Top honours in the Merino ring at this year's Act Belong Commit Williams Gateway Expo were claimed by the two top quality fine-medium wool exhibits from the Rintoul family's Auburn Valley stud, Williams and the King family's Rangeview stud, Darkan.
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In the ram judging it was a well-balanced, heavy cutting sire from Auburn Valley which won the award and was sashed the grand champion Merino ram ribbon, while the top ewe honour and grand champion Merino ewe ribbon went to a super, soft woolled ewe from the Rangeview stud.
When the Auburn Valley ram was announced the grand champion, it marked the first time the stud had claimed a grand champion ribbon at the expo.
The Auburn Valley ram stood out all day to the judges with its excellent balance and wool production traits in terms of quality and quantity.
When the ram was sashed the grand champion Merino ram, judge Ray Edmonds, Calingiri, said it was a very well-balanced ram.
"He stands up wide and square and didn't change his stance for the whole judging," Mr Edmonds said.
"When it comes to his wool, you can't fault him there either.
"He has a beautiful, well-nourished, gutsy wool.
"He is a real heavy cutting sire and I think he is going to cut a power of quality wool."
The Auburn Valley 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, in front of three other rams.
At this point judge Rod Norrish, Angenup stud, Kojonup, described the Auburn Valley ram as a very good sire.
"He has good bone and good feet," Mr Norrish said.
"He also has great bulk in his wool due to a great staple length.
"His wool is also soft, white and bright and handles very well."
The ram, which is still a two-tooth, is no stranger to broad ribbons as it was sashed the champion two-tooth ram at this year's Wagin Woolorama as well as reserve grand champion Merino ram and reserve champion medium wool ram.
The May 2022-drop ram is by Wililoo Buster 469, which was purchased by the Rintouls at the 2021 Rabobank WA Sheep Expo & Merino Ram Sale at Katanning for $14,250 and out of a ewe, which was sired by Navanvale Frank.
Standing in reserve to the Auburn Valley sire and taking home the reserve grand champion Merino ram ribbon was an impressive superfine wool ram from the McLagan family's Eungai stud, Miling.
Mr Edmonds said the Eungai ram was a very good superfine type.
"He has a good free-growing, well-nourished wool and is a heavy cutter," he said.
"He also stands up well and is a really good size for his wool type."
The four-tooth ram was in the grand champion line-up after winning its class for superfine wool Merino rams and being sashed the champion superfine wool Merino ram.
At this point judge Iain Nicholson, Boorabbin and Colvin Park studs, New Norcia, said the Eungai ram was a deep bodied sire with a good barrel and very good wool coverage.
The ram is by Charinga Juddy and out of ewe carrying Navanvale Frank bloodlines.
In the Merino ewe classes, it was the King family's Rangeview stud which dominated the top awards.
Not only did it exhibit the grand champion Merino ewe, it also exhibited the reserve grand champion Merino ewe.
Taking home the grand champion Merino ewe ribbon for the stud was an upstanding fine-medium wool ewe.
When the ewe had the ribbon draped across its back Mr Norrish said the ewe was a unanimous winner.
"She is super soft from her muzzle through to her wool," he said.
"She has a really special, deep-crimped fleece which has a magnificent handle on a well-made body.
"Not only has she great wool quality but she carries it from her top notch to her toes."
Prior to being sashed the grand champion Merino ewe, the Rangeview exhibit was sashed the champion fine-medium wool ewe when it won its class for fine-medium wool.
At this stage of the judging Mr Norrish said it was a dinky die fine-medium wool ewe.
"The softness in her wool is unbelievable and she has a great structure," he said.
"She is an extra special ewe."
The two-tooth, AI-bred ewe is by Yarrawonga 137.
Collecting the reserve grand champion Poll Merino ewe ribbon for the Rangeview stud was a fine wool ewe.
When this ewe had the reserve grand champion ribbon placed across its back, Mr Norrish said it was a bigger ewe than the grand champion but it didn't have the handle or softness in the wool.
"She is a very good fine wool ewe, but she was beaten by a very good ewe on the day," Mr Norrish said.
"She is well-structured and has good size.
"She is also going to cut a lot of quality fine wool, but in the end she just didn't quite have the softness of the ewe above her."
Prior to being sashed the reserve grand champion Poll Merino ewe, the two-tooth ewe won its class for fine wool Merino ewes where it was sashed the champion fine wool Merino ewe.
When it received this champion ribbon, Mr Nicholson said it was an outstanding ewe he couldn't go past.
"It is really hard to fault her, as she stands up well, has depth and thickness of body and carries a quality fine wool right to her toes," he said.
The ET-bred ewe, which is by a Misty Hills sire and out of Rangeview 5, is no stranger to winning champion ribbons as it was sashed the grand champion Merino ewe, champion two-tooth ewe and champion fine wool Merino ewe at the Wagin Woolorama in March.
In the superfine wool ewe class for either Merino or Poll Merino ewes it was the Rangeview stud which took home the champion ribbon with a Merino ewe.
Mr Nicholson said the ewe from Rangeview, which was also sashed the champion superfine wool Merino ewe at the Wagin Woolorama, was a magnificent ewe.
"She is feminine, has a beautiful staple and a very good underline," he said.
"It doesn't matter where you look, her wool quality doesn't vary."
The two-tooth ewe is ET-bred by Rangeview 1044 and out of Rangeview P133.
The Rintoul family's Tilba Tilba stud, Williams, exhibited the reserve champion superfine ewe.
Mr Nicholson said the four-tooth ewe, which carries Alfoxton bloodlines, had a good long staple length but was just not as heavy cutting as the champion.
The Tilba Tilba stud also exhibited the reserve champion superfine wool Merino ram.
Mr Nicholson said the Tilba Tilba ram stood up well and carried a quality superfine wool all over.
The four-tooth ram is from the stud's blue tag family.
In the fine wool ram class, it was a ram from the Rangeview stud which came out on top and was sashed the champion fine wool Merino ram ahead of three other rams.
Mr Nicholson said the Rangview ram was a very good sire.
"He stands up well, has a big cannon bone, a really good head and a power of wool," he said.
The four-tooth ET-bred, which was also the champion fine wool Merino ram at the Wagin Woolorama, is by Yarrawonga 163 and out of Rangeview 3.
The reserve champion fine wool Merino ram was exhibited by the Tilba Tilba stud.
Mr Nicholson said the four-tooth ram from the Tilba Tilba's blue tag family, had beautiful depth and a good fine wool but it missed out on the champion ribbon as it was smaller framed and didn't have the cutting ability of the Rangeview champion.
The Tilba Tilba stud also took home the reserve champion fine wool Merino ewe ribbon with a four-tooth ewe from the stud's Langdene Supreme family.
Mr Nicholson said the ewe had an outstanding staple and good nourishment in its wool.
"It is very even in its wool quality all over," he said.
The grand champion Merino ram and ewe both came from the fine-medium wool section.
Standing in the reserve position in the ram class, which was won by the grand champion ram from Auburn Valley, was a four-tooth ram exhibited by the Rangeview stud.
Mr Norrish said the Rangeview ram had a beautiful rich wool but just not the staple length of the champion.
The Rangeview ram is AI-bred by Yarrawonga 137.
In the ewe class, it was a ewe from the Rintoul family's Dongiemon stud, Williams, which was sashed the reserve champion, fine-medium wool Merino ewe behind Rangeview's grand champion ewe.
Mr Norrish said the Dongiemon ewe was a large framed ewe with a very good staple length.
The four-tooth ewe is from the stud's yellow tag family, which is an old family in the stud.
In the medium wool section, it was exhibits from the Wililoo stud that caught the judges' eye and took home the red, white and blue champion ribbons.
The Wililoo stud exhibited the champion medium wool Merino ram and ewe.
When it came to the champion medium wool ram exhibited by Wililoo, Mr Norrish said it ticked all the boxes.
"It is a very tidy sheep, it is square on its feet, has a great topline and a big, long muzzle," he said.
"It also has a very good skin and is pushing out a well-marked, nourished medium wool."
The four-tooth ram, which was sashed the grand champion Merino ram at the Wagin Woolorama, is by a Wililoo sire which carries Angenup bloodlines in its background.
Standing in reserve to the Wililoo sire and taking home the reserve champion medium wool Merino ram ribbon was a ram from the Auburn Valley stud, which Mr Norrish said had good size and carried a really good, free growing, soft-handling wool.
The four-tooth ram, which is by an Auburn Valley sire, has Angenup bloodlines in its pedigree.
When it came to the medium wool Merino ewes, it was again the Wililoo stud which exhibited the champion after a ewe from the stud won the medium wool Merino ewe class ahead of four other ewes, which included the reserve champion medium wool Merino ewe which was exhibited by Auburn Valley.
Mr Norrish said there wasn't much between the Wililoo and Auburn Valley ewes.
"They are both very good ewes," he said.
"They are structurally correct and both are carrying plenty of well-nourished, white medium wool.
"In the end I went for the Wililoo ewe as it just had a touch more wool cutting ability and an extra softness and handle in its wool."
The two-tooth Wililoo ewe, which was the champion medium wool ewe at the Wagin Woolorama, carries pure Wililoo breeding, while the four-tooth Auburn Valley ewe, which was reserve champion medium wool ewe at the Wagin Woolorama, is by Wililoo Buster 469 and out of a Woodyarrup blood ewe.
In the strong wool section, exhibits from the Ledwith family's Kolindale stud, Dudinin and the Maher family's Rockdale Valley stud, Muntadgin, caught the judges' eye to take home the red, white and blue champion ribbons.
The Kolindale stud exhibited the champion strong wool Merino ram, when it won the strong wool Merino ram class ahead of four other rams.
Mr Edmonds said it stood up well and had a very good body and feet.
"It also has a beautiful, sappy, gutsy, strong wool," he said.
The four-tooth ram, which was sashed the champion strong wool Merino ram at the Wagin Woolorama, carries pure Kolindale bloodlines.
Standing in reserve to the Kolindale sire and taking home the reserve champion strong wool Merino ram ribbon was a ram from the Auburn Valley stud, which Mr Edmonds described to be a true strong wool.
The four-tooth ram, is by an Auburn Valley sire, which goes back to an East Mundalla sire.
When it came to the strong wool Merino ewes, it was the Rockdale Valley stud which exhibited the champion.
Mr Edmonds said the Rockdale Valley ewe was a beautifully made ewe with heaps of wool on it.
"She is going to be a really heavy cutting ewe," he said.
The four-tooth ewe, which has already been used in an ET program by the stud, is by an Eastville Park ram.
Standing in reserve to the Rockdale Valley ewe and being sashed the reserve champion strong wool Merino ewe was a ewe from the Auburn Valley stud.
Mr Edmonds said the Auburn Valley ewe was a monster in terms of its size
"She is a big upstanding ewe and true strong wool, but she lacked the handle in the wool of the champion," he said.
The four-tooth ewe, which was sashed the champion strong wool ewe at the Wagin Woolorama, is by Wililoo Buster 469 and out of a Pooginook Gem blood ewe.
The Rangeview stud rounded out a very successful day by being announced not only the most successful exhibitor, but also the exhibitor of the John 'Jacko' Higham memorial champion ram and ewe pair in front of six other pairs.
Mr Norrish said it was not a unanimous decision in awarding the champion ribbon to the Rangeview Merino pair, it was very close.
"The Rangeview pair are both well-made and hard to fault structurally," he said.
"They both have beautiful finish and are covered in a lot of wool."
Second in the class went to a Merino pair from the Auburn Valley stud.
Mr Norrish said the Auburn Valley pairing featured big bulky sheep with good frames and wool cutting ability.
Third place went to another Merino pair from the Rangeview stud.
