Local poultry breeders and a miniature horse stud have come up trumps with some impressive results at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Moogully Farm, on Hunt’s Road, claimed Supreme Australian Miniature Pony in Harness for the second year in a row, as well as Shetland Pony Champion in Harness under 8.2 hands.
The six-year-old Moogully Farm Piccasa wowed the judges with his movement and general appearance.
Owner Val Dewsbury, who has been showing at the Royal Easter Show since 2001, said the win was unexpected.
“It was a surprise,” she said.
“I didn’t expect it because the competition was so strong, but he excelled.”
Local poultry breeders Chris and Janice Mammen achieved some outstanding results in the poultry section, picking up the winning ribbon for Champion Standard Australian Game, any other colour (Class S3103C) and Champion Standard Jungle Fowl (Class S3125C).
It was the first win for the Mammens in the Australian Game section, their sixth win for the Jungle Fowl and the couple achieved placings in 22 other categories.
Janice said she and her husband, who has been showing and breeding poultry for years, were extremely pleased with the results.
“In the Jungle Fowl, we hoped to take out the title again. It’s something Chris has been breeding for quite a lot of years and it’s a very rare breed – mostly now seen in zoos,” she said.
“There was such a large number of fowl in the Australian Game, so it’s good credit to him for his breeding and bloodlines.”
Janice said there is a lot of preparation that goes into showing at the Royal Easter.
“They need to be full feathered and healthy, a good weight and they obviously need to travel well. They need to be top quality because the competition is so high.”
Gunnedah poultry breeder, Greg Watson also did well at the show, collecting the Champion prize for Old English Game Bantam Pair (Class S4005C).
He is a third generation breeder and shower, having worked closely with his father, and now his son, Adam.
“We’re really happy with the win because it is the one class I aim to win every time if I can,” he said.
“There’s a lot of people that enter that class, and between my father and myself, we have won it three years in a row.
Greg said the key to winning the section is the male and female must complement each other, show exactly what you’re trying to breed and match the standard.