For the first time ever, the Simmental breed has triumphed in the Champion of Champions interbreed contests that are the culmination of the Ekka cattle competition.
They collected both the female and pairs awards, while the Angus breed collected the Champion of Champions bull award.
Champion of Champions female
They call her Supermodel, and she lived up to her name on Friday afternoon, parading the Royal National Association stage for Ellendale Red Simmentals, to be sashed the female interbreed winner.
Travis Iseppi and Julie Pocock Iseppi were overjoyed when judge, David Bondfield, announced that their three-year-old second calver, Ellendale Red Supermodel, had won the ultimate accolade on the Ekka stage.
Supermodel was from a cow that won the grand champion female at Beef Australia in 2000. She was praised by Julie as a super-productive, really correct female that offered a lot of power.
The excitement continued for the Iseppis later in the afternoon when Ellendale Red Supermodel helped the Simmental breed make history by winning the pairs competition for the first time.
Champion of Champions pair
Meldon Park Matador and Ellendale Red Supermodel were the successful Simmental combination that received the judge’s nod in the interbreed pairs competition.
The bull was by Lucrana General from a Meldon Park homebred female, representing all-Queensland bloodlines.
Meldon Park Matador, owned by Rodney, Lis and Bec Skene, Meldon Park, Dalby, is 27 months old, weighs 1002kg and has an EMA of 137sq cm.
Ellendale Red Simmentals’ Julie Pocock Iseppi said it had been wonderful to win with the Skenes who were great family friends.
“We took a big team to Beef and were considering whether we’d even go to the Ekka – I was the one pushing to come, but Travis is fairly happy about that now,” she said.
Champion of Champions bull
Long-time exhibitors, Greg and Sharon Fuller and daughter, Christie Kennedy, won the interbreed bull title with Pine Creek Newsman for the Angus breed.
Weighing in at 858kg, with an EMA of 127 square centimetres, he was described by judge Bondfield as the proudest bull in the lineup, with a great combination of carcase qualities, softness and a good set of testicles.
Newsman had earlier won the junior bull and grand champion Angus bull awards.
He will go on to Adelaide and Melbourne shows and is earmarked for the 100-year Angus feature show at Sydney Royal next year.
The Australian seedstock industry received high praise from David Bondfield at the conclusion of judging, who told the onlookers that rather than importing genetics, Australian seedstock should be exporting.
“We can see here the best seedstock in the world,” he said.
Ivan and Helen Price, Moongool Charolais, Surat, were voted the people’s choice by the general public.