![Ian and Julie Plumridge, Apsley, with their White Suffolk ewe which claimed the short wool interbreed supreme champion ribbon at the Victorian Sheep Show in Ballarat on Sunday. Picture by Barry Murphy Ian and Julie Plumridge, Apsley, with their White Suffolk ewe which claimed the short wool interbreed supreme champion ribbon at the Victorian Sheep Show in Ballarat on Sunday. Picture by Barry Murphy](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/229623862/735ac6be-4c94-4c62-b1b5-fe92c025462e.jpg/r0_336_3872_2513_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A Ridgell Downs White Suffolk ewe claimed the short wool interbreed supreme champion ribbon at the Victorian Sheep Show in Ballarat on Sunday.
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The ewe, bred by stud co-principals Ian and Julie Plumridge, Apsley, was awarded the title after heading off all other competition from across the short wool breeds.
The show-topper originally won her White Suffolk ewe under 1.5 years old class, was grand champion ewe of the breed, supreme breed champion and overall grand champion short wool ewe on her way to the top prize.
Mr Plumridge said his ewe's White Suffolk type was "tremendous".
"She's muscled all the way through," he said.
"She's got tremendous style with a good length of ear, good bone and good capacity."
The stud ran 50 White Suffolk stud ewes and its supreme champion ewe will also be shown at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show (ASWS) in Bendigo next month.
Judge Ellie McDonald spoke on behalf of the judges who decided on the interbreed supreme champion.
She said the White Suffolk ewe was an all rounder with excellent structure and muscling which was a great example of the breed standard.
Estjam Poll Dorset Stud, Woolsthorpe, won the reserve short wool interbreed champion ribbon with their stylish ram.
Stud principal Esther Glasgow said she knew her ram was good but didn't think he would go as far as he did.
"I am very pleased and I knew he was good in the paddock," she said.
"It's the type of sheep that we really like and he's already got lambs on the ground.
"I used him as a backup to AI and I really like those lambs."
She said the ram was a "good, sound Dorset", the type which she was trying to breed.
"He's got good feet, muscle, fat and he's smooth," she said.
![Estjam Poll Dorset stud principal Esther Glasgow, Woolsthorpe, with her Poll Dorset ram which was breed champion and went on to be reserve interbreed short wool champion at the Victorian Sheep Show. Picture by Barry Murphy Estjam Poll Dorset stud principal Esther Glasgow, Woolsthorpe, with her Poll Dorset ram which was breed champion and went on to be reserve interbreed short wool champion at the Victorian Sheep Show. Picture by Barry Murphy](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/229623862/47656a0c-d181-43c7-9f3b-b3ec7c740ae2.JPG/r275_34_3803_2555_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Ms Glasgow suggested the ram's carcass really set him ahead of the rest.
"He had the Dorset type, good attributes and he parades exceptionally well," she said.
Judge Joe Scott, Valley Vista, Coolac, New South Wales, said the ram "stood out" and "for his young age, he's got a lot of growth".
"He's got a lot of length of body and for the Dorset game, when they breed and trade lambs, that's the optimum type of sheep you want to see," he said.
He said the classes in the short wool breed sections of the show had all been filled with animals of high standard.
The Estjam Poll Dorset Stud joined 120 stud ewes in the autumn and would lamb out another 40 ewes in July.
Their reserve champion ram will also go on to be shown at ASWS in Bendigo next month, Sheepvention in Hamilton in August and potentially further.
Ms Glasgow said she was in two minds on whether she wanted to sell the top ram yet.
"I think I probably will sell him because I've got good progeny on the ground," she said.
The ram was also successfully shown as a lamb, winning a number of ribbons last year.
She said there were more and more buyers interested in the Poll Dorset breed.
"We pretty much can't keep up with the demand," she said.