Merridale Angus from Tennyson win major gong at Melbourne Royal

Merridale Angus stud principals Peter and Maria Collins, Tennyson, won the supreme champion sash with their July 2019-drop Angus cow, Merridale Cydie Q24.

The Collins family selected the cow as a heifer to show at the Sydney Royal Show a few years ago, before it ultimately won second place.

"We don't go to Sydney anymore, but we liked her that much and really wanted to show her off," Mr Collins said.

"We decided to take her up there as a baby calf."

The family started the northern stud in the early-1980s, but Mr Collins' association with agricultural shows dates back earlier than that.

"I've showed cattle with my father since I was a boy," he said.

"His stud, Merrigrange, was very successful here at Melbourne, but then we broke away and started our own stud and the rest is history."

Mr Collins brought five stud Angus to Melbourne, with each animal winning a ribbon in their respective class.

"It's something you strive for when you bring your bulls and females down here and it gives you a chance to see how your animals stack up against other studs," he said.

"We only had two heifers here and we won a first and reserve junior, we had two cows here and we got a first and a third, along with a grand champion female and supreme exhibit so we've had a great day."

He said the stud's aim was to breed good-sized bulls and cows that were structurally correct.

"My dad's always told me that if I bred good females, the good cattle will follow, and that's the same for good bulls and females," Mr Collins said.

"I'm a big one on type and I think our cattle have got to be able to walk and grow and be on the bigger side.

"Figures are one thing, but we need our cattle to be big and have plenty of growth, but not too big."

The award-winning cow was exhibited alongside her two twin bull calves, which the stud will offer for sale as 18-month-old bulls in their March 2025 sale.

Mr Collins said sons from the same cow would be offered for sale at the stud's auction next year.

"The Angus breeders are great people," he said.

"We come down here and show our cattle, to have a few beers and a talk and it's a fantastic feeling."

Moorunga Angus, Dromana, won the grand champion Angus bull of the show.

Angus judge Aimee Bolton, Bolton Angus and Red Angus, Shepparton, said it was a challenge to judge the breed.

"What's great about judging the Angus is that they are such a competitive breed and people always bring really high-quality cattle to the show to exhibit," she said.

"It makes giving comments both challenging and rewarding, but it's important producers get that feedback.

"I think the overall quality was impressive and all of the cattle presented well and were in really good condition."

Ms Bolton, 25, grew up in the Angus youth movement from the age of five, and has judged cattle solo for close to a decade.

"The grand champion bull was a high-performance sire with a huge eye muscle area for his weight and age," she said.

"He was structurally sound and will last a long time when he's put out in the herd to work."

Meanwhile, the supreme Merridale exhibit received some strong feedback too.

"I spoke a lot about natural thickness in cattle and cattle that will go out and get the job done year-round," she said.

"The supreme exhibit was a really sound female and had a really fit udder that will last a long time."