IT’S been Wally Merriman’s dream to win the A.B. (Sir Alex) Ramsay Memorial Trophy for champion medium wool fleece of the Australian Wool Network National Fleece Show – and this year he did it.
The fleece also took out grand and then supreme championships. The win was a private bet with Wally’s brother, George, who believed the fleece was good, but doubted its ability to pick up 96 points.
A fine-medium wool third placegetter at Sydney Royal Show this year, the ram sired by One Oak Magnasson, was shorn at Merryville stud, Boorowa, and the fleece won the housed medium wool class, champion medium wool, grand champion ram fleece and supreme award.
Always close in competition, the Rayner family, Grathlyn stud, Hargraves, exhibited grand champion ewe or wether fleece with their superfine housed ewe (94.5 points) and also the champion superfine ram fleece, just half a point behind Merryville’s supreme.
A Poll Merino fleece from Andrew and Brooke Rayner’s Lynford stud, Hargraves, topped the fine wool ewe housed class with 93 points.
Westvale stud, Wollun, won fine wool housed ram fleece (94 points) while the Jones family, Darriwell stud, Trundle, won medium wool ram.
In unhoused sections Peter Moore’s Blink Bonnie stud, Tarana, exhibited the winning superfine ewe fleece while Tambua Poll Merino stud, Cobar, won the superfine ram class. Paul and Margie Seaman, Rosemont, Laggan, showed the fine wool ewe or wether fleece and Tambua, the ram.
Commercial unhoused flocks in winning circles included Graham and Julie Hamel, Springwood, Glen Innes, along with Dylan Grant, Tarana, and Robert and Therese Turnbull, Bando Station, Collarenebri.
Winner of the commercial value fleece was the Corkhill family’s Grassy Creek stud, Reids Flat, which tallied $248.29 for a fine wool with Darriwell stud second at $278.57 and Blink Bonnie third at $156.32 with medium wool fleeces.
The judges were John Croake, AWN, Tamworth, and Lucy Hammonds, AWN, Charleville, Queensland.