Six Royal Carcass Honours for Vredesig as Johnny Forbes’ commitment to quality delivers at Tweedie
Johnny Forbes of Vredesig Dormers and Suffolk (right) and Vredesig Studmaster Dewald Linde (left) receive the award for the Royal Champion Lamb Carcass at the 2026 Royal Carcass Competition from RAS President Tim Nixon.
Johnny Forbes and his Vredesig stud delivered an outstanding performance at the 2026 Royal Carcass Competition, claiming six prestigious awards, including the Royal Champion Lamb Carcass, and achieving a remarkable R56,450 sale at the Royal Carcass Auction. The results add another important chapter to Vredesig's growing record of success at the Royal Agricultural Show.
For Johnny Forbes of Vredesig Dormers & Suffolk, based at Vrededal near Darling in the Western Cape, the 2026 Royal Agricultural Show was an opportunity to demonstrate something central to his approach to livestock breeding: that outstanding animals must deliver not only in the show ring, but ultimately in productive, commercially valuable carcasses.
The results spoke emphatically for themselves.
At the Royal Carcass Competition awards, held on Saturday, 10 October, at the new Royal Showgrounds at Tweedie, Vredesig secured six of the twelve awards in the lamb carcass section, including four Champion and two Reserve Champion titles.
It was a remarkable achievement in one of the Royal Agricultural Society's most prestigious livestock competitions, and particularly fitting in the Society's 175th anniversary year.
The 2026 Royal Champion Lamb Carcass, a Dormer–Hampshire Down cross bred by Vredesig Dormers and Suffolk, achieved an impressive judging score of 90.06%, with an A2 classification and carcass weight of 22.58kg.
Six Awards, One Exceptional Breeding Programme
Vredesig's achievements encompassed both individual carcass judging and group performance, with the stud securing the following honours:
Royal Champion Lamb Carcass
First Reserve Champion Lamb Carcass
Royal Champion Group of Four Lamb Carcasses
Champion Lamb Carcass with Substantial European Genetics
Reserve Champion Lamb Carcass with Substantial European Genetics
Champion Group of Four Lamb Carcasses with Substantial European Genetics
The results are significant because they recognise excellence across several aspects of carcass production.
The Champion Lamb Carcass, a Dormer–Hampshire Down cross, achieved an impressive judging score of 90.06%, with an A2 classification and carcass weight of 22.58kg.
When the Champion Lamb Carcass came under the hammer at the Royal Carcass Auction, bidding climbed steadily to an exceptional R2,500 per kilogram, giving the 22.58kg carcass a total selling price of R56,450.
The successful buyer was highly respected Hampshire Down breeder Hennie Jonker, winner of the 2025 Lamb Champs Parys competition.
His involvement added particular interest to the sale. Vredesig's winning carcass was a Dormer–Hampshire Down cross, bringing together two breeds valued for their contribution to quality lamb production. That the champion attracted such a substantial bid from an accomplished Hampshire Down breeder made the result especially noteworthy.
It was one of the standout sales of the afternoon and a memorable achievement for Forbes and the Vredesig team.
The successful buyer of the Royal Champion Lamb Carcass bred by Vredesig was highly respected Hampshire Down breeder Hennie Jonker, winner of the 2025 Lamb Champs Parys competition.
Johnny Forbes of Vredesig Dormers and Suffolk (right) and Vredesig Studmaster Dewald Linde (left) receive the award for the Royal Reserve Champion Lamb Carcass at the 2026 Royal Carcass Competition from RAS President Tim Nixon.
The First Reserve Champion Lamb Carcass, also bred by Vredesig, weighed 22.31kg and sold for R500/kg, for a total of R11,155.
Vredesig's First Reserve Champion Lamb Carcass, weighing 22.31kg, sold for R500/kg, realising R11,155. The Champion Group of Lamb Carcasses also attracted strong interest, selling for R160/kg.
Importantly, the European Genetics awards reinforced the results achieved in the main competition. Vredesig's champion and reserve individual carcasses, together with its champion group, earned recognition in both divisions.
For a breeder committed to producing animals with practical commercial value, these are particularly meaningful results.
A Breeding Philosophy Vindicated
Vredesig's success is the product of a relatively young but ambitious breeding programme.
Established in 2021, the Vredesig Dormer stud has developed rapidly under Forbes, who farms alongside his wife, Mala, and studmaster Dewald Linde.
The stud, comprising approximately 250 breeding ewes, is built around a straightforward principle: quality must always take precedence over quantity.
In a September 2026 interview with Farmer's Weekly, Forbes explained his philosophy:
"Two hundred top-performing ewes are infinitely more valuable than 400 average ewes."
That conviction shapes the Vredesig breeding programme, which places considerable emphasis on fertility, growth, structural soundness, muscular development and the ability of breeding animals to perform productively under practical farming conditions.
The stud's development has drawn on carefully selected South African Dormer bloodlines, supported by performance recording and a disciplined approach to identifying productive breeding animals.
Forbes also recognises the particular value of the Dormer in crossbreeding programmes, where growth, carcass quality and meat yield are fundamental considerations.
The 2026 Royal Carcass Competition provided an especially persuasive endorsement of that philosophy. The results were not confined to a single outstanding lamb. They demonstrated consistency across individual carcasses and groups, with Vredesig's breeding programme delivering the qualities recognised by the Royal's carcass judges.
A Growing Legacy at the Royal
Vredesig's relationship with the Royal Agricultural Show extends well beyond the carcass competition.
Forbes has been a committed participant in the Society's stud sheep competitions, investing considerable effort in bringing his animals across the country to compete against leading breeders.
At the 2024 Royal Agricultural Exhibition, Vredesig attracted particular attention when Forbes entered three different sheep breeds — Dormers, Suffolks and Hampshire Downs — in the same event.
The scale of that commitment was remarkable: 33 Dormers, 27 Suffolks and 13 Hampshire Downs, together with ten entries in the Interbreed competition.
It was an unusual and ambitious undertaking, and one that reflected both the breadth of Vredesig's breeding interests and Forbes's determination to measure his animals against the best.
That year, Vredesig won Champion Lamb on the Hoof in the Fat Lamb Competition.
At the 2024 Royal Agricultural Exhibition, Vredesig was awarded Champion Lamb on the Hoof.
The 2024 exhibition also brought significant recognition in the Dormer National Championships, where Vredesig produced the Breed Champion Ewe and Champion Ram Lamb, among other successes.
Those achievements culminated in a memorable occasion at the prestigious Standard Bank Gold Cup Awards.
Johnny and Mala Forbes received the Epol Floating Trophy for the Reserve to the Supreme Champion Ewe on Show, one of the highest honours awarded in the Royal's livestock competitions.
The achievement placed Vredesig firmly among the leading exhibitors at an event that has long celebrated exceptional livestock breeding.
At the 2024 Royal Agricultural Exhibition, Vredesig won the Epol Floating Trophy for the Reserve to the Supreme Champion Ewe on Show.
Another Strong Showing in 2026
Vredesig returned to the Royal Agricultural Show in 2026 with renewed determination, delivering an impressive series of results across multiple breeds and demonstrating the depth and versatility of its breeding programme.
At the Dormer National Show, held at Tweedie on Friday, 9 October, Vredesig secured five class victories and 15 top-three placings. Particularly impressive was the stud's complete domination of the 6–9-month divisions, sweeping first, second and third places in both the ram and ewe classes. Vredesig also claimed Champion Ewe Lamb, together with two reserve championship titles, reinforcing its competitive strength among younger breeding animals.
The Suffolk Regional Show brought further success, with Vredesig recording six class victories, including two group classes. Its younger breeding stock performed particularly well, earning Junior Champion Ewe, Reserve Junior Champion Ewe and Reserve Junior Champion Ram honours. These results highlighted the quality and consistency of Vredesig's developing Suffolk flock.
In the Hampshire Down Regional Show, Vredesig delivered an equally noteworthy performance, securing both Grand Champion Ewe and Reserve Grand Champion Ewe, as recorded in the judging results. The stud also claimed Junior Champion Ewe and Senior Champion Ewe, an exceptional collection of honours that demonstrated its strength across successive generations of breeding females.
Taken together, these achievements represent a remarkable showing across three distinct breeds, reflecting the careful selection, breeding expertise and considerable preparation behind Vredesig's Royal Show entries.
The stud's success extended to the prestigious 2026 Standard Bank Gold Cup Awards, where Vredesig shared the highest points tally in the Interbreed classes. Vredesig, Hatari Farming, Twee Seuns Suffolks and Gras Karoo Dormers each finished on 15 points, producing a rare four-way tie for the BKB Trophy.
Forbes's growing Royal Show record now encompasses national and regional breed championships, Interbreed and Gold Cup recognition, and outstanding achievements in the Royal Carcass Competition. Together, they provide compelling evidence of a breeding programme achieving success both in the show ring and in the quality of the finished carcass.
The Value of Proving Performance
The Royal Carcass Competition occupies a distinctive place in South African livestock agriculture.
While breed championships recognise the characteristics and qualities of breeding animals, carcass evaluation provides another important measure of performance.
Judged on the hook by the South African Meat Industry Company (SAMIC), the competition places the emphasis on the qualities of the finished product. It gives livestock producers an opportunity to demonstrate the practical results of their breeding, management and production decisions.
The Royal Carcass Auction then brings those results to the attention of buyers, butcheries and others in the red meat industry, with championship carcasses frequently attracting prices reflecting their exceptional standing.
For Vredesig, the 2026 competition offered a powerful demonstration of the relationship between stud breeding and commercial meat production.
The R56,450 achieved by its Champion Lamb Carcass was an outstanding auction result. More importantly, the six awards provided substantial recognition for the consistency and quality of the stud's entries.
They are the kind of results that give weight to a breeder's claims about the productive value of his animals.
Recognition Well Earned
For the Royal Agricultural Society, breeders such as Johnny Forbes are an important part of what gives the Royal its continuing relevance.
The journey to KwaZulu-Natal, the preparation and presentation of animals, and the willingness to compete in demanding national and interbreed championships all represent a considerable commitment.
That commitment matters, as the Royal has always depended on breeders who value the opportunity to test their animals against recognised standards, share knowledge with fellow producers and contribute to the advancement of South African agriculture.
In a year that marked both the Society's 175th anniversary and the beginning of a new chapter at Tweedie, Vredesig's achievements were a particularly welcome contribution to that tradition.
The Royal Agricultural Society warmly congratulates Johnny and Mala Forbes, Dewald Linde and the entire Vredesig team on their exceptional achievements at the 2026 Royal Carcass Competition and Auction.
Six prestigious carcass awards, a superb champion lamb and a remarkable auction result are fitting recognition for a breeding programme built on careful selection, sound management and an unwavering commitment to quality.
For Johnny Forbes and Vredesig, the results at Tweedie represent another important milestone in a Royal Show story that continues to grow.
The Royal Carcass Competition and Auction was generously sponsored by the KZN Red Meat Producers Organisation, Voermol Feeds SA, ADM Animal Nutrition, HIPRA, and the Royal Agricultural Society.
