Llandillo Soldier S42 reins supreme at Canberra Royal

Hailing from The Lagoon was Llandillo Soldier S42, an 875 kilogram Poll Hereford bull owned and exhibited by Llandillo.

Undefeated during the whole show, the 22-month-old bull was the champion senior Hereford bull, grand champion Hereford bull, supreme Hereford exhibit, champion of champions bull, and then overall champion of champions.

Up against 14 other bulls in the champion of champions bull class, judges Sam Hunter, Agstock, Yass, Amy Birch, Birch Droughtmasters, Eidsvold, Qld, and Gerald Spry, Spry's Shorthorn and Angus, Holbrook, pulled out a top four from the lineup.

These were Tennysonvale Samson (Fleckvieh), exhibited by Tennysonvale Simmental Fleckvieh, Illabo, Hollywood Smokin' S57 (Angus), exhibited by IC and LE Frecklington, Peak Hill, Flemington Secret Power (Limousin), exhibited by Flemington, Adelong, and the eventual winner, Llandillo Soldier S42 (Poll Hereford).

Up against the champion of champions female Progress Queen of he South S10, a Limousin heifer exhibited by Shaws Livestock, Wagga Wagga, Mr Hunter said "in the ring before us, we see two really high quality exhibits".

"Two exhibits from different breeds but you know you can paint these cattle any colour and you know they will be good.

"We see a Limousin heifer that is very stylish and shows a lot of appeal, a beautiful side profile on that heifer and a lot of thickness when you get in behind her.

"Equally though, the amount of muscle the bull carries and the amount of expression on that bull, just a really ideal maturity pattern.

"It was a completely unanimous decision today and we believe the bull is our champion today," Mr Hunter said.

Gerald Spry spoke on behalf of the judges during the champion of champions bull judging and said that it was a very short discussion between the judges to select Llandillo Solider at the champion.

"A bull that has so much completeness, he has a beautiful carcase on him, and he is so correct," Mr Spry said.

"You get up behind him and on top of him, it doesn't matter what angle you look at him from, he is just so complete.

Soldier, a son of Grathlyn Pacemaker which Llandillo purchased for $15,000, had become known for winning broad ribbons and was a fan favorite in the team.

Just a few weeks ago, Soldier was the interbreed champion bull at the Crookwell show and at last year's event, he was the interbreed jackpot champion at 11-months.

As a 13-month-old, he was the junior champion bull, grand champion bull, and supreme exhibit of the Bathurst Royal show.

He had also been the grand champion bull at both the National All Breeds Junior Heifer Show and the Herefords National Youth Show exhibited by Llandillo's Will Van Gend.

Soldier is set to sell at this year's Dubbo National Poll Hereford Show and Sale in June along with six other Grathlyn Pacemaker sons and three daughters, all offered by Llandillo.

It is not often that a heifer can beat a cow in an interbreed class but at this year's Canberra Royal show, an 18-month-old Limousin heifer has defied the odds.

Judge Amy Birch said "it is always interesting to judge a female class where you have exceptional heifers that you can see a future in but obviously they haven't had the opportunity to produce yet, compared to cows and calves where you are seeing exactly what they can do".

The judges pulled forward a top four which consisted of Winchester Abigale S17 (Angus) exhibited by Winchester Livestock, Orange, Winchester Miss Cooley Q6E (Charolais), exhibited by Winchester Livestock, Orange, Progress Queen of the South S10 (Limousin), exhibited by Shaws Livestock, Wagga Wagga, and Ausbred Tahitian Pearl (Simmental), exhibited by International Animal Health Products, Huntingwood.

After much discussion by the judges, the champion of champions female was Progress Queen of the South S10, a Myers Quantum Q4 daughter that Miss Birch said was extremely feminine.

"We don't have a calf on the ground and that is simply due to age but she is so feminine, she is extremely structurally correct," she said.

"You can see that beautiful fleshing that she carries while still having that wonderful femininity and in the end it was her structural correctness, particularly in her hind legs that placed her in this top position.

Purchased out of the 2022 H Francis and Co Canberra Royal sale, the heifer had been the calf at foot on the interbreed champion female and supreme exhibit at last year's Canberra Royal and Sydney Royal shows.

The heifer had also been recently shown at Gundagai show where she was the junior champion European female.

Shaws Livestock's Nicholas Bryne-Quinn and Indi Hilder said they are extremely excited for the future of the heifer in their program and said she was destined for Sydney Royal with hopes to continue her winning streak.

Adelong-based stud Flemington shot to the top of the interbreed breeders group judging with judge Sam Hunter, Agstock, Yass saying it was real treat to judge a breeders group as it gave an insight into the respective programs.

Mr Hunter was joined by Amy Birch, Birch Droughtmasters, Eidsvold, Qld, and Gerald Spry, Spry's Shorthorns and Angus, Holbrook to make the judging panel.

The ribbon-winning group from Flemington consisted of Flemington Gazelle R18 and her calf, who was the reserve senior champion Limousin female, Flemington Secret Power S57, which was the grand champion Limousin bull, and Flemington Black Lynx S31 who was a class winner.

Mr Hunter said the champion group was consistent throughout and showed what the breeders were trying to achieve. "You can really appreciate the power in the bull...there is correctness in the whole team" he said.

In its inaugural year, the junior interbreed pair has been won by the Limousin pair which consisted of the champion of champions female, Progress Queen Of The South S10, exhibited by Shaws Livestock Wagga Wagga, and member of the interbreed breeders group Flemington Secret Power S57, exhibited by Flemington, Adelong.

This class allows the junior champion bull and heifer from one breed to pair up and compete against the best other junior exhibits from other breeds.

Rising above a total of nine other junior breed pairs, Mr Spry said the Limousin team were a complete pair.

"They were very correct in structure...the bull was very powerful and had a lot of carcase on him. "The female is so so good - long body, easy doing, very correct in structure and makeup. Getting pretty close to the ideal female."

Similar to the other interbreed classes, the judges had pulled out a top four which consisted of the pairs from the Angus, Charolais, and Hereford.