Terrick West Poll Merino stud, Prairie, has taken out the supreme exhibit at Victoria's first sheep show of the year, against some of the best-known studs from throughout Victoria and South Australia.
The Wimmera Autumn Merino Sheep Show, Horsham, attracted 160 entries.
Wurrook won the grand champion ewe title, with Orrie Cowie, Warooka, SA, taking out most successful exhibitor.
Terrick West stud co-principal Ross McGauchie said the ram also took out the champion medium poll title and was reserve supreme at the Canberra Show in January.
"He beat some very good NSW sheep in Canberra and he has beaten some very good Victorian and SA sheep here," he said.
He said the winning ram was a very "structurally-correct sheep".
"He looks the part, which is very handy in a sheep show, and he has a very good wool on him," he said.
"The line up of rams there was very strong.
"Not all, but most, of Victoria's best studs were there."
The ram TW 210.134 ET was sired by Wallaloo Park 60, out of TW 181.3.
He had a 20-micron fleece, with a standard deviation of 3.2 per cent, a 16.5pc co-efficient of variation and 99.7pc comfort factor.
The ram weighed 135 kilograms.
Mr McGauchie said he didn't think the stud would exhibit the ram later in the year.
"We don't usually take rams through to full wool, our normal process is to have two or three rams for our field day in February and then go to Canberra," he said.
He said Horsham "just gets us going".
"I think that if people have sheep in the shed they are feeding for Bendigo (Australian Sheep & Wool Show) and shows later in the year," he said.
"We just like getting together, we don't see each other from spring through until now."
Melrose Merinos stud principal Warren Russell, Nurrabiel, said he was sticking to what he did best, trying to breed superfine sheep that cut lots of wool.
Melrose won the champion superfine poll ewe and fine wool horn ewe, as well as most valuable ewe fleece and fleece aggregate.
"There was a good standard of competition, I think everyone treats it as their first event, to see how their sheep compare," he said.
Mr Russell said the event filled the gap left by Balmoral which ended during COVID-19.
"Certainly there was a good standard of competition, it's the first event of the year that allows people to see how the sheep compare," he said.
All studs had been affected by the seasonal conditions.
"It's been a dry summer, but not particularly hot," he said.
"Young sheep have struggled ever since the big rains in spring."
He said flooding affected feed quality and resulted in worms and flies but the older rams had not had the struggles that had affected the younger rams.
Wimmera Autumn Merino Sheep Show secretary Andrea Cross said entries had been steadily rising since the show started three years ago, with 120 to begin with and 140 last year.
There were also three new studs exhibiting this year.
"That is testimony to the show itself," she said.
There were nearly 60 fleeces shown and it was likely that competition would now be shifted from the annual Horsham Show, held each September.
Ms Cross said the committee was also impressed by the number of entries in the junior judging, won by Ava Harris, Koole Vale, Costerfield.
"There were 10 entrants in the junior judging, three boys and seven girls - including one from Italy," she said.
"A couple of the entrants were on-farm workers and there were three students from Longerenong Agricultural College."
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Andrew Miller
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
