TOP honours in the Merino ring at this year's Williams Gateway Expo Sheep Show were claimed by the two top quality exhibits from the Wise family's Wililoo stud, Woodanilling and the King family's Rangeview stud, Darkan.
In the ram judging it was a productive, fine-medium wool sire from Wililoo which won the award and was sashed the grand champion Merino ram, while the top ewe honour and grand champion Merino ewe ribbon went to a well-balanced, quality fine wool ewe from Rangeview.
The Wililoo ram was a standout all day for the judges because of its structure, large frame and stylish, white wool and it was unlucky not to go home with supreme ribbon at the end of the day, as it ran a good race against the Poll Merino champion from the Seymour Park stud, Highbury, for the champion ram of show title.
When the ram was sashed the grand champion Merino ram judge Jason Griffiths, Canowie Fields stud, Gairdner, said it was an upstanding ram with plenty of quality features and it was a clear winner for the grand champion ribbon.
"He is a well-structured, large-framed ram with excellent carcase qualities," Mr Griffiths said.
"On the wool side he a quality, white fine-medium wool which opens up really well.
"He is a well-balanced sire all round with both top wool and carcase traits."
The Wililoo ram earned the right to compete for the grand champion ribbon after being sashed the champion fine-medium wool Merino ram and winning its class for fine-medium wool Merino rams, any age, in front of three other rams.
At this point judge Steven Bolt, Claypans stud, Corrigin, said the Wililoo ram had magnificent make and shape and great wool production.
"He has really good squareness and a top horn and headset," Mr Bolt said.
"He also has a very even and quality wool all over and he carries this wool quality down underneath as well.
"He is a highly productive ram which is going to cut a lot of wool."
The four-tooth sire, is sired by Wililoo Hector.
Standing reserve to the Wililoo sire and taking home the reserve grand champion Merino ram ribbon was an impressive superfine wool sire from the Rintoul family's Tilba Tilba stud, Williams.
Mr Griffiths said the Tilba Tilba sire was a very well-made superfine ram.
"His wool is as white as you can get and also has a very good sharpness about it," Mr Griffiths said.
"He is a very good superfine type."
The Tilba Tilba sire was in the grand champion line-up after winning its initial class for superfine wool Merino rams any age and being sashed the champion superfine wool Merino ram in front of two other rams.
When it received its champion ribbon, Mr Bolt said it was a structurally sound, long-bodied ram with exceptional cutting ability.
"He has quality superfine wool from head to toe and there is also plenty of it," Mr Bolt said.
The fourth-tooth ram is from the stud's blue tag family.
In the ewe classes it was an exhibit from the Rangeview stud which shone through to take home the top award -*- the grand champion Merino ewe award.
But its success in the judging didn't end with the grand champion ribbon as it went on to be sashed the champion ewe of show as well, in front of the grand champion Poll Merino ewe which was also exhibited by Rangeview.
When being crowned the expo's top ewe ,judge Paul Norrish, Angenup stud, Kojonup, said it was a stylish fine wool ewe with magnificent bone and structure.
"She carries a well-nourished, stylish fine wool and has excellent cutting ability," Mr Norrish said.
"It was close between the two ewes from Ranegview for the champion ewe of show, but in the end we went for the Merino ewe as she had a touch more production and bone as well as a strong muzzle."
Equally happy to praise the ewe was Mr Bolt, who said it was a very productive fine wool ewe with really good balance.
"She has a fantastic skin and is structurally sound," Mr Bolt said.
"She also has softness and purity plus she also carries her excellent wool quality all the way down to her toes and underneath on her belly.
"She is an outstanding fine wool type."
Prior to being sashed the champion ewe of show and grand champion Merino ewe, the Rangeview exhibit was sashed the champion fine wool Merino ewe when it won its class for fine wool Merino ewes, any age.
The two-tooth, ET-bred ewe, is by Glen Donald 868 and out of Rangeview purple tag 739.
The Rangeview stud collected the quinella in the Merino ewes when it also exhibited the reserve grand champion Merino ewe.
Winning the reserve grand ribbon was a fine-medium wool ewe from the stud which shone through and appealed to the judges.
Mr Bolt said the reserve grand champion ewe from Rangeview was an upstanding ewe with great length of body and good balance.
"She has a fantastic, well-marked fine-medium wool, good softness in her wool and an excellent staple length," he said.
Prior to being sashed the reserve grand champion, the two-tooth ewe, was sashed the champion fine-medium wool Merino ewe when it won its class.
The ET-bred ewe is by Glen Donald 868 and out of Rangeview black tag 3.
In the superfine ewe class, honours were shared between the Rangeview stud and the Tilba Tilba stud.
The champion ribbon went to a ewe from Rangeview which Mr Bolt said was structurally sound with a beautiful barrel.
"She also has fantastic length and definition in her wool and is also very good underneath," he said.
The two-tooth ewe from Rangeview was from a syndicate mating.
The reserve champion superfine Merino ewe ribbon was taken home by the Tilba Tilba stud when Mr Bolt gave a ewe from the stud the nod due to its wool quality and coverage.
The four-tooth ewe was from the stud's green tag family.
Along with collecting the champion superfine Merino ram ribbon, the Tilba Tilba stud also went home with the reserve superfine wool Merino ram ribbon.
Mr Bolt said the Tilba Tilba reserve champion ram was free-growing type with a very softness in its wool.
In the fine wool Merino ram class it was again the Rangeview and Tilba Tilba studs which took home the champion and reserve champion ribbons.
The Rangevew stud exhibited the champion fine wool Merino ram and Mr Bolt said it was the ram's size and production which got it across the line.
"He is a big fine wool type with excellent wool production traits," Mr Bolt said.
"He also has really nice style in his wool which he carries well down to his points."
The four-tooth ram is ET-bred by Glen Donald 868 and out of Rangeview 55.
Standing in reserve to the Rangeview ram and winning the reserve champion fine wool Merino ram ribbon was a sire from the Tilba Tilba stud.
Mr Bolt said the two-tooth ram, which was from the stud's purple tag family, had very good softness and purity.
The Tilba Tilba stud also exhibited the reserve champion fine wool Merino ewe and Mr Bolt said this ewe had a nice long body and carried a quality white wool all over.
The two-tooth ewe was from the stud's blue tag family.
There were plenty of quality exhibits in the fine-medium wool section with both champions going on to be either a grand or reserve grand champion exhibit.
In the fine-medium rams the reserve champion ribbon was awarded to an exhibit from the Rangeview stud, which stood behind the grand champion ram from Wililoo in their opening class.
Mr Bolt said the Rangeview ram was a very productive type.
"He has an excellent long body and is going to cut a lot of quality fine-medium wool, which he carries really well right down to the ground," Mr Bolt said.
The AI-bred ram was a two-tooth by Glen Donald 868.
In the medium wool section the four champion and reserve champion ribbons were shared between four different studs.
In the rams it was the Mullan family's Eastville Park stud, Wickepin, which took top honours and went home with the champion medium wool Merino ram ribbon, when its sire placed first in a class of seven sires.
Mr Norrish said the Eastville Park ram had very good bone and structure.
"He is carrying a heavy cutting, waxy wool," Mr Norrish said.
The two-tooth ram is AI-bred and sired by Collinsville Gladiator.
The reserve champion medium wool Merino ram was exhibited by the Wililoo stud and Mr Norrish said this ram had tremendous richness and style in its wool.
The Wililoo ram was also a two-tooth and it was from a syndicate mating.
In the medium wool class it was a ewe from the Rangeview stud which had the champion medium wool Merino ewe ribbon draped across its back.
When sashing the ewe the champion, Mr Norrish said it had plenty of bulk in its wool and excellent carcase.
"She is very well-covered and well-balanced ewe," Mr Norrish said.
The winning ewe was a two-tooth and a full, ET-bred sister to the stud's reserve grand champion Merino ewe.
Standing in reserve to the Rangeview ewe in the class of five ewes and being sashed, the reserve champion medium wool Merino ewe was a ewe from the Dongiemon stud, Williams.
Mr Norrish said the four-tooth Dongiemon ewe was very productive and had a sharply crimped medium wool.
In the strong wool section both champion ribbons went to the Rintoul family's Auburn Valley stud, Williams, where it exhibited both the champion strong wool Merino ram and the champion strong wool Merino ewe.
Mr Norrish said the champion ram from Auburn Valley was a structurally well-made ram with magnificent lustre in its wool.
The four-tooth ram is from the stud's Pooginook Ranger family.
The reserve champion strong wool Merino ram was exhibited by the Jaloran stud, Miling.
Mr Norrish said the four-tooth ram from Jaloran had a big barrel and a good long staple.
When it came to the champion strong wool Merino ewe exhibited by the Auburn Valley stud, Mr Norrish said it was a well-made ewe, with good handle in its wool and well-finished to its points.
The ewe was a four-tooth and was sired by Auburn Valley Raine, which carries East Mundalla Jonty and Pooginook Gem bloodlines in its pedigree.
The reserve champion strong wool Merino ewe ribbon was awarded to a ewe from the Dongiemon stud which Mr Norrish said had good size and cutting ability.
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