September 22nd 2022 saw Preston Rise Square Meaters embark on the Perth Royal Show with a team of 15 animals; 2 cow and calf units, 3 bulls, 6 heifers and 2 steers.
The Steers were the first to be judged on Sunday the 25th , and it was a great showing of Square Meaters Cattle. Preston Rise had 2 Steers exhibited that were bred and owned by Perup Organics while Ian Gale of Kelmscott Senior High School/Hillview Farm had 9 pure bred Square Meaters Steers which had been bred by Preston Rise and Meta Park. They also had 4 Square Meaters X steers that were home bred on the school farm, all Sired by Preston Rise Kaos, with the crosses being Angus, Limousin and Dexter.
With the Lightweight Class out first, it was the Preston Rise / Perup Organics steer that took out Reserve Champion Steer followed closely by a Kelmscott Senior High School Steer.Onto the medium weight class, the biggest contested class of the show, and quite a few Qualifier Ribbons went to Kelmscott Senior High School.
On Thursday 29th September the hook results were in with an outstanding result for the Kelmscott Senior High School team, who took out Champion and Reserve Champion Lightweight Carcase. The lightweight class would see the top 6 steers all Square Meaters, and the top 4 steers with 80+ scores. The winning carcase had a score of 88.01, while the carcase in second place scored 87.75.
Square Meaters Steers then went on to win the group of three steers for the Rob Milner Trophy on the hoof and hook. In the Middle Weight competition, it is noteworthy that 3 of the 6 Square Meaters entered had scores of 88.67, 88.05 and 82.69; all very respectable carcase results.
Congratulation to Kelmscott Senior High School for putting on a fabulous display of Square Meaters. The students all looked happy, relaxed and very professional as they went about their business of showing steers, and they should all be congratulated for their efforts. After the steer judging on Sunday afternoon, it was time for the commencement of Stud Judging for Square Meaters. With Preston Rise being the only exhibitor, it was a practice run for the Specialty Interbreed later in the week.
Whilst we were only showing against ourselves in the stud judging, the competition was still fierce between our paraders and helpers to see who had the champion animals.
Junior Champion Female: Preston Rise Skylar – Paraded by Emma Germany
Senior Champion and Grand Champion Female: Preston Rise Lucy with Calf Preston Rise Tandra – Paraded by Erin Wilcock and Emily Tolland
Junior and Grand Champion Bull: Preston Rise Sydney – Paraded by Jason Germany
As you can see the ribbons were shared by all our helpers.
Wednesday 28th September was Specialty Interbreed Day and, hopefully, our time to shine. In Western Australia Square Meaters Cattle are grouped with what they call the Specialty Breed, which is made up of the following breeds: Dexter, Mini Herefords, Lowlines and Highland Cattle.
Under Judges Glenn Trout of Moorunga Angus stud in Victoria, Brendan Scheiwe of Brundale Charolais stud in Queensland and Rhett Mobbs of Gowrie Simmentals stud in Queensland, judging got underway at 2.30pm. First up was the bull judging with three Bulls entered from Preston Rise Square Meaters, Mini Herefords and Billabong Dexter’s, and It was Preston Rise Sydney that took the honours of Grand Champion Specialty Interbreed Bull.
Judge Mr Brendan Scheiwe commented Sydney was the complete package with his carcase quality and masculine head. He also commented that the bull walked well with a good hindquarter and presents what he would be looking for in a complete package. Preston Rise Sydney, 11 months old, was sired by Caloona Trouble (AI), with dam Le Bestiaux London.
Next up were the females, contested by Preston Rise Square Meaters, Billabong Dexters and Paragon Mini Herefords, with Preston Rise Lucy taking out the ribbon for Grand Champion Specialty Interbreeds Female.
Judge Mr Glenn Trout commented that PR Lucy was a magnificent female, and a great example of the breed with her large capacity and lovely udder development.
Preston Rise Lucy, 7.5 years old, was sired by Vesco Bobby Dazzler, Dam Preston Rise Hanna.
Preston Rise Square Meaters went on later in the day to win the Following:
Group of Three Heifers: Preston Rise Sammy, Preston Rise Sarah and Preston Rise Star
Group of Three Bulls: Preston Rise Supreme, Preston Rise Sydney and Preston Rise Sandy
Breeders Group: Preston Rise Lucy, Preston Rise Sydney and Preston Rise Skylar
Doug and I could not be happier with how our team performed, following many, many hours of preparation and organisation to get them to Perth Royal Show 2022. A clean sweep of the Specialty Interbreed Championship was our payday. As all you who know what is involved in showing cattle, the challenges are great, not just selecting the right animals and getting them trained, but also the time, money, and having someone at home that can look after the farm while you are away for ten days. We did, however, have a fantastic team this year, and so the work load seemed much less. A huge thank you goes out to all our helpers; Emily Tolland, Emma and Jason Germany from NSW and your wonderful little helpers, Megan, Patty, Thomas and Phoebe Armstrong, Abby Toghill, Ian Gale and so the list goes on. We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. To my Husband Doug; thank you for letting me do what I love.
Thank you to Kelmscott Senior High School for your support and for choosing Square Meaters cattle as your preferred breed. We look forward to working relationships way into the future.
