Royalty when Princess Anne attended the Shorthorn judging.

Mr Bruton and his cow Roly Park Sweeheart have ended up across Sydney newspapers and the British Royal Family’s media page thanks to a ripper photo taken by the Princess’s personal photographer.

Another northern Victorian Shorthorn competitor was the Spencer family from Carlyle (near Corowa).

The Spencer family won Reserve Junior Champion Female with Spencer Family So Foolin’ Blue and placed in several classes.

It comes as no surprise that northern Victoria was strong in the Speckled Park group thanks to the Jackungah and Black Diamond studs who placed 24 times between them.

The best result was Jackungah’s win of the Junior Champion Female title with Jackungah Luos Secr — the stud also took home the inter-bred Premier Beef Breeder Award.

The southern Riverina saw success due to the hard work of Progress Limousins in Yanco and Stormley Red Polls from Barham.

Progress Limousins won Best Exhibit, Grand Champion Female, Senior Champion Female and Reserve Junior Champion Female.

Stormley Red Polls won Reserve Junior Champion Female and Reserve Senior Champion Female alongside the Best Maintained Red Poll Team (two to five head).

Other winners

We’ve got a few honourable mentions for those putting in the hard work outside the ever-popular cattle breeds.

The Akersflock from Tallygaroopna received a podium finish 132 times across ducks, turkeys and chooks.

While the vast majority of those class placements were in the water fowl division, the Akersflock’s highest result was with a silkie chicken who won Best Silkie In Show.

No surprised that they won Most Successful Exhibitor, too.

Narranderra High School did well with their Angora goats and Bridge Road Brewers from Beechworth won a pile of gold, silvers and bronze in the food awards.

In the alpaca category an eye-watering amount of animals from Strathbogie (Surilana Alpacas), Yea (Shanbrooke Alpacas) and Harcourt North (Millduck Alpacas) placed in their classes.

Surilana Alpacas were the standout — nearly impossible to beat, they walked home with the Supreme Champion Suri Alpaca, Supreme Champion Suri Fleece and Most Successful Suri Exhibitor ribbons to name only three.