Interbreed wrap-up: Bos taurus entries 'rain' supreme at the Ekka

Queensland may have won State of Origin on the footy field, but it was NSW seedstock producers who were on the ball in the Royal Queensland Show's Champions of Champions on Saturday, August 9.

In home game conditions of gloomy skies, the blue state exhibitors won two of the three interbreed titles on offer.

Deja vu for interbreed female winner

Claiming unexpected rain was her lucky charm, the interbreed female winner was crowned under an unexpected downpour.

Taking out grand champion female in the Angus ring earlier in the week, exhibitor Christie Fuller, from Diamond Angus stud, Cowra, NSW was all smiles as Diamond Elas Miss Legend T413 took home the ultimate honour.

The 24-month-old cow was sired by Var Legend 5019 and out of Witherswood Ela K192.

She paraded in the champions ring with her eight-month-old heifer calf at foot.

Judges Spencer Morgan,The Grove Shorthorns, Condamine, Marty Lill, Chadwick Downs Cattle Company, Coonabarabran, NSW, and David Smith, Ben Lomond, NSW, commended the cow for her performance and soundness.

As spectators ran for cover, Ms Fuller said she knew the rain had to be a good luck charm.

"We won with a breeders group in Rockhampton, and the same thing happened - it absolutely poured down rain," she said.

"We definitely got deja vu."

When Queensland Country Life first interviewed Ms Fuller after her grand champion win in the Angus ring, she joked Diamond Elas Miss Legend T413 was always the bridesmaid, never the bride, as she had a relatively short show career and only one previous win under her belt.

After her major win today, there is no doubt Diamond Elas Miss Legend T413 has well and truly walked down the aisle.

Aside from Angus, the other four breeds selected for further judgement from the 24 grand champions were:

Charolais: Bureen Wendy, exhibited by Travis and Phoebe Worth, Bureen Cattle Company, Martindale, NSW

Red Angus: GK Red Cherok M17 T15, exhibited by Kirrily Johnson-Iseppi, GK Livestock, St Ruth

Simmentel:GK Tiger Lily T16, exhibited by Brooke Iseppi, Dalby

Santa Gertrudis:Yarrawonga Marshmellow T671, exhibited by Andrew and Fiona Bassingthwaighte, Bassingthwaighte and Co, Wallumbilla

Interbreed bull championship goes to NSW

The triumphs for NSW kept coming when Te-Angie Turbo T004, shown by Ogilvie Pastoral, Te-Angie Poll Herefords at Wongwibinda, north east of Armidale, was named the Royal Queensland Show interbreed bull champion after the rain swept past.

Turbo's owner Richard Ogilvie has been showing in Brisbane for seven years, and although he's won the award as most successful Hereford breeder for six of those years, he said he just couldn't believe it when his bull was announced as the overall winner.

"I didn't think it would happen, because Herefords won a couple of years ago (in 2023) and I thought, you know... the judges will just pick a very good beast from another breed and lo and behold, I just about fell off my chair," he said.

Turbo, weighing in at 1160kg, with P8 and rib fat measurements of 18 and 11 millimetres, and an eye muscle area of 138 centimetres, got his name because he came bursting out of the bail the first time they put a halter on him, and he's been making his mark ever since.

Mr Ogilvie said he'd first come to Brisbane as a junior bull in the under 12 month class two years ago and had won that.

He went to the North Coast National at Lismore last year, winning the champion of champions there.

"Our other bull beat him at Tenterfield, so we're pretty excited for next year," Mr Ogilvie said. "This one's got calves popping out at the moment and this is his last show, which makes it even nicer."

Interbreed judge Spencer Morgan said they'd had to do a bit of crystal-balling, given all the different ages and weights of the bulls in front of them.

What caught his eye about the 21-month-old Hereford bull was his length.

The other bulls shortlisted for the interbreed championship were:

Angus: The Station King, exhibited by AJ and M Scrivener, The Station Angus, Yarrowitch, NSW

Droughtmaster: Glenlands J Gibraltar, Glenlands J Droughtmasters

Red Angus: GK NCJ Red Valyrian V1, GK Livestock, St Ruth

Speckle Park: Anden U08, Anden Speckle Park, Pine Lodge, Vic

First Red Angus champion of champions pair win since 2015

Ten years after the Red Angus breed last won the prestigious Warby Trophy Champion of Champions breed pair, a Western Downs' Red Angus stud has taken it home once again.

The breed pair was awarded to a duo exhibited by the same stud, GK Livestock at St Ruth, near Jondaryan.

Kirrily Johnson-Iseppi took out the breed pair category with bull GK NCJ Red Valyrian V1, and female GK Red Cherok M17 T15.

Judge Marty Lill said it was quite a challenge.

"Some breeds have an outstanding individual, and the five that we've selected up front have got what we consider the best pair of animals," Mr Lill said.

He said the decision came down to which pair would excel in successful beef production systems.

"Part of our job in our company is selling Australian genetics overseas, and part of that is we get to see production systems all over the world," Mr Lill said.

"What we've noticed is the production systems that are really successful beef production systems in Latin America, in South Africa, in South East Asia, in North and Central America, are the ones that focus on productivity traits, the traits of fertility, the traits of mobility, the traits of functionality, (and) the ability to turn low quality feed into high quality protein.

"Those production systems, those beef systems that are the most successful, the ones that focus on these."

"The Red Angus pair are a really interesting pair, perhaps not the volume of the few pairs above them.

"They're an amazing pair that are peas in a pod - sharp-fronted, wedge-shaped. We really like the mobility and the structure of correctness.

"Beautiful, deep flank on this cow and you can see her productivity reflected in this beautiful, big, sappy calf."

Grand champion bull, GK NCJ Red Valyrian V1, was sired by Red Wheel Stark 67G and out of Triple M Morojitti R12.

The 19-month-old-bull weighed in at 840kg, had an eye muscle area of 125 square centimetres, 13mm of rump fat, and 9mm of rib fat.

Grand champion cow GK Red Cherok M17 T15 entered the ring with her bull calf at foot.

The 34-month-old cow was sired by Rosemullion Red Magellan and out of GK Red Cherok 111 Q2.

GK Livestock last won the title 13 years ago back in 2012.

Ms Johnson-Iseppi said winning the champion of champions pair was pretty exciting for their stud.

"I just was really caught by surprise by this," she said.

"It's just a bit of achievement for our breeding program.

"It's nice to win an individual interbeed champion, but to win the pair and to have bred both of these cattle, and have exhibited them both myself, the bull and the female, that's really exciting for me."

Ms Johnson-Iseppi said the cow's first calf, a bull calf named Valiant, was a December 2024 drop.

"I'm really happy with his growth for age, and he's a really quiet calf, a nice, soft calf," she said.

"He'll wean over 450 kilograms. He'll get weaned next week. The cow went pretty much straight back to calf about 42 days after she calved."

Five breed pairs were brought forward by the judges:

Angus: The Station King, exhibited by AJ and M Scrivener, The Station Angus, Yarrowitch, NSW, and Diamond Elas Miss Legend T413, exhibited by CL and GJ Iseppi, Diamond Angus, Cowra, NSW

Droughtmaster: Glenlands J Gibraltar and Glenlands J Elegance, exhibited by Jason Childs, Alkira, Dingo.

Hereford: Te-Angie Turbo T004 exhibited by Te-Angie Poll Herefords at Wongwibinda and Kianma Perfume, exhibited by Nikki and Kierin Martin, Kianma Poll Herefords, Forbes

Simmental:Silver Linings Underdog exhibited by Silver Linings Simmentals, Murgon, and GK Tiger Lily, bred and shown by Brooke Iseppi, Dalby.

The People's Choice Award was given to the Angus.