This year I had the great honour of being invited to judge the flock competition. My wife and I set ourselves the task of visiting 25 flocks across the UK, covering around 3,500 miles in the process. It was a thoroughly enjoyable journey—meeting breeders, catching up with friends, and seeing such a high standard of sheep. I would like to sincerely thank everyone who welcomed us, offered their hospitality, and gave up their time to
show us their flocks. The breed is clearly in a very strong position, with the quality of stock presented this year being truly impressive.
The Champion Flock 2025 is awarded to Joe Larder and the Byeways Flock. His medium flock of ewes were a standout—uniform in type, beautifully balanced, and an excellent showcase. The highlight for us, however, was his ewe lambs. As Alice remarked when we stepped in the field, they looked as though they had been “copy and pasted”—so even, so correct, and such a strong group that they gave us the real “wow” factor. They are a tremendous credit to Joe and a very exciting prospect for the future of his flock. With all of this in mind, it was clear that Joe deserved to also be awarded Best Shepherded Flock.
The Reserve Champion Flock goes to Jeremy Durrant with the Hydes Flock. Winner of the large flock class, his ewes were in superb condition—big, strong, and remarkably consistent in type, with nothing out of place. His ewe lambs pushed Joe’s very closely, again presenting as a strong, even group with excellent potential for the future of the flock.
Congratulations to Geoff Riby, winner of the Small Flock category. This was a particularly competitive class, but Geoff’s ewes stood out as a consistent and very well-presented group. They were nicely fleshed, with a clear and uniform type running throughout the flock—a real credit to his breeding.
It is a real pleasure to award Rob Hole and the Sherborne Flock with Best Group of Stock Rams. They truly were a sight to behold—so many top-quality rams together in one place. All were well-fleshed, with excellent mouths, and they presented as a powerful, impressive group. I’ll certainly be keeping a close eye on their progeny in the future.
My Ram of the Year is Richill Fraser from Sheila Gray. He is a true standout—showing tremendous width, length, and shape, combined with real stature and presence. The moment I saw him, my immediate thought was, “what a machine!” Having also viewed some of his offspring, I was equally impressed, which makes him an exciting sire for the future.
During my visits this year, I couldn’t help but notice some outstanding Ram Lambs that had been put to work. Following on from Sam last year, I felt it only right to give them the recognition they deserve. My stand-out Junior Stock Ram is Hydes Hurricane H4048 from Jeremy Durrant. He is very much my type of sheep—showing excellent structure, plenty of length, strong shape, and real presence out in the field.
A big thank you to all the breeders who took part this year and welcomed us onto their farms. We truly appreciate the time you gave up away from work and family commitments to show us your fantastic stock. It was inspiring to see the different approaches across flocks and how adaptable the breed proves to be in a wide range of systems and environments. We thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with familiar faces, meeting
new breeders, and having the chance to see each other outside of the sale ring.
Congratulations once again to Joe and the Byeways Flock on being named Champion Flock 2025!
Richard & Alice