THIS year's Act-Belong-Commit Darkan Sheepfest ewe hogget competition was again well supported by sheep farmers from the local and surrounding areas.
Like last year there were seven pens of 10 ewe hoggets entered in the event and organisers were again pleased with the response they received, given conditions on the day.
The competition also created a talking point around the grounds, with many people checking out the hoggets entered during the day and debating which pen was their pick.
The person tasked with the official honour of picking the winning pen was judge Steven Bolt, Claypans stud, Corrigin, who had a tough job going through the even pens of hoggets, which also varied in shearing dates, making the job just that little bit harder.
The hoggets were judged on a combination of wool, evenness, conformation and constitution with a possible 90 points awarded in total.
Gaining Mr Bolt's tick of approval as the best pen on the day was the entry from Warrening Gully, Williams, that finished on 78 out of the possible 90 points.
The win marked the second time the operation had won the competition, its previous win was in the very first competition in 2018.
Mr Bolt said the winning Warrening Gully group were clear winners due to their evenness.
"The group had outstanding wools and structures," Mr Bolt said.
"They were a very productive team of ewes."
Finishing second in the competition for a second year running was Murray Saunders and family, A Saunders & Co, Narrogin, whose pens was just five points behind the winning entry.
Mr Bolt said the second-placed team were a very productive and well-grown group but just lacked the evenness compared to the first-placed team.
Finishing in third place was an entry from Alan Manuel while fourth place in the competition went to Gary and Robyn King.
Overall Mr Bolt said the quality was outstanding across all the groups which made judging very difficult.
"I was really impressed by the quality of all the teams, it wasn't easy to pick a winner," he said.
"The teams were a credit to the breeders and they need to be congratulated for making the effort to enter them.
"Also congratulations to the organising committee for organising a top ewe hogget competition and a great day overall which promotes the sheep and wool industries."
