The supreme exhibit, a March-shorn, four-tooth, medium wool ram, impressed the judges from the start, having taken out the champion March-shorn ram and grand champion ram titles earlier in the day.

However, the ram met tough competition from a One Oak medium wool ram exhibited by Graham and Mary Wells, One Oak stud, Jerilderie, when pitted against each other in the Marchshorn, medium/strong class at the beginning of the day.

While it took judge Mark Pendergast, “Cottage Park”, Cooma, a lot of deliberation

to decide on his winner, the Tara Park ram kept up its strong form for the rest of the day, with the One Oak ram following closely.

The winner was by TP4202, the renowned sire of the winning Stonehaven

Cup team at the 2009 Sydney Royal, and had a 20.1-micron fibre diameter,

a standard deviation (SD) of 3.3- micron, a coefficient of variation (CV) of 16.4 per cent and a comfort factor (CF) of 99.5pc.

When it came down to the supreme judging, the Tara Park ram’s toughest competition came from its stablemate, a two-tooth, medium wool ewe, also by TP4202, which had won the junior champion exhibit and grand champion ewe titles.

The ewe had a micron of 19.5, SD of 3.1-micron, CF of 99.9pc and CV of 15.9pc.

On eventually placing the ram as supreme, judge George McKenzie, “Montrose

Hill”, Illabarook, Victoria, said while the ewe was one of the “best he had ever seen”, the depth of body, well nourished wool and complete package the ram had to offer put it in front. “There was nothing much between the ewe and the ram as they both have the production potential to match their frame and wool,” he said.

When Mr McKenzie was faced with awarding the ewe as the champion junior exhibit earlier in the day, where it beat two rams and another ewe, he stated it was “phenomenal for a junior ewe and an absolutely magnificent animal”.

Not surprisingly, when the ram and ewe were placed together in the pairs class for a March-shorn ram and ewe, they dominated the judging to be the worthy winners.