Click here to view our champions.
Testimonial by Dolf Lategan - Master South African Inspector:
"As judge it is always a worry during judging that there wouldn’t be a good enough animal coming through to really carry the honours of Supreme Champion. Our show is the shopping window of our Breed and the picture you want to leave with breeders and spectators must be if possible of an animal that makes people talk and remember the beauty of our Breed.
This year at the Dubbo show it was then a thrilling experience to be the judge and to have a Dorper ewe that stood up to that challenge. Why and what makes this animal then so outstanding? We in the Dorper world talk about a 5/5 animal. This means that the animal qualifies under conformation for the highest rating and also under type. Animals like that is very special and don’t come in dozens but one by one.
For this reason I will try and explain this ewe as I remember her and saw her for a very short time but made such an impression on me that I can still picture her.
- She had a beautiful long and strong head as described in the Breed Standards with a well fleshed ewe neck flowing into her forequarter.
- Her forequarter is a nice width with strong legs well placed, strong pasterns and good soft muscling on forearm and shoulders.
- Her barrel is long and strong with ribs well sprung and a beautiful ewe shape.
- The hind quarter is long well shaped, broad with good meat qualities, strong legs and hocks widely spaced to allow for a well developed udder.
- The size of this ewe is very good and we don’t want them taller for economical reasons.
- The colour and covering of the ewe compliment the rest of the general appearance that makes this ewe an outstanding conformation 5, type 5.
- This ewe is well balanced which explains symmetry, the concept we use to explain that all the different aspects compliment each other.
- If we look at her little lamb nobody can deny the truth that this is an outstanding breeding ewe and from what I hear true from the line she was bred from.
Lastly I can say from experience that good rams are bred from good ewes with a good background. They will then produce constant good progeny mated to a good ram that also comes from a good background. I urge breeders to get the best breeding value ram/ewe combinations from these outstanding animals."
- Dolf Lategan