A NEW piece of history was created by the Ledwith family, Dudinin, in its Merino breeding journey at the Rabobank WA Sheep Expo & Sale at Katanning last week, when a Poll Merino ram from its Kolindale stud took home the show's top award.
Among a shed full of highly productive and quality Merino and Poll Merino exhibits, the upstanding strong wool Poll sire, Kolindale 164, stood head and shoulders above the rest of the competition to claim the prestigious, purple supreme ribbon.
The win marked the first time the Ledwith family had won a supreme award in WA since purchasing the Kolindale stud from Colin and Rae Lewis in 2008.
Winning the supreme award also meant the ram became the WA Ram of the Year and earned the right to represent WA in the national judging this week in Dubbo, New South Wales.
However, with a number of field days still ahead of them and their two sales just around the corner, the Ledwiths decided they wouldn't be making the trip across the Nullarbor.
The ram which was near big enough to saddle up and had wool cutting ability to go close to filling a bale itself, caught the eye of the judges early before going on to be sashed the supreme exhibit ahead of 236 entries from 30 studs.
After Kolindale 164 was announced the supreme exhibit judge Rod Kent, Kurrajong Park stud, Delungra, New South Wales, said it wasn't an easy decision for the top award as all four sheep in the line-up were great examples of the Merino breed.
However in the end they couldn't ignore the Kolindale sire as it stood up extremely well and was really hard to fault.
"The Kolindale ram is a great structured with phenomenal size," Mr Kent said.
"He also has a quality strong wool fleece coming off a great skin and the quality of it runs right down underneath.
"In addition to all this he has a great sire's outlook.
"He is a fantastic Poll ram and certainly one of the best Polls I have seen in a while.
"He is a really great sire and a credit to the breeders."
Standing along with Kolindale 164 in the final line-up for the supreme ribbon were another three Poll Merinos - a well-balanced, young March shorn ram from the Mianelup stud, Gnowangerup, plus two upstanding ewes from the Coromandel stud, Gairdner, an August shorn and a March shorn.
Before being sashed the supreme exhibit, Kolindale 164, made it through the early judging to be sashed the grand champion August shorn ram.
Fellow judge Russell Jones, Darriwell stud, Trundle, NSW, said the Kolindale ram was a massive framed ram and it was its sheer scale that got it to the top of the line.
"His balance for such a large framed ram is tremendous while in terms of his wool it is also quite exceptional for his size," Mr Jones said.
Kolindale 164's run to the top started when it was sashed the champion August shorn strong wool Poll Merino ram in its opening class in front of five other sires.
The six-tooth ram, which is by Terrick West 3381 and out of a Collinsville Majestic daughter, in the ring carried wool figures of 21.8 micron, 4.0 SD, 18.3 CV and 98.3 per cent comfort factor.
The ram is no stranger to broad ribbons at last month's Australian Sheep & Wool Show at Bendigo, Victoria, it was sashed the grand champion Poll Merino ram and reserve grand champion strong wool ram while at this year's Make Smoking History Williams Gateway Expo it was sashed the reserve grand champion Poll Merino ram.
AUGUST SHORN
As in the August shorn rams it was another Poll Merino exhibit that rose to the top and claimed the highest award in the August shorn ewe classes - the grand champion August shorn ewe award.
This time it was an impressive medium wool ewe, which had already racked up an impressive resume of awards at shows this year, from the Campbell family's Coromandel stud that caught the judges' attention and was sashed the grand champion.
When the upstanding ewe was sashed the grand champion August shorn ewe Mr Jones said it was a big, long, beautifully finished ewe.
"She is very well balanced with a great length of rein and a tremendous outlook," he said.
"Her make and shape is excellent.
"She is also hard to fault in terms of her wool.
"She has a rich, heavy cutting gutsy medium wool."
Before being sashed the grand champion August shorn ewe, it was sashed the champion August shorn medium wool Poll Merino ewe in front of nine other entries.
The six-tooth, ET-bred ewe is by Yarrawonga 961 and out of an ET-bred Coromandel ewe sired by Rhamily Benny and carried wool figures of 19.4 micron, 3.0 SD, 15.5 CV and 99.4pc CF in the ring.
At the Australian Sheep & Wool Show the ewe was sashed the grand champion medium wool ewe and it was part of the stud's pair which finished second in the national pair competition.
Taking home the reserve grand champion August shorn ram ribbon and standing in reserve to the Kolindale sire in the grand championship judging was a fine/medium wool Merino ram from the Hogg family's Navanvale stud, Williams.
Mr Sutherland said the Navanvale ram was an exceptional woolled sheep.
"He has a really good soft-handling wool and is a very well-balanced, neat and tidy ram," Mr Sutherland said.
Before standing in the grand champion line-up the ram was sashed the champion August shorn fine/medium wool Merino ram when it won its first class against four other rams.
The six-tooth ram, which is a grandson of Banavie Dan, was sashed the grand champion Merino ram at this year's Make Smoking History Wagin Woolorama.
It carried wool figures in the ring of 20.0 micron, 3.0 SD, 15.0 CV and 99.6pc CF.
Standing behind the Coromandel ewe in the ewe grand championship and taking home the reserve grand champion August shorn ribbon was a classy strong wool ewe from the Blight family's Seymour Park stud, Highbury.
When the ewe received the reserve grand champion ribbon Mr Jones said the ewe had great balance and would be a very good breeder in the future.
"She is a big, bulky strong wool ewe with a great 17.8 micron fleece," Mr Jones said.
"Not only does she have quality in her fleece but she is going to cut a lot of wool as well."
In its initial class it was sashed the champion August shorn strong wool Poll Merino ewe ahead of two other ewes.
In the ring the four tooth, AI-bred ewe carried wool figures of 17.8 micron, 3.2 SD, 18.0 CV and 99.5pc CF."
The ewe is by Seymour Park 111, which was sold by the Blight family to the Crichton Vale stud, Narembeen, for $13,000 at the 2016 Rabobank WA Sheep Expo & Sale.
In the superfine August shorn classes it was the Rintoul family's Tilba Tilba stud, Williams, which dominated.
It exhibited the champion August shorn superfine wool Merino ram and champion August shorn superfine wool ewe.
Mr Kent said the Tilba Tilba champion ram was a very good sire with good head extension and a quality fleece.
"He is covered right to his toes and is as good underneath as he is on top," Mr Kent said.
The ram is from the stud's green family and carried wool figures of 18.3 micron, 2.7 SD, 14.8 CV and 99.8pc CF.
In terms of the Tilba Tilba champion ewe, Mr Kent said it was a good upstanding ewe which was well covered in a good superfine wool.
"She is nice and thick and also has a good soft, pure muzzle," he said.
The ewe is from the stud's dark blue family and had wool figures of 15.8 micron, 2.3 SD, 14.6 CV and 99.9pc CF.
The Tilba Tilba stud continued to collect more champion ribbons when it came to the fine wool classes when it exhibited the champion August shorn fine wool Merino ewe.
Mr Kent said the fine wool ewe from Tilba Tilba was a well-balanced ewe with a good quality fine wool.
It is from its Pink family and had wool figures of 18.3 micron, 3.4 SD, 18.6 CV and 99.4pc CF.
The ribbon for the champion August shorn fine wool Poll Merino ewe went to a ewe from the Belmont Park stud, Wagin, which measured 20.4 micron, 4.0 SD, 19.6 CV and 99.2pc CF.
Mr Kent said it was a well-balanced ewe with a nice skin and a classy fine wool.
The ewe is a grand daughter of Poll Boonoke 28.
In the fine wool ram championships the Rangeview stud, Darkan, exhibited the champion August shorn fine wool Merino ram, while the champion August shorn fine wool Poll Merino ram was exhibited by the Warralea stud, Gairdner.
Mr Kent described the Rangeview ram, which is from its Tara Park family, as a well-structured sire that is phenomenal underneath.
The ram carried wool figures of 21.3 micron, 3.2 SD, 15.0 CV and 99.0pc CF.
When it came to the champion from Warralea, Mr Kent said it was a big, upstanding, well-covered sire.
"He also has excellent wool quality all over, which is great to see," Mr Kent said.
The Warralea ram has wool figures of 20.5 micron, 2.5 SD, 12.2 CV and 100pc CF.
The champion August shorn fine/medium wool Merino and Poll Merino ewe ribbons were taken home by the Angenup stud, Kojonup and the Coromandel stud.
The Angenup Merino ewe was sashed by Mr Sutherland and he said it had very good nourishment in the wool and was a good square ewe.
The ET-bred ewe is by Navanvale Frank and had wool figures of 18.8 micron, 3.1 SD, 16.5 CV and 99.5pc CF.
When it came to the Coromandel Poll champion ewe, Mr Sutherland said the ewe was well-structured and showed exceptional wool qualities.
The ET-bred ewe, which is by Yarrawonga 961 and out of a Rhamily Benny sired ewe, has wool figures of 20.5 micron, 2.6 SD, 12.7 CV and 99.4pc CF.
The champion August shorn fine/medium wool Poll Merino ram was exhibited by the Mullan family's Quailerup West stud, Wickepin.
When sashing the Quailerup West sire the champion ahead of 11 other rams in the class Mr Sutherland said it was a heavy, meaty ram with good production traits.
The six-tooth sire, which is by a Leovale ram, sired by Banavie Rifle, had wool figures of 19.0 micron, 3.1 SD, 16.3 CV and 99.5pc CF.
In the medium wool ram section the Rintoul family's Auburn Valley stud, Williams, exhibited the champion August shorn medium wool Merino ram and the Coromandel stud exhibited the champion August shorn medium wool Poll Merino ram.
When the Auburn Valley sire received its red, white and blue champion ribbon, ahead of five other rams, Mr Jones said it was the best allround balanced ram in the class.
"He has a great structure, a sire's head and a white, well-defined, medium wool," Mr Jones said.
The six-tooth is by an Auburn Valley-bred ram, which is a grandson of East Mundalla Jonty and it had wool figures of 21.6 micron, 3.1 SD, 14.4 CV and 99.9pc CF.
When it came to the champion August shorn medium wool Poll Merino ram from the Coromandel stud it beat nine other rams to the ribbon and when it received it Mr Jones said it had a good structure and carried a good rich, medium wool all over.
The ram is no stranger to broad ribbons this year as it was sashed the supreme exhibit at both the Wagin Woolorama and Williams Gateway Expo.
The six-tooth, ET-bred ram, which is by Glenlea Park 881 and out of Coromandel 6 (a Moorundie Geoffrey daughter), had carried wool tests of 22.5 micron, 3.5 SD, 15.6 CV and 97.3pc CF.
It sold privately after the show for $18,000 to the Darijon stud, Narrogin and the Sunnyview stud, Wagin.
The St Quentin stud, Nyabing, exhibited the champion August shorn medium wool Merino ewe, when it won its class of five entries.
Mr Jones said the St Quentin ewe was a very well-balanced ewe with a soft, heavy cutting wool.
The ET-bred ewe, by St Quentin 382, carried wool figures of 17.9 micron, 3.7 SD, 20.7 CV and 99.5pc CF.
The ribbons for the champion August shorn strong wool Merino ram and ewe went to the Darijon and St Quentin studs respectively.
When the Darijon sire received its champion ribbon in front of four other sires Mr Sutherland said it displayed plenty of scale and size and carried a top quality strong wool.
The ram, which has been purchased by the Eungai stud, Miling, is by Darijon 163 that the stud sold to an Argentinean stud for $11,000 in 2016.
It had wool figures of 20.5 micron, 3.2 SD, 15.6 CV and 99.7pc CF.
In terms of the St Quentin champion ewe, Mr Sutherland said the ewe had an exceptional structure and carried a high quality, bright, white strong wool.
The ET-bred ewe, which is by East Mundalla Jonty and out of St Quentin 406 (the 2013 Wagin Woolorama and Williams Gateway Expo supreme exhibit), carried wool figures of 18.4 micron, 3.4 SD, 18.5 CV and 99.1pc CF.
The champion pair of August shorn rams was exhibited by the Seymour Park stud when its two Poll rams got the nod from judge Ryan O'Dea, Narrogin, ahead of seven other pairs.
Mr O'Dea said the Seymour Park pairing, matched up well and had very few faults.
MARCH SHORN
For a second year running Elliot Richardson's Mianelup stud, Gnowangerup, took top honours in the March shorn section with a young, upstanding Poll Merino sire.
The classy Mianelup sire, was not only sashed the grand champion March shorn ram, it also took home the Landmark-sponsored junior champion ram award.
When the Mianelup sire received these ribbons Mr Kent said it was a clear winner.
"He is structurally very sound, is long bodied and has great neck extension," Mr Kent said.
"The crimp in his wool is brilliant and he is really punching out a heap of quality wool.
"He is also a beautiful, masculine ram with a good sirey head and muzzle.
"He is a top young Poll ram."
Equally impressed with the young ram was fellow judge Mr Jones who said it was a well put together sire.
"He is structurally very correct and is carrying soft-handling, white, pure, gutsy wool," Mr Jones said.
"He also has a big head, a soft, broad muzzle and shows plenty of masculinity."
Prior to taking out the top March shorn ram awards the Mianelup sire was also sashed the champion March shorn strong wool Poll Merino ram when it won its class ahead of 13 other sires.
The two-tooth, ET-bred ram is by Seymour Park 111 and it had wool figures of 22.1 micron, 3.8 SD, 17.2 CV and 98.8pc CF.
Standing just behind the Mianelup sire and being sashed the reserve grand champion March shorn ram was a young Poll sire from Ray and Rhonda Edmonds' Rhamily stud, Calingiri.
Mr Jones said the Rhamily ram was a big, meaty sheep and a real carcase sire.
"He stands up really well, is long-bodied and has a good long neck and long nose," Mr Jones said.
"He has a nice white wool but it really is all his carcase traits which are a standout."
The AI-bred two-tooth sire is by Rhamily Benny and carried wool figures in the ring of 20.7 micron, 3.1 SD, 15.0 CV and 99.1pc CF.
The ram came into the grand champion line-up up after finishing second to the Mianelup ram in their opening class for March shorn, strong wool Poll Merino rams.
It wasn't only the judges which liked the ram buyers were also impressed when it sold in the sale for the top price of $45,000.
In the March shorn superfine wool ram classes, it was the Tilba Tilba stud which exhibited both the Merino and Poll Merino champions.
Mr Kent said the champion March shorn superfine wool Merino ram from Tilba Tilba was a well-structured sire with a good skin and a soft muzzle.
The ram which still has its lambs teeth is from the stud's dark blue family and has wool figures of 17.4 micron, 2.9 SD, 16.7 CV and 99.7pc CF.
When it came to Tilba Tilba's champion March shorn superfine wool Poll Merino ram, Mr Kent said it was a very pure ram with plenty of softness, a good structure and a long-stapled superfine fleece.
The two-tooth sire is from the stud's old blue tag family and has wool figures of 16.0 micron, 3.2 SD, 20.0 CV and 99.7pc CF.
In the fine wool ram section the champion ribbons went to a Merino ram from the Wise family's Wililoo stud, Woodanilling and a Poll Merino ram from the Rangeview stud.
Mr Kent described the Merino ram as an extremely good sheep.
"He is very correct and has a beautiful fine wool coming off a fantastic skin," Mr Kent said.
In the ring the two-tooth ram which is by Wililoo Hector carried wool figures of 16.7 micron, 3.0 SD, 18.0 CV and 99.8pc CF.
When sashing the Rangeview Poll ram, which had just cut its four teeth, Mr Kent said the ram had a very good skin, was extremely pure in the muzzle and had a good long staple.
The ram, which was from a Tara Park family syndicate mating, had wool figures of 17.9 micron, 2.8 SD, 15.6 CV and 99.5pc CF.
The champion March shorn fine/medium wool Merino and Poll Merino ram ribbons were awarded to the Darijon stud and the Lewisdale stud, Wickepin, respectively.
Mr Kent said the Darijon Merino ram, which placed first in its class of five, had a very correct frame and carried a rich, crimpy, fine/medium wool.
The two-tooth ram, which is a grandson of East Mundalla Jonty, displayed wool figures of 17.7 micron, 2.7 SD, 15.3 CV and 99.7pc CF in the ring.
When it came to the Lewisdale Merino ram that took home the champion ribbon after placing first in its class in front of nine other rams Mr Jones said it had tremendous balance, plenty of bone, a good skin and a good long staple.
The two-tooth ram is by Seymour Park 68 and had wool figures of 18.9 micron, 2.5 SD, 13.2 CV and 99.8pc CF.
In the medium wool ram classes it was a Merino ram from the Barloo stud, Gnowangerup and a Poll Merino ram from the Wililoo stud which came out on top and were sashed champions.
When the Barloo sire collected the champion March shorn medium wool Merino ram ribbon, in front of nine other sires, Mr Jones said the ram had a very good outlook and stood up very proud.
"He has a very good structure, a top sire's head and plenty of fibre on a good loose skin," Mr Jones said.
The two-tooth ram, which is by Barloo Impact 112, had wool figures of 19.9 micron, 3.2 SD, 16.1 CV and 99.7pc CF.
The Poll Merino ram from the Wililoo stud collected the champion March shorn medium wool Poll Merino ram after it won its class, which was the biggest on the day with 23 entries.
Mr Jones said it was a tremendous young ram with exceptional balance, correctness and finish.
"He also has a great testing wool, his high fibre density and long staple allows him to have a great wool test," Mr Jones said.
"He is going to grow into a very good ram."
The ram, which has just cut its two-teeth, is by a Greenfields sire that Wililoo purchased in partnership with the Barloo and Seymour Park studs for $30,000 a couple of years ago.
Its wool figures were 18.9 micron, 2.7 SD, 14.3 CV and 99.5pc CF.
The Mianelup stud not only exhibited the champion March shorn strong wool Poll Merino ram, it also exhibited the champion March shorn strong wool Merino ram.
Strong wool judge Les Sutherland said when the Mianelup Merino sire beat seven others in its class, it was an exceptional woolled sheep with a great structure.
"He shows really good wool cutting ability and is a very well-balanced ram," Mr Sutherland said.
The ram is bred from a Western Purple syndicate mating and had wool figures of 21.2 micron, 3.7 SD, 17.5 CV and 99.2pc CF.
Like in the August shorn ewe classes it was the Coromandel stud that came out on top and claimed the grand champion ribbon in the March shorn section.
When the classy, young ewe from the Coromandel stud was sashed the grand champion March shorn ewe, Mr Sutherland said it was a very good all round sheep.
"She stands up well, is well balanced, has a sweet, white wool and her wool underneath is exceptional," he said.
Also full of praise for the ewe was Mr Kent who described the ewe as a brick on four legs.
"She is a big, square, upstanding ewe that is near faultless," Mr Kent said.
Before standing in the grand champion line-up the two-tooth ewe was sashed the champion March shorn medium/strong wool Poll Merino ewe in its initial class ahead of 11 other ewes.
The ET-bred ewe is by Glenlea Park 881 and carried wool figures of 20.4 micron, 3.0 SD, 14.7 CV and 99.8pc CF.
Standing in reserve to the Coromandel ewe and sashed the reserve grand champion March shorn ewe was a ewe from the Darijon stud.
Mr Sutherland when sashing the Darijon ewe said it was a massive, square ewe.
"She is a big, powerful, robust ewe with plenty of cutting ability," he said.
The ewe stood in the grand champion line-up after it won its initial class for strong wool March shorn Merino ewes and was sashed the champion March shorn medium/strong wool Merino ewe.
The two-tooth ewe, which was sired by a homebred Darijon ram, carried wool figures of 19.7 micron, 2.8 SD, 14.2 CV and 99.7pc CF.
The champion March shorn superfine/fine and fine/medium wool Merino ewe was exhibited by the St Quentin stud.
Mr Kent said the St Quentin two-tooth ewe was a well built ewe and would be very productive in future years.
The ET-bred ewe is sired by St Quentin 351, which was part of the stud's national winning pair in 2017 and out of a ewe carrying East Mundalla Jonty bloodlines.
It had wool figures of 17.8 micron, 3.0 SD, 16.9 CV and 99.9pc CF.
The Seymour Park stud exhibited the champion March shorn superfine/fine and fine/medium wool Poll Merino ewe when its ewe won the class in front of seven other ewes.
Mr Kent said the Seymour Park ewe was an outstanding rich wool ewe which was very correct in the fleece.
In the wool the ewe, which was by Seymour Park 23, measured 18.2 micron, 3.1 SD, 17.0 CV and 99.8pc CF.
The grand champion and champion pair of March shorn rams was a pair of Poll Merino rams from the Mianelup stud.
When the pairing received its grand champion ribbon judge Darren Chapman, Beaufort Vale stud, Boyup Brook, said they were a well matched pair.
"They are both well covered, have good barrels and quality wools."
