Agriculture
11 October, 2023
Sheep and shears, horses and dogs
ANIMALS OF THE LAND TAKE CENTRE STAGE HORSES will be back in the ring at the 2023 Boort Show and shearers will be strutting the boards as they vie for success in one of the richest competitions in the land. Equestrian events return after missing...
ANIMALS OF THE LAND
TAKE CENTRE STAGE
HORSES will be back in the ring at the 2023 Boort Show and shearers will be strutting the boards as they vie for success in one of the richest competitions in the land.
Equestrian events return after missing last year when the competition surface was hit by heavy rains in weeks before the show.
Return of riders astride their steads will add to the show’s spectacle. There’s even a special horse fashion on the fields included in the Boort Show program for the first time.
With $8000 in prizemoney, the Boort Show shearing competition will be keenly contested. Shearers will put their skills from the shed to the test tackling Merino crossbreds where competition co-ordinator Al Wilson expects another good lineup of shearers in the open, intermediate, novice and local sections. Al says the competition has attracted shearers from across Australia and even Britain and New Zealand over the years
“The whole idea is to attract really good shearers,” he said. “Back in 2018, we had one bloke do three sheep in five minutes and 40 seconds ... that was a pretty good time,” he still recalls it as if it was yesterday,
The shearing shed is one of the most popular stopping points as families and groups wander the show attractions.
The shearing competition evolved out of a separate wool day organised by the agricultural and horticultural society until the 1990s and today sees competitors in open, intermediate, novice and local classes put their skills to the test on sheep selected from district properties.
And supporting the showcase of shearers are three Loddon studs - Terrick West, Oakbank and Concordia.
And the farmer’s trusted sidekick, the yard dogs, will be put through their paces in competitions run under official rules.
The dogs will be up at the crack of dawn ready to face the tests in open, novice and local sections sponsored by Greg and Tamara Boyd at Elders and Boort Veterinary Services.