A Royal Canberra Show winner has had a helping hand from Cowra’s own Alyssa Higgins, securing champion status over the weekend.

Alora Prestige Stud, Dubbo, was awarded both champion ewe and ram for their Valais Blacknose sheep.

Alicia McConnel of Alora Prestige Stud said Cowra's High's student was especially helpful "Alyssa was fantastic, her attention to detail was phenomenal. Everything went so smoothly, judges were there and everything was presented well. No hiccups at all."

The stud's victory at the Canberra show is just the work up for other competitions in the year ahead.

"We're trying to build numbers at this stage with some new babies in June. Canberra was a great show as a prep toward the Royal Easter Show. It allows the sheep to familiar with what's expected, especially getting a lot of attention." Alicia said, "On the first day they're all a bit scared, and timid. By the end they're waiting at the end of the fence for cuddles and pats."

Ms McConell added that working with so many entrants on her own meant the help from the show community was critical.

"Canberra is the first show of the year for us, we have more later in the year. I'm the only one up here so it's great to have support from other breeders too. Cowra High School were amazing, a couple of other studs offered to help me out. The kind of support you get from other breeders is amazing, the show community is so lovely. It was a great time and we look forward to next year."

The ‘world’s cutest sheep’ will be headed next to the Sydney Royal Easter Show in April, to see if Alora can out-compete cute sheep from across the state.