Double Devon delight for long-term NSW breeder at 2025 Royal Queensland Show

A New South Wales stud breeder snared both broad ribbons in the Devon ring at the Royal Queensland Show on Saturday, August 9.

At the conclusion of the judging by Peter Cook, who operates the Barana Simmental stud at Coolah, NSW, Gowan Ross Devons, based at Coonabarabran, were the most successful of the five studs showing.

Gowan Ross Linda S142, with her bull calf at foot, competing in the 30 months and under 60 months class, was the grand champion Devon female, while Gowan Ross Uber U2 became the grand champion Devon male exhibit.

Described by the judge as a very good example of a beef bull, Uber weighed 730kg, had P8 and rib fat measurements of 7 and 5 millimetres, and an eye muscle area of 113 square centimetres, at 31 months.

Both winners had been senior champions first.

It was a great result for stud principal Alison Heap, who has been showing at Brisbane for 20 or so years.

This year was the first time she'd employed a fitting service to prepare her animals, explaining that with all the wet weather in her part of the state, the boggy conditions were difficult to manage.

Although over 70, she does all the handling of her cattle, which she said she was confident of doing with Devon cattle.

"They have a wonderful temperament, that's one of the principal things with the breed," she said.

"It means that with MSA grading they never dark cut either.

"The team was only broken in two weeks ago, but you can do that with Devon cattle.'

The reserve junior champion bull, Gowan Ross Vacation V102, was the calf of Linda, the grand champion cow.

The bull that took out the junior championship, Vix Venus V100, was shown by first-time Brisbane stud cattle exhibitors Mark and Tracey Watt, who operate Watt Family Farm at Telegraph Point in NSW.

Mr Watt said they'd been running a paddock to plate business and had tried various breeds before settling on Devons as fitting their requirements for tenderness and sweetness, as well as suiting their coastal country.

"We structure our business around a 10-month-old calf, who's getting both grass and milk," he said.

"It gives us a good yield so there's not much wastage.

"We felt we had to sell direct or get out of the cattle business."

They purchased their bull from Ms Heap and her partner Vic Edwards, Vix Stock Breeding, and he said they, and the whole Devon community, had gone out of their way to help them when they began breeding.

Results

Breed: Devon

Judge: Peter Cook

No. of exhibits: 14

Junior champion female: Vix Courage V70, Vix Stock Breeding, Coonabarabran, NSW

Reserve junior champion female: Wilson's Peak Evie, Wilson's Peak Devon Stud, Killarney

Senior champion female: Gowan Ross Linda S142, Gowan Ross Devons, Coonabarabran

Reserve senior champion female: Yelir Elsa U2, Yelir Devon stud, Headington Hill, Q

Junior champion male: Vix Venus V100, Watt Family Farm, Port Macquarie, NSW

Reserve junior champion male: Gowan Ross Vacation V102, Gowan Ross Devons

Senior champion male: Gowan Ross Uber U2, Gowan Ross Devons

Reserve senior champion male: Gowan Ross Ukelele U84, Gowan Ross Devons

Grand champion female: Gowan Ross Linda S142

Grand champion male: Gowan Ross Uber U2

Breeders group: Gowan Ross Devons