Another big cross-country trip to this year's Sydney Royal Easter Show has paid off for the Thompson family's Venturon Livestock Charolais stud, Boyup Brook.
At the show the Thompsons recorded their best ever results which included exhibiting the supreme Charolais exhibit title and the winning Interbreed Breeder's Group of Three.
If the Thompsons thought their trip last year across to Sydney, was one which wouldn't be easily forgotten after it exhibited the junior champion bull and female and the senior and grand champion bull, those thoughts had certainly changed by the time they started their return trip home this year.
Not only did they match their results of last year but they eclipsed them in fine style this year when they collected the supreme Charolais ribbon and an interbreed ribbon which had previously eluded them.
The win in the interbreed competition marked not only a first for the Thompsons but also WA, it is believed to be the first time a WA stud had been announced as an interbreed winner at Sydney.
Along with these titles, the stud also collected a swag of champion ribbons including grand champion Charolais bull, grand champion Charolais female, junior champion Charolais bull, junior champion Charolais female and senior champion Charolais female.
In addition to all these ribbons, the stud also won the most successful Charolais exhibitor title for a third year running.
The Thompsons are no strangers to making the 52 hour drive both ways across the Nullarbor to exhibit their cattle and the results they achieved this year were again beyond what they could have ever imagined and backed up their excellent showings of the past couple of years.
The family first exhibited at the show in 2011 and has only missed two years since then and that was in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19.
When they started, their goal had been to exhibit a grand champion and be among the top results in the interbreed competition and they certainly surpassed those targets this year.
In the Charolais ring judge Matt Spry, Spry's Shorthorn and Angus studs, Holbrook, New South Wales, had strong fields put before him to judge throughout and it the end he went for the Thompson's senior champion female, Venturon Starstruck 157S, which had a heifer calf at foot, for the supreme Charolais title.
Starstruck 157S is by SCR Triumph 21335 and out of SVY Starstruck 409B.
It was in the running for the top awards after taking first place in the class for females aged 30 to 36-month-old.
Venturon co-principal Harris Thompson said Starstruck was one of the best females the stud had ever shown.
"She was junior champion female at last year's Sydney Royal and junior and grand champion female at the 2022 Adelaide Royal when she was 12 months old," Mr Thompson said.
When Starstruck 157S collected the supreme Charolais exhibit ribbon and grand champion Charolais female ribbon, it marked the first time the Thompsons had won these awards at Sydney.
Standing up against Starstruck for the grand champion Charolais female ribbon was Venturon Fiona T216, which was sashed the junior champion female.
Fiona T216 is by Ascot Ramrod R104E and out of Venturon Natures Gift.
It was in the championship classes after winning the class for 18mo females.
The win by Fiona T216 marked the third year in a row the Thompsons had collected the junior champion female ribbon at Sydney.
Venturon continued its good run in the Charolais judging ring with its bulls.
Taking home the grand champion and junior champion bull ribbons for the Thompsons was Venturon Talladega T192.
Talladega T192, by Palgrove Landmark and out of Palgrove Clara, won the 18mo bull class.
The red factor bull weighed 796 kilograms with an average daily gain of 1.41kg per day.
It also scanned 6mm for both rump and rib fats and 135cm2 for eye muscle area.
Mr Thompson said the stud planned to keep the red-factor bull.
"We're really excited about what he's going to offer," Mr Thompson said.
"He's a new type of Charolais that we'll have at home for outcross genetics."
When Talladega T192 was sashed the grand champion Charolais bull it marked the third consecutive year the stud had claimed the title at Sydney.
The reserve champion senior female also contained Venturon breeding its background.
The Venturon Maximum Impact daughter, Winchester Daisy Duke S10E, exhibited by Winchester Charolais stud, Orange, NSW, which won the 24- to 36-month-old class, was sashed the reserve senior champion female.
While the stud's success in the Charolais judging ring exceeded all the Thompson family's expectations it was the results in the interbreed judging which blew them away when they were announced the winners of the Gordon Fuller Memorial Perpetual Trophy for the interbreed breeders' group class.
The final decision in the competition came down to four teams for judge, Ross Thompson, Millah Murrah Angus stud, Bathurst, New South Wales.
This included the Venturon Livestock team along with teams representing the Angus, Limousin and Murray Grey breeds.
But there could only be one winner and in the end Mr Thompson went for the Venturon team which had a mass of strike power.
The Venturon team included the stud's champion winners - Starstruck 157S, Talladega T192 and Fiona T216.
"These cattle are such beautiful exhibits for their breeds," Mr Thompson said.
"We're really narrowing it down (the decision) to the nitty gritty.
"The Charolais team is a very complete team.
"They're structurally beautiful, and their tracking is spot-on.
"It's hard to change them; each individual is right at the top of the industry, and the exhibitors should be justifiably proud."
But it was not only in this interbreed class the stud performed strongly.
In the Urquhart Trophy, which was won by an Angus cow and calf unit from JSR Livestock, Adelong, New South Wales, Starstruck 157S placed in the top four as did Talladega T192.
Then in the judging for the Hordern Trophy Supreme Beef Breed Champions, which is for the best interbreed pair - Starstruck 157S and Talladega T192 combined to represent the Charolais breed and the pair finished in the top three.
The Hordern Trophy was won by an Angus pairing exhibited by JSR Livestock, who exhibited the grand champion Angus female and Tattykeel and RDM Angus, Black Springs, NSW, which exhibited the grand champion Angus bull.
Also in the interbreed classes Fiona T216 placed in the top three animals in the heifer judging while Talladega T192 went on to place second in the junior interbreed bull competition.
