SHANE Baker, Baringhup, Vic, carried on a family tradition at the Royal Adelaide Show, becoming the fourth generation to judge the Corriedales.
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Father Peter, grandfather Ed and great-grandfather Roy all spent time in the sheep judging shed at Adelaide and Shane was thrilled to add his name to the list.
“It’s a great honour, personally, to have done it and I think it's a great achievement by the family to able to carry on a tradition,” he said.
“The hospitality shown by the people that run the show made it a very enjoyable experience.”
Shane, who runs Booloola White Suffolks and Loddon Park Corriedales, said being picked to judge this year was made all the more memorable because it was a way of honouring his grandfather Ed, who passed away in January.
Much of Shane’s knowledge of sheep was gleaned from Ed and Peter, who gave him great guidance and many pointers throughout the years.
“I spent a lot of time with my grandfather and learned a lot about sheep through judging in show environments,” he said. “Dad was also very heavily involved with the showing of Corriedales.”
Shane said the Corriedale display at Adelaide was very good.
His focus when judging was on functionality and profitability, with carcase attributes and a soft, even fleece the key points of difference when determining a winner.
