AS Tropical Cyclone Seroja tracked a path down the WA coast on Saturday threatening to create an historic weather event, an upstanding Poll Merino sire from the Button family's Manunda stud, Tammin, was creating its own history at the Make Smoking History Williams Gateway Expo.
As Mid West communities along the WA coastline in the path of Seroja battened down the hatches in preparation for its impact, the classy sire from the Manunda stud made its impact felt in the judging ring at Williams, ensuring a different name would be added to the supreme winner's list.
The Manunda ram stood out from the outset with its superior wool and carcase traits and tracked its path steadily through the day's judging before ramping up its presence when it lined up for the supreme ribbon.
The classy sire was the judges' pick, as well as for many onlookers in the crowd during the day, due to its presence and structure and it didn't disappoint when it stood in the supreme line-up.
The medium wool ram attracted the judges' eye early in the day and his standout appeal ensured it could not be overlooked for the day's top award.
However the Manuda sire didn't have it all its own way, despite its impressive outlook and production traits as it had to overcome 123 entries from 18 other studs before being sashed the supreme exhibit of the show.
Pushing it right to the final judging were two extremely impressive exhibits from the Norrish family, Angenup stud, Kojonup - an upstanding Merino ewe, which was sashed the champion ewe of show and prior to that it was their grand champion Merino ram in a very close contest where the judges could have gone either way.
When the Manunda ram and the Angenup ewe lined up for the supreme judging it was a tussle as the judges considered the virtues of both but in the end the ram got the nod in a unanimous decision.
When the ram was announced the Expo's supreme champion, judge Darren Chapman, Beaufort Vale stud, Boyup Brook, said it was a clear winner over the ewe for the supreme ribbon but it had been hard for the judges to separate the Manunda sire from the Angenup Merino ram for the champion ram of show as they were both very good rams in their own right.
"The Manunda sire is an impressive ram with a great outlook and a huge future," Mr Chapman said.
"He is almost fault-free and very well-balanced, he carries his head extremely well on his shoulders.
"He is also very pure from his muzzle right through to his toes and has a top fleece all over.
"He has an impressive lock structure and great whiteness and purity in his wool.
"He certainly has real stud quality and a big future."
The upstanding, four-tooth ram is ET-bred by Manunda 1310 (a son of Banavie 333), which the Manunda stud sold for $30,000 in 2018 to the Woolkabin stud, Woodanilling and out of a Moorundie Geoffrey blood ewe, which was sashed a champion at the Perth Royal Show.
Along with taking home the top award and champion ram of show title, the ram was also sashed the grand champion Poll Merino ram and champion medium wool Poll Merino ram.
When it was announced the champion ram of show, judge Richard House, Barloo stud, Gnowangerup, said it was very close between the Manunda ram and the Angenup ram and it was a great pleasure to be able to 'pick the eyes' out of them both as they were both top rams.
"In the end we had to make a choice and we went for the Manunda ram, he is the type of ram everyone wants and we believe he will go on to be a top sire," Mr House said.
"He has purity and softness right through, beautiful balance, great bone and structure and a beautiful topline.
"He also has an excellent fleece and he has the type of wool that can go anywhere.
"He is certainly an asset to the breeder."
The ram is no stranger to broad ribbons as it was sashed the reserve grand champion and reserve champion medium wool Poll Merino ram at this year's Make Smoking History Wagin Woolorama.
The ram earned the right to compete in the championship after initially winning its class for medium wool Poll Merino rams any age in front of eight other rams.
Standing in reserve to the Manunda sire in the Poll Merino rams and being sashed the reserve grand champion Poll Merino ram was a fine wool ram from the King family's Warralea stud, Gairdner.
When it received its reserve grand champion ribbon, Mr House said it was a beautiful ram and it was unlucky to be up against a very good sire in the Manunda ram.
"He has plenty of wool and will be a big fine wool cutter," Mr House said.
"He also has a big barrel and a good structure."
Warralea's fine wool ram earned the right to compete for the grand champion title after being sashed the champion fine wool Poll Merino ram and winning its class for fine wool Poll Merino rams any age in front of seven other exhibits.
At that point Mr Chapman said it had a good chassis which was covered in a well-nourished, white, quality, fine wool.
"He has a big barrel and great depth, while his wool quality is very even all over," Mr Chapman said.
The four-tooth, which was also sashed the champion fine wool Poll Merino ram at Woolorama, is by Warralea Wally.
Taking top honours in the Poll Merino ewes was the Norrish family's Angenup stud when it claimed the quinella, exhibiting both the grand champion Poll Merino ewe and the reserve grand champion.
When it came to the grand champion ewe, judge Jason Griffiths, Canowie Fields stud, Gairdner, said it was a very impressive ewe.
"She has a very white, well-crimped wool which she carries really well down to her toes, her wool quality varies very little," Mr Griffiths said.
"Not only does she have excellent wool quality, but she also shows good wool cutting ability.
"She is also a very square and correct ewe."
The classy exhibit was also sashed the champion medium wool Poll Merino ewe after winning its class for Poll Merino ewes any age in front of five others.
At that point Mr House said it was a well-balanced ewe with great coverage.
"She is extremely well covered all over in a soft, well-nourished medium wool," Mr House said.
The four-tooth AI-bred ewe is by Angenup 33.
The reserve grand champion ewe from Angenup was described by Mr Griffiths to have similar traits to the grand champion.
"The reserve champion is a very good ewe as well but in the end she wasn't quite as even in the fleece and that was the difference between the two," he said.
"She is a well-grown, deep, long-bodied ewe and is covered in a long-stapled, white wool.
"She shows good production traits and will no doubt go on to be a good productive ewe in the future."
The four-tooth ewe, which was from a syndicate mating, earned the right to stand out in the grand champion line-up after it stood first in its class for fine/medium wool Poll Merino ewes, any age in front of four others and was sashed the champion fine/medium wool Poll Merino ewe.
In the superfine wool ram class it was the King family, Rangeview stud, Darkan, which came up trumps, exhibiting both the champion and reserve champion exhibits.
Mr Chapman said the champion ram was a very good example of a superfine with excellent size and structure.
"He is a structurally very correct ram, which is well-covered in a really good soft-handling superfine wool," Mr Chapman said.
"The reserve champion has well-nourished wool which shows good handle but doesn't have the evenness of the champion."
Both rams were four-tooths with the champion coming from a syndicate mating while the reserve champion was by Rangeview 700.
In the fine wool ewes Rangeview was again at the top of the line-up, claiming the champion and reserve champion fine wool Poll Merino ewe ribbons.
Mr Chapman said the champion ewe from Rangeview was a true fine wool type.
"She has excellent wool quality and wool density," Mr Chapman said.
The four-tooth ewe is by Rangeview 635.
When it came to the reserve champion, which was a four-tooth by another Rangeview sire, Mr Chapman said it had great depth of body and a really good staple length, but it just didn't have the finish of the champion.
Rangeview also collected the reserve champion fine wool Poll Merino ram ribbon when an exhibit from the stud finished second behind the Warralea reserve grand champion ram in their class.
Mr Chapman said the Rangeview ram, which was a four-tooth by Rangeview 700, had a good handling, soft, nourished wool.
In the fine/medium wool Poll Merino ram class it was the Jackson family, Westerdale stud, McAlinden, that had a clean sweep, exhibiting both the champion and reserve champion fine/medium wool Poll Merino rams in a class which attracted nine entries.
Mr Griffiths said both the Westerdale rams, which were four-tooths, had good structure and carried quality, well-nourished, white wools.
"Both are good examples of the fine/medium type," Mr Griffiths said.
"But in the end the champion just had a bit better finish and more production."
The champion was by Yarrawonga 961, while the reserve was by a homebred Westerdale ram.
The Westerdale stud also collected the reserve champion fine/medium wool Poll Merino ewe ribbon with a ewe which Mr Griffiths said was a touch smaller than the champion but it impressed with its beautiful, white, long-stapled fleece.
The four-tooth ewe is also a daughter of Yarrawonga 961.
There were also some impressive sheep to come through in the medium wool Poll Merino section, none more so than the Manunda stud's supreme exhibit and Angenup's grand champion Poll Merino ewe.
Standing second to the Manunda ram in their initial class from medium wool Poll Merino rams, any age and taking home the reserve champion medium wool Poll Merino ram ribbon was a sire from the Blight family's, Seymour Park stud, Highbury.
Mr House said the Seymour Park ram was a good upstanding sire with both length and depth of body.
"He is a long-bodied ram with a bulky medium wool, but he doesn't quite have the finish of the Manunda sire," Mr House said.
The Seymour Park ram was a four-tooth by Greenfields Caesar.
Standing in reserve to the Angenup ewe in its initial class and being sashed the reserve champion medium wool Poll Merino ewe was a ewe from the Warralea stud, which was a four-tooth from a syndicate joining.
Mr House said he was impressed by the Warralea ewe's long-stapled, soft-handling medium wool.
In the strong wool Poll Merino classes it was the Lewis family, Lewisdale stud, Wickepin and the Manunda stud, which came out on top, claiming the champion strong wool Poll Merino ram and champion strong wool Poll Merino ewe ribbons respectively.
The Lewisdale sire beat six other rams to the ribbon in the class for strong wool Poll Merino rams any age.
Mr House said the four-tooth ram, which was AI-bred by Seymour Park 23, was a big upstanding ram that was well-made and well-balanced.
"He also shows a good heavy, wool cutting ability," he said.
Placing second to the Lewisdale ram in the class and being sashed the reserve champion was a sire from the Mullan family, Eastville Park stud, Wickepin, which Mr House said was well-balanced and carried a good nourished strong wool.
The Eastville Park sire was also a four-tooth and it was ET-bred by Greenfields Caesar and out of a East Mundalla blood Imperial ewe.
When it came to the ewes, it was an upstanding ewe from the Manunda stud which claimed the champion ribbon and Mr House said the Manunda ewe showed nice balance and was well-covered in a long-stapled, quality strong wool.
The four-tooth ewe is by Manunda Jacko 15777 and was sashed the reserve grand champion and reserve champion strong wool Poll Merino ewe at this year's Woolorama.
The reserve champion strong wool Poll Merino ewe ribbon was awarded to a ewe from the Bolt family, Claypans stud, Corrigin.
Mr House said the Claypans ewe was a very rich, heavy cutting strong wool type.
The four-tooth, ET-bred ewe is by Claypans 638.
