When is a Champion not..

[llamedos]

The supreme sheep champion at this year’s RWS has been controversially stripped of its title after an administrative blunder.

Robert Bennett thought he had secured the biggest win of his career when his Texel ewe lamb was tapped out at the show’s “champion of champions” in Builth Wells last week.

It emerged the “champion” was not registered with the Texel Sheep Society and was therefore ineligible to compete under Royal Welsh rules

More here http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/shock-anger-royal-welsh-supreme-13412564

 

[Old Tip]

Unbelievable, guess someone was a sore loser

 

[kfpben]

I'm no showing expert but if it was deemed the best animal why does it matter if it's registered or not?

 

[Old Tip]

I'm no showing expert but if it was deemed the best animal why does it matter if it's registered or not?

It seems the sheep was registered but not the person showing it if I understand correctly it was thrown up on a technicality rather than being a none pedigree animal

 

[Juggler]

Robert's flock was registered with the society under his name, but that particular lamb was entered under both his and his fathers name, which was not a combination registered as breeders with the society, pure technicality... but does seem odd it was entered under a name not registered with the society.

 

[matthew]

If you're being really pernickety, wasn't the owner (unregistered with the breed society in his own right) the 'Son' in the registered partnership?

 

[Juggler]

I wouldn't like to be the person that made the complaint when the Bennets catch up with them, Robert has diversified into cage fighting...

 

[yellowbelly]

Looks, IMHO, like it was the RWS's mistake over a frivolous technicality. They should have done the proper thing - manned up and let the result stand.

 

[banjo]

Oh my god, that's why I can't even be botherd to go and look at the sheep in the Royal Welsh and I'm a sheep farmer. Same sheep different signature sheep would of won, it's pretty daft!

 

[Whitepeak]

As I read it the RWS rules state that the name of who enters the animal must be a member of their respective breed society. They check with the societies when the entries come in in April. But on this occasion they let them enter, take the sheep to the show, let said sheep into the Interbreed, but then once it wins the award, gets reported in all the press and everyone's gone home the RWS decide actually the sheep broke our rules. They had ample time to disqualify the sheep before hand, to leave it to now is down right ridiculous! If I was the exhibitor I'd never show at the RWS again!

 

[GTB]

Our local feed rep shows a bit and his take on it was that lets say for example Evans Bros of Hilltop farm are society members. Well Evans Bros entered sheep in their own name but in order to get more entries/pens (entries are limited apparently) they also entered sheep under Hilltop farms ltd. The champion was entered under Hilltop Farms which technically isn't registered with the breed society.
As said though RWAS should never have accpted entries from Hilltop Farms in the first place if they wanted to follow rules to the letter. Even more silly to accept the entry then allow the animal to win it's class and subsequent classes and then disqualify. Utter madness imho.

 

[Zippy768]

Rules are rules

 

[Jon.S]

Rob was dangerous enough before he took up cage fighting. Does indeed sound like a large amount of unripened grapes. Surely if the animal is good enough to be judged champion then that's all that matters

 

[llamedos]

Is there a class for

sounds like someone has won it.

 

[Ysgythan]

I can see both sides of this, but also the young lad who drowned is from the same area as both the exhibitor and the alleged complainant. Anybody getting worked up about this in that context needs to seriously get a grip. It's not that important. It's really not.

 

[dogandstick]

At the end of the day, the best Texel sheep and overall best of all breeds was Rob Bennett's lamb. The technicality that disallows him from taking home a sash and shield is just that.

Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men!

 

[andybk]

Total farce , much the same as the Alfords at Devon last year , Should have been sorted much earlier .Makes the society look foolish and spoils reputations both sides of the argument .

 

[spin cycle]

are ppl are using multiple names to get more entries in though?...if so then rules need to be adherred to surely?.....if thats the situation in this case then it's a pity they didn't know their best lamb?
big bucks for winners encourages 'sharp practice' perhaps?

best out of the whole 'scene' IMO

 

[Hooby Farmer]

Sounds like someone is being a little bitch of a sore loser

 

[Paul E]

Funny how they (RWAS) accepted the entry in the first place.
If it was so "wrong" it should have been thrown out at the entries stage, and only then.
But , better to be talked about as "should have won" than "how did that win".