Supreme for magnificent poll

In a remarkable turn of events, a Poll Merino from Tammin's Button family has been sashed as the supreme champion at the IGA Perth Royal Show for the third successive year.

This phenomenon demonstrates the depth of breeding that is undertaken on Wayne and Pip Button's paddocks - and not forgetting the input of Roy and Joan Button.

The supreme champion was described by judges as being magnificent and massive, just two of the superlatives used last Friday.

The huge ram had the judges in raptures after they chose him as best sheep in the Jim Horwood pavilion. He was up against the Manunda grand champion Poll Merino ewe, the Manunda grand champion Merino ewe and the Quailerup West grand champion Merino ram.

Other contenders for the supreme title were the grand champion autumn-shorn ram from Eastville Park and the grand champion autumn-shorn ewe from Kamballie.

Impressed by the supreme champion was judge Joe Dahlitz, of Roemahkita Poll Merino stud in South Australia.

"He's a magnificent animal and is what the industry is after in meat and wool," he said. "He has a massive barrel and will cut a lot of wool."

Earlier, Mr Dahlitz described the ram as having a huge back end and carrying long-stapled medium wool.

"He is the perfect poll and hard to fault," he said.

The ram is a son of Michael Campbell's Coromandel 2 - also known as Sir Thomas - and was initially prepared at Ash Lock's shed.

However, the ram has been under the care of the Buttons since the end of July. His figures included 22.3 microns, 98.3 comfort factor and 20.7 spin fine.

The four-tooth ram initially won his medium-wool class before going on to be sashed as the champion medium-wool ram, then grand champion in the Poll Merino section.

The Edward family's Belmont Park ram was reserve grand champion, also the reserve in the medium-wool championship.

Manunda's grand champion Poll Merino ewe had earlier won her medium-wool class, then the champion medium-wool broad ribbon.

Judge Joe Dahlitz was impressed by her scale and presence.

"She is also very wide, great on her feet and has a great topline," he said.

The ewe was by Bluff 120, the ram that was the supreme exhibit at the Perth Royal Show two years ago.

Her figures were 18.4 microns, 99.9CF and 17SF.

The reserve grand champion Poll Merino ewe was from Russell and Heather Meaton's Rosedale Poll stud.

The junior champion broad ribbon (for a ram or ewe) went to the Mullan family's Eastville Park medium-wool Poll Merino ram, with Wiringa Park in reserve.

The champion goes back to Manunda 1454, bought by the Mullans for $15,000 in 2007.

_Merinos _

The grand champion Merino ram was from the Scanlon family's Quailerup West stud.

He initially won his four-tooth medium-wool class before being sashed as the medium-wool champion.

This made it four consecutive years at the Perth Royal Show that Quailerup West had been sashed as the grand champion Merino ram, a great achievement for the Scanlons.

In reserve was the Eungai strong-wool champion ram.

Judge Matthew Coddington, of Roseville Park stud, New South Wales, described the grand champion as a big, upstanding ram.

"He's well-covered right to his toes," he said.

The ram was out of a special stud ewe and the result of a syndicate mating, James Scanlon said.

His figures included 22 microns, 98CF and 20.4SF.

The grand champion Merino ewe was from Manunda, which had earlier been sashed as the medium-wool champion. The reserve grand champion ewe was from Eungai.

Reserve to the ewe in the medium-wool championship was from Cardiff.

"The grand champion had that extra sharpness in the crimp, plus extra sweetness and extra brightness," judge Coddington said.

Her figures were 20.5 microns, 99.2CF and 19SF.

"She's the result of a syndicate mate and goes back to Charinga Junior 12," Wayne Button said.

_Autumn shorn _

The grand champion autumn-shorn ram was from Eastville Park (a Poll Merino), with a Quailerup West Merino in reserve.

A medium-wool Quailerup West ram won the autumn-shorn Merino championship, with a Wiringa Park ram in reserve.

"I was impressed by his staple length, his purity through the muzzle and round the eye," Mr Coddington said.

The ram's figures included 18.5 microns, 99.8CF and 17.5SF.

"His sire was the grand champion august-shorn ram here last year and goes back to Western Blue," James Scanlon said.

The grand champion autumn-shorn Merino ewe was from Shane Mackin's Kamballie stud, with an Eastville Park ewe in reserve.

"Her size and structure got her there," Mr Coddington said of the grand champion. "She has outlook and presence with good crimpy, bulky wool on her."

A granddaughter of Charinga Junior 12, the ewe's figures included 20.4 microns, 98.6CF and 19.2SF.

"It was a great line-up of sheep and the winner has great make and shape, plus lovely crimpy wool and a lot of meat," judge Dahlitz said, after an Eastville Park ram won the autumn-shorn Poll Merino championship. Wiringa Park was in reserve.

In the autumn-shorn Poll Merino ewe championship, Manunda entries were sashed as champion and reserve.

"She is a magnificent ewe with long-stapled fine, white wool," Mr Dahlitz said of the champion.

Her figures were 18.9 microns, 99.8CF and 17.7SF and Charinga 119 was her sire.

_Unhoused and unrugged _

Just ewes were entered in this section with Claypans sashed as the champion. A Eungai ewe was in reserve.

Champions table *

_Open champions _

Supreme champion: _Manunda _

Grand champion Poll Merino ram: _Manunda _; Reserve: _Belmont Park _

Grand champion Poll Merino ewe: _Manunda _; Reserve: _Rosedale Poll _

Champion medium-wool Poll Merino ram: _Manunda _; Reserve: _Belmont Park _

Champion medium-wool Poll Merino ewe: _Manunda _; Reserve: _Belmont Park _

Champion strong-wool Poll Merino ram: _Claypans _; Reserve: _Vinrose _

Champion strong-wool Poll Merino ewe: _Belmont Park _; Reserve: _Manunda _

Champion fine-wool Poll Merino ram: _Eungai _; Reserve: _Belmont Park _

Champion fine-wool Poll Merino ewe: _Rosedale Poll _; Reserve: _Manunda _

Grand champion Merino ram: _Quailerup West _; Reserve: _Eungai _

Grand champion Merino ewe: _Manunda _; Reserve: _Eungai _

Champion medium-wool Merino ram: _Quailerup West _; Reserve: _Eungai _

Champion medium-wool Merino ewe: _Manunda _; Reserve: _Cardiff _

Champion strong-wool Merino ram: _Eungai _; Reserve: _Quailerup West _

Champion strong-wool Merino ewe: _Eungai _; Reserve: _Dongiemon _

Champion fine-wool Merino ram: _Mandalay _; Reserve: _Seven Oaks North _

Champion fine-wool Merino ewe: _Eungai _; Reserve: _Tilba Tilba _

Champion superfine ram: _Misty Hills _

Champion superfine ewe: _Tilba Tilba _

Junior champion ram: _Eastville Park _; Reserve: _Wiringa Park _

_Autumn-shorn champions _

Grand champion autumn-shorn ram: _Eastville Park _; Reserve: _Quailerup West _

Grand champion autumn-shorn ewe: _Kamballie _; Reserve: _Eastville Park _

Champion autumn-shorn Merino ram: _Quailerup West _; Reserve: _Wiringa Park _

Champion autumn-shorn Merino ewe: _Kamballie _; Reserve: _Eastville Park _

Champion autumn-shorn Poll Merino ram: _Eastville Park _; Reserve: _Wiringa Park _

Champion autumn-shorn Poll Merino ewe: _Manunda _; Reserve: _Manunda _

_Unhoused and unrugged champions _

Champion unhoused and unrugged ewe: _Claypans _; Reserve: _Eungai _

_Group classes _

Landmark pair: _Manunda (1); Eungai (2); Belmont Park (3) _

Farm Weekly motorbike class: _Quailerup West (1); Eastville Park (2); Eungai (3) _

Milne Feeds class (unhoused): _Eungai (1 & 2); Merna (3) _

Milne Feeds class: _Manunda (1); Eungai (2); Tilba Tilba (3) _