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The Rumwell
Flock was started in 1990 with the purchase of 3 ewes followed
by further additions in '91 (4), '92 (3), '93 (2) & '95 (1)
when a ram was also purchased. A shearling ram ASTT6 and a
ram lamb from Ireland FOBV7 were also purchased from France.
Intermittent use of AI with frozen semen from champion rams
Fortress, Euclid, King Jim and Powerhouse has produced top
quality ewes and rams.
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The
flock has had Maedi-Visna status from the start and
in 1995 became Scrapie monitored before the export of
a shearling ram to Holland. Further export of 17 ewe
lambs & shearling ewes to Belgium as part of a Society
consigment in 1997 was followed by a sale of 7 ewe lambs
and 2 ram lambs to Jan Depoorter of Belgium: jan_depoorter@pandora.be
arranged over the internet in August 1999.
In
September 1999 a ram lamb FOB.V7 (Vyn) was purchased
from Ireland who has developed into a stylish shearling
with dark colour, strong legs and feet and good muscling.
His blood test also showed him to be R1 genotype. His
progeny are eagerly awaited in 2001. Private sales within
the UK maintain a breeding flock of 25 ewes, 10 ewe
lambs and several senior rams and ram lambs.
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(from right to left) Peridot JER.P17 (born '95), Samson
JER.S9 foreground (born '97), Trojan JER.T3 (born
'98), Vyn FOB.V7 (born '99) and Wilfred JER.W7
(ram lamb born in January 2000)
Show History
Sheep from the flock have been entered on the show circuit
in the South West of England since '91 but an important success
came in '93 with a shearling ewe JER L2 who won the female
& inter breed championship at the North Devon Show &
was first in the aged ewe class at the '94 Royal Show. One
of her '95 born daughters JER P10 took the reserve female
championship at the Royal Show in '97 & '98 as well as
several South West breeed championships. Stock ram JER P17
was the M.L.C. (Signet) recorded champion ram lamb at the
Royal Cornwall Show in '95 & was Breed Champion at the
Devon County, Cornwall and Royal Bath & West Shows in
'98 as well as reserve male champion at the Royal Show, '97
& '98.
Rumwell Peridot JER P17
At
the Royal Show in 1999 Peridot's son Samson JERS9 was reserve
male champion, JERT4 daughter of JERP10 was first in the
shearling ewe class and an aged ewe JERR18 was reserve female
champion.
Group of Three. Royal Show 1999
Late in
1999 two tragedies struck the show team. JER.T4 died of pneumonia
and JER.P10 died of possible heart failure after lying on
her side overnight and, heavy with lambs, had been unable
to rise. The chances of revival of the show fortunes of the
flock looked slim.
However,
in April 2000 a shearling ewe JER.V12 was selected from the
flock and showed herself to be a real eye catcher (she was
a grand daughter of JER.L2). Three ewe lambs (Powerhouse daughters)
and the single registered ram lamb JER.W7 were chosen as young
show stock along with Samson and Vyn.
At the
Royal Show 2000, the Rumwell Flock took five first places,
a second, a third and fourth!!!
Each ram,
Samson, Vyn, Wilfred took first place in their individual
classes and Wilfred was also placed first in the recorded
ram lamb class. The shearling ewe was placed second and the
two ewe lambs were third and fourth in their classes. The
Special Prize was received for the best Group of Three sheep.
Samson
was awarded the Breed Champion position.
Samson - Breed Champion 2000.
Due
to the 2001 outbreak of FMD in the UK there were no sheep
classes at Agricultural Shows that year.
There
were small numbers of Shows with sheep classes towards the
latter half of 2002.
An
invitation to judge at theWest Flanders Sheep Fair in Belgium
in August was accepted and with an attentive crowd of onlookers,
myself and another judge spent most of a very hot Sunday placing
some very good stock.
It
also emerged that Majorie and I had been observed judging
together at the Dutch National Show in Utrecht and the conclusion
was that we were very thorough and fair.
Champions at West Flanders
Read
more about the Rumwell Show Flock here >>>
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