YOUNG Queensland stud sheep breeder Felicity Brumpton is Australia’s best young judge of a sheep, winning the national junior Merino sheep judging title on Wednesday at the Brisbane show.
Felicity is the daughter of Nigel and Rosemary Brumpton of Mt Ascot stud at Mitchell and operates the Jolly Jumbuck poll Merino stud in partnership with her brothers Charlie and Lachlan.
“This is really exciting – I didn’t think I’d get this far at all,” she said after the announcement.
She was competing against the best from each state in Australia plus New Zealand’s top junior judge, and it was Alistair Keller from Booleroo in South Australia who was second, and Victoria’s Robert Glen, from Guildford, who came third.
RNA councillor Will Roberts was invited to be the over-judge for the event and congratulated all entrants on the way they spoke and the forthright opinions they put forward.
“This is the culmination of competitions across the country and there’s no doubt they’re doing what they set out to,” he said.
Competitors had 12 minutes in to judge the four poll Merino sheep put up for appraisal and were judged on their handling as well as their reasoning.
Felicity won the right to represent Queensland in the national finals at the 2013 state sheep show at Roma.
Her younger brother Charlie flew the flag for Queensland earlier in the week at the national fleece junior judging competition also held at the Ekka.