The young exhibits were the pick for judge Craig Mitchell, Warneth, with the champion and reserve champion Ultra White ram and the champion and reserve champion Ultra White ewe all coming from the under 1.5-year class.
"The older (sheep) were outgunned by the younger ones but if we're going to progress the breed, this is what we need to happen," he said.
This was only the second year Ultra Whites have exhibited at the Australian Sheep & Wool Show, but there was some big classes putting Mr Mitchell to work in his selection.
It was a close placing between the champion ram from Hillcroft, Narrogin, WA, and reserve champion ram from Rosedale Ultra Whites, Swan Hill, with Mr Mitchell saying he really liked both options.
"They are representing the breed very well, as two well balanced rams," he said.
What tipped it in favour of the WA ram was it a "very direct" ram.
"He was good on his feet and paraded well," he said.
Breed pioneer Dawson Bradford, Hillcroft, said the ram was "among one of the better rams" he had bred.
"It's an ideal commercial ram with a good structure," he said.
Mr Dawson said it was great to have such a competitive judging for only its second year, with entries almost doubling on last year.
He said the work to build and promote the breed was not a two or three year path but a decade-long journey, to prove its worth.
But he said the number of new competitors and breeders gave confidence about the importance of the breed within the industry.
In the ewe offering, an "eye catching" exhibit from Induro stud, Wakool, NSW, claimed the top spot.
"The ewe is everything I'm looking for," Mr Mitchell said.
"She is correct, feminine, has the carcase and the length, and handles very well through the loin and down into the hindquarter.
"The top ewe is something we should strive for - very correct and feminine."
This was the first time Induro's Guy Treweek has exhibited Ultra Whites, after starting the stud about two years ago, but he has been competing for a number of years with his White Suffolks.
He has just 13 ewes, with a focus on starting his stud with the best genetics he can.
The champion ewe was from the first drop of lambs in their embryo transfer program, out of last year's Ultra White supreme exhibit.
Mr Treweek said he had begun looking at Ultra Whites with many of his clients looking at shedding breeds because of the issues sourcing shearers.
The reserve champion ewe title went to Hillcroft, with Mr Mitchell also praising it.
"There are two exceptionally good ewes that will hold the breed in good stead," he said.
Elizabeth Anderson
Editor of Stock Journal.
Editor of Stock Journal.
