Canberra Royal 2025: Big Border Leicester ram takes supreme title

The Land, Feb 2025 – link

A ram that was “probably the best sheep” its breeders had bred has backed up its success at the Dubbo NSW Sheep Show and the Australian Sheep & Wool Show with a supreme victory in the Border Leicesters at the Canberra Royal.

Talkook Border Leicesters, Crookwell took the big win with its 1.5-year-old entrant, claiming first the champion ram then the supreme title.

Judge Ben Simmons, Talbragar, Dunedoo, said the ram was “pretty well the standout winner in the ring”.

“He’s very true-to-type’, with good dark points,” he said.

“For carrying that weight, he’s good on his feet. Good carcase, good topline and good hindquarters.”

The ram has previously won at Dubbo as well the being the interbreed longwool winner at ASWS at Bendigo in 2024.

Talkook’s Kylie Anderson said they had hoped he would do well.

“We love him,” she said. “He’s probably the best sheep we’ve ever bred.”

The ram has already been out with a mob of ewes, with high hopes for its offspring.

“We hope to continue to breed with him for a few more years,” Ms Anderson said.

The Andersons have decided to keep the ram in the stud, in part to keep the genetics but also because they lost its sire, a Talkook ram, last year.

“We can’t breed another one,” she said.

The ram’s breeding goes back to a Mt Beckom line.

“We introduced that because we wanted to get more size, which we did achieve,” Ms Anderson said.