Young ewe's potential sees her outclass older competition in Dorper judging

Strong potential has seen the younger entry overcome its older competition in the Dorper judging at the Sydney Royal Easter Show on April 16.

The April/May-drop lambs-teeth ewe entry from Eisentrager Dorpers, Rosenthal Heights, Qld, was selected for champion Dorper ewe by judge Barend Cronje, Tullinga White Dorpers, Condobolin, edging out the two to four-tooth ewe entry from the same stud.

Mr Cronje said the young ewe, Eisentrager 240002, showed plenty of potential.

"She's already better on the hindquarter," he said.

"She has nice length, very well-balanced, with a nice head.

"She's a very feminine ewe, with a lot of potential."

It was the opposite story in the ram judging, with the older two to four-tooth ram named champion and an August-drop lambs-tooth entry in reserve.

Mr Cronje said the older ram, Eisentrager 230392, "had it all there".

"He is very well structured and carries a lot of muscle while walking easily," he said.

In the White Dorper judging, it was two older ewes, from the same class, that claimed champion and reserve.

Mr Cronje said the two ewes were similar, with it coming down to a small difference in the hocks that split them.

"They were very well-fleshed ewes, nice and feminine," he said.

Basecamp 0088, shown by Eisentrager stud, took the win, with another Eisentrager ewe in reserve.

It was also a battle in the older class for the rams, with Burrawang 1895, shown by Eisentrager stud, taking the tricolour sash.

Mr Conje commended the champion ram on its length.

"There's a few extra chops in there," he said.

"There is very nice development in the back-end quarter with a thick flank."

Eisentrager Dorpers principal Wendy Eisentrager has been breeding Dorpers for about three years, with the White Dorpers a more recent addition, coming in about 12 months ago.

The champion White Dorper ram was an addition to her operation, bought from the Burrawang stud, while the champion and reserve champion White Dorper ewes were bought from Basecamp White Dorpers.

She has a 400-head commercial Dorper flock and admired the way they performed and was inspired to breed stud sheep.

Ms Eisentrager said she had shown horses all her life and saw an opportunity to try the showring with her other passion - sheep.

She runs about 35 registered Dorpers and nine White Dorpers, but said the numbers were building quickly.

Her Dorper breeding is based on Winrae, Burrawang and Dell breeding.

Ms Eisentrager said the reserve champion ram was one of her favourites as a "people sheep" that loved coming up in the paddock for a scratch.